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Words by Jesse Serwer—
With the long-awaited documentary Marley hitting theaters tomorrow—and making history as the first movie to premiere simultaneously on Facebook—we thought we’d draw your attention to some footage that makes its way into one of the more interesting parts of the movie.
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Words by Scott Brown—
A sacred set of Caribbean songs have made it into the canon of Miami party music. Songs like “Get Involved,” from the Bahamas’ Dr. Off, and an assortment of dancehall hits, like Red Rat’s ”Tight Up Skirt,” get locals dancing regardless of heritage. “Zouk la Sé Sél Médikaman Nou Ni” is another must-have for any Miami DJ’s collection. While the zouk sound please the kompa-loving Haitian massive, the infectious rhythm of the song has remarkable cross cultural appeal.
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Words by DJ Autograph—
If you have ever been to or are from Jamaica and have taken taken public transportation, you certainly will identify with the lyrics of the Caucasian female duo, The Word. In “Two White Girls Pon A Minibus,” the duo recaps their journey across the island of Jamaica on…yes, a minibus. I remember seeing this video quite a lot on our local TV channel JBC (now known as TVJ) while growing up in Jamaica.
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Words by Jesse Serwer—
Yellowman’s phrasing on 1982′s “Zunguzungunguzunguzeng” has been reinterpreted by everyone from Frankie Paul and Super Cat to KRS-One, Biggie Smalls and Mos Def. Our good friend and LargeUp contributor Wayne Marshall could probably write a book on what he’s called the “Zigzagging Zunguzung Meme,” if he hasn’t already. Although perhaps not one of the best known songs to reference Yellowman’s classic catchphrase and sublime delivery, one of the most explicit homages was the 1994 single “Zunga Zeng” by K7 and the Swing Kids.
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By Spliffington
We’re huge fans of Spliffington’s artwork and his Out Pon Bail Tumblr (always a great source for rare sound tapes and videos as well as odd photos) so we’re glad to have the man on our team. For his first LargeUp post, he recalls getting turned on to Reel 2 Real’s NYC discount department store-themed, dancehall-inflected mid ’90s club hit as a youth in Senegal. For more Spliffington, check his Gunwash radio show on heritageradionetwork.com on Thursdays from 7:30-8:30 and Radiolily.com on Saturdays from 4-6.
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Words by Wayne Marshall—
While Panama is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of dancehall reggae en español, Puerto Rico gets credit for eating up the faithful versions of Panamanian artists like Nando Boom and El General and spitting out something more hip-hop laced and sample-based, as heard on the Noisy collages that made dembow loops the centerpiece of maratón mixtapes. But Panamanian producers deserve props of their own for developing and popularizing an equally distinctive and irreverent, sample-based approach to Spanish dancehall (though faithful approaches persist under the plena banner, sin duda).
