Posts tagged: Gregory Isaacs

Hard Drugs: Gregory Isaacs Talks Coke Addiction In PSA

November 11, 2011

Words by Jesse Serwer

November is Drug Awareness Month in Jamaica, and the campaign has what some may consider a surprising spokesman: the late Gregory Isaacs. The Cool Ruler, who passed away last October from lung cancer, battled a well-documented drug addiction throughout his career, during which he was frequently arrested for cocaine possession. Shortly before his passing, Isaacs spoke candidly about his addiction, warning children about the dangers of drugs for a PSA now airing on Jamaican TV stations. Part of the sales from the new double-disc compilation Gregory Isaacs – The African Museum & Tad’s Collection Vol. II, released last month, will go to the Gregory Isaacs Foundation’s anti-drug campaign and charitable giving program, run by Isaacs’ late wife, June Isaacs. Watch the PSA, followed by a clip of Isaacs performing his classic musical PSA “Hard Drugs” at Reggae Sunsplash in 1990, below.

Tags:African Museum, cocaine. PSA, drugs, Gregory Isaacs, Tad's Records

In Combination: Win Sugar Minott + Gregory Isaacs Anthologies

October 25, 2011

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Words by Jesse Serwer

Last year, in a span of just a few months, Jamaica lost its two most golden voices. There were more technically impressive reggae singers but Sugar Minott and Gregory Isaacs’ songs were unmatched in terms of emotional resonance. Each had what can only be described as quirky voices but their distinctiveness only made their music easier to connect with, as both filled their songs with a level of vulnerability and frankness and a personal touch beyond that of any of their other peers.

Tags:17 North Parade, Giveaway, Gregory Isaacs, Sugar Minott, VP Records

Toppa Top 10: D.A. Wallach of Chester French’s Favorite Reggae Tunes

October 18, 2011

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Selections by D.A. of Chester French, words by Eddie STATS Houghton

Tags:Black Uhuru, Bob Marley, D.A., Gregory Isaacs, I-Wayne, Pressure, Steel Pulse, Supa Dups, Tenor Saw

Rumours Has It: Maffew Ragazino x The Mad Stuntman = “City of God”

September 26, 2011

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Words by Jesse Serwer

Last week, up and coming Brownsville, Brooklyn rapper Maffew Ragazino dropped his Rhyme Pays album. If you’re a fan of good, old-fashioned New York street rap, then you should get it. It’s a quality release, and it’s free. While Maffew’s catalog includes rapping in patois on a track called “Jerk Chicken,” we never could have imagined that among the collaborators on the tape would be The Mad Stuntman. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, well, we can guarantee you know his work: he’s the deejay guy from Reel 2 Real’s “I Like To Move It” (and actually a whole heap of other records from DJ Erick Morillo’s mid ’90s ragga techno project, too). Better still, Maffew and Stuntman’s collaboration “City of God,” which also features singer Rocki Woods, was done over a reworked version of Steely & Clevie’s classic Rumours riddim (of Gregory Isaacs fame). Stream and/or download below.

Tags:Brooklyn, Brownsville, Gregory Isaacs, hiphop, Maffew Ragazino Sr., Reel 2 Real, The Mad Stuntman

Style & Vibes: A Look Back at Dancehall Fashion, Pt. 2: The 1980s

August 26, 2011

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Words by Mikelah Rose

As dancehall deejays elevated their lyrics to another level in the 1980s, they also elevated their style game. In addition to being able to toast with the best of them, you had to step out on stage correct lyrically and stylistically, because commanding a dancehall crowd was–and still is –no easy task. The ’80s were a fashion era that we look back at and say, “What were they thinking!?!” but then again, fashion is all about self-expression. Like they say in the dancehall, “Style ah style an style cyan spoil!” The ’80s were filled with Kangols, gold chains and blazers with extra shoulder padding–as the era progressed, the clothes got bigger and more colorful, and gold accessories were in excess.

Tags:Barrington Levy, Dancehall, Gregory Isaacs, Lady G, Lady P, Patra, Shelly Thunder, Sister Charmaine, Supercat

Toppa Top 10: Top Caribbean Culture Documentaries

April 19, 2011

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Words by DJ Gravy, Eddie STATS Houghton, Martei Korley, Jason “J-RockaZ” Orford and Jesse Serwer

It seems like we’re hearing about another new documentary film training its lens on Caribbean culture every day now. In just the past few months on LargeUp, we’ve told you about brand-new or upcoming films on Lee Perry, the West Indian cricket teams of the 1970s and 1980s, two separate ones on Bob Marley (from Last King in Scotland director Kevin McDonald and one-time Bob flame Esther Anderson, respectively) as well as the Afro Latinos documentary series said to be heading to PBS. With this week’s Tribeca Film Festival hosting the U.S. premieres of the aforementioned cricket flick Fire In Babylon and When The Drum Is Beating, about Haiti’s long-running Septentrional band, (and that Lee Perry doc, Upsetter, touring US theaters), we figured it was time to revisit and count down some of the top Caribbean culture documentaries from the past.

Tags:Alan Greenberg, Bob Marley, Buena Vista Social Club, Cockpit Country, Cuba, Dub Echoes, From Mambo to Hip Hop, Ghosts of Cité Soleil, Gregory Isaacs, Henry Chalfant, Heptones, Holding Onto Jah, Jack Ruby, Jamaica, Jimmy Cliff, Land of Look Behind, Lee Scratch Perry, Mas man, Puerto Rica, Ras Michael, Reggae Britannia, The Abyssinians, The Congos, The Gladiators, Toots And The Maytals, ToppaTop10, Trinidad & Tobago, Wim Wenders, Yank Tanks