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Words by Jesse Serwer—
Cosby Show devotees will recall the “Full House” episode from the series’ first season, when Cliff Huxtable walked in on Denise and her new beau “Eddie Lakehart” grooving to Black Uhuru’s “Sponji Reggae.” The scene—specifically Denise and Eddie’s adlibbed lyrics—was memorable enough it earned Lisa Bonet and actor Clayton Prince an honorable mention on our Hollywood’s Top 10 Worst Jamaican Accents countdown from 2011.
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Words by Jesse Serwer, Video by Jason Zucker—
Yesterday, LargeUp got the unique opportunity to roll with Beres Hammond to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, for his first-ever U.S. talk show appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. After watching Beres sit in with the Roots for a version of “One Love, One Life,” the title track off of his superb new LP, we went backstage for a rare conversation with the King of Jamaican Lover’s Rock. We also caught up with the Roots Crew’s Jamaican members—”Captain” Kirk Douglas, keyboardist James Poyser and percussionist Frank Knuckles—yep, there’s three yardies in the Roots—to get their take on playing with the King of Jamaican Lover’s Rock, and what his music means to them. A rare peek at the roots of the Roots, if you will.
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Words by Jesse Serwer—
An epic clash of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and Western movie bombast, the Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache” is the grand poobah of breakbeats, a record so integral to the development of hip-hop that Kool Herc himself called it hip-hop’s national anthem. And now “Apache” is the subject of a new documentary, Sample This (check the trailer below), which connects it not only to Bronx DJ pioneers and Missy Elliott but also Robert F. Kennedy, the Beatles and Charles Manson, among others. Whoa. We expect it will also shine a nice, shiny spotlight on the great King Errisson, the Bahamian conguero whose bongo playing is the epicenter of “Apache”‘s titanic rumble.
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Words by Jesse Serwer, Photo by Terrence Jennings—
Amidst all the rappity rap and R&B madness at this summer’s Roots Picnic, the electro-dancehall carnival known as Major Lazer turned what would come to be dubbed “Diplo-tent” into a rain-soaked rave of legend. Major Lazer being family (yuh dun no Jillionaire and Walshy Fire are LargeUp contributors), we linked with our Afro-wearing overlords at Okayplayer for a behind-the-scenes peek inside the madness that is Major Lazer, covering everything from Diplo’s Philly roots to the influence of Machel Montano and carnival culture on the crew’s live attack. Watch the webisode below, head over to Okayplayer for more highlights from this year’s momentous (and two-day long) edition of the Roots picnic, and be sure to check our LargeUp TV episode with Diplo in Jamaica for more Philly-JA connectivity.
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Words by Jesse Serwer, via Okayplayer
Among the performances on Monday night’s VH1 Divas broadcast, a definite highlight was Estelle, Erykah Badu, Marsha Ambrosius’ tribute to one of my personal favorite groups of all time, Soul II Soul. Backed by Okayplayer’s own don dada Questlove on the decks, the ladies version of “Back to Life” was entirely too short, (at just 2:30, vs. the usual 3:48 that the song clocks in at), but, thanks to Quest’s built-from-scratch recreation of its distinctive drums, it came off quite smooth. We’re just glad to see some Caribbean representation at this thing. But where were Jazzie B and Caron Wheeler, though?
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Words by DJ Gravy, Photos by Anthony Andrada and Kevin Ornelas
I’ve been seeing The Roots for a long time. The first time was in ’95 at The Knitting Factory. Since then they’ve become, well… The Roots. And just as I thought a dope Caribbean music and lifestyle channel would be great on Okayplayer, for years I’ve envisioned dancehall artists on stage with The Roots. I even hit up the music booker at the Fallon show about it. As many musical acts as the band backs up (just about everyone), few Jamaican or reggae artists have been among them, save for a handful like Jimmy Cliff and Toots. It may be extra ironic as almost half of the group have Jamaican, well, roots.
