Tag Archive for 'Jamaican Documentary'

One Minute Spotlight:Turbulence

Reggae Mix Online

Turbulence, a charismatic lyrical master from the Jamaican ghetto, is one of the subjects of the award-winning music documentary Rise Up…-The Tribune-

Born in Kingston, St. Andrew on 11th January  1980, Turbulence is the youngest of three children. Turbulence started his career while still at school, honing his skills both on the desktop and behind the auditorium.

Growing up he was inspired by the voices of Bob Marley, Garnet Silk, Peter Tosh, Eddie Fitzroy and Jacob Miller. He got his name from an elder Rasta man who saw him “mash up” a show under the name “Double Trouble”.  The elder told him to change his name to Turbulence and he has never looked back.

A member of the Higher Trod Family, Turbulence has seen wide exposure as the opening act for Sizzla in North America, Europe and the Caribbean. The overarching message of Turbulence’s music is that there should be no racial discrimination. The strong must help the weak, trust in Rastafari, and burn out weakness.

Turbulence and his message are being well received as his songs Think of Peace, Give Her What She Want, I Love You So, Yea Yea Yea, and Free and Hype are receiving a heavy rotation on the radio. Along with his many stage show performances, Turbulence has become one of the hottest Jamaican performers in recent memory.

We met Turbulence at his home town in Hungry Town, Kingston. It was a sunny day and as usual, and Turbulence was killing time by singing songs outside his mother’s yard with his crew, The Higher Trod Family.  Though he was known in the dancehalls, Turbulence was still trying to get his name out to the popular audience in Jamaica. He was still underground, but his talent was undeniable and it would only get better for him in the upcoming years.

His rise to fame culminated with his hit single Notorious, which sizzled on the airwaves when its music video was first released in December of 2004 in Jamaica. The song subsequently rose to #1 on charts around the world.

Rise Up: www.riseupmovie.com


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One Minute Spotlight: VP Records

Reggae Mix Online

The quintessential independent record label and distributor of reggae music, VP Records has “become a crucial link between reggae music and culture and an ever-growing market of reggae enthusiasts around the world.”

Based in Jamaica, Queens, NY, the place where it all began in 1979, VP Records has grown to become a force to be reckoned with within the reggae music industry.

“While there are other labels available to artists in the Caribbean and the United States, many seek out VP Records because of its successful track record.”

The story of VP Records is summed up in today’s One Minute Spotlight in this, previously released, feature video. Enjoy!

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Sibbles sees rocksteady revival

Greg Quill
thestar.com

Sibbles sees rocksteady revival, hopes new documentary will follow trail blazed by the Buena Vista Social Club.

Leroy Sibbles

Leroy Sibbles (holding guitar) is performing with the original members of his Toronto band at Harbourfront Centre’s Island Soul Festival.

Leroy Sibbles is no stranger to Toronto reggae fans. He spent more than a decade among us in the 1970s and ’80s trying to establish a beachhead for a career liftoff in North America and Europe, and managed, along with the likes of Stranger Cole and other expats living and working out of the Jamaican enclave here, to extend reggae’s appeal in new and interesting ways.

Long since repatriated in Kingston, the Jamaican music legend and 1987 Juno Award winner is hoping the new Swiss-Canadian music documentary, Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae, will work the same magic for him and the other surviving stars of the short-lived rocksteady movement that Wim Wenders’ film, The Buena Vista Social Club, did for Cuba’s all-but-forgotten champions of traditional, pre-revolution Afro-Cuban music.

“That’s the whole idea: to boost interest in the music that bridged ska and reggae in the mid-1960s, and maybe to prolong our careers, in the same way as similar movies have for other musicians,” Sibbles said earlier this week over the phone from London, where he has been recording interviews and live music performances for the BBC. Read more…

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