Randy’s was the historic record shop in Kingston, Jamaica, from which one of the world’s most influential reggae labels was born: VP Records. The shop was founded by Vincent Chin, born in Kingston in 1937. He was the son of a Chinese carpenter who had moved to Jamaica in the 1920s. During his school days, […]

1. Most believe that the word Reggae comes from the Jamaican slang term “rege-rege” that means ragged, because it is a mix of different music styles sewn together. Others sustain that the term Reggae comes from the Latin “regi”, meaning “to the King”. 2. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, “Do the Reggay”

African singer Alpha Blondy was one of the world’s top reggae artists during the 1980s and ‘90s. He was born Seydou Kone in 1953 in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), where he grew up with his grandmother Cherie Coco in the Jula (or Dioula) tribe. He got expelled from school for forming a band and not

Henry “Junjo” Lawes was one of the most important and influential dancehall reggae producers during the 1980s. He was born in West Kingston, Jamaica, around 1960. He started singing with the Grooving Locks trio but found his success when he moved into production in 1978, initially as an assistant for singer and producer Linval Thompson

Tenor saxophonist Tommy McCook was among the most groundbreaking Jamaican musicians of his generation, playing an important role in the evolution of ska and reggae. McCook was born in Cuba in 1927 (some accounts say 1932) and moved to Jamaica in 1933. He took up the tenor saxophone at the age of eleven, when he

In the early 1980s Yellowman helped establish dancehall as the wave of the future. He brought the popularity of toasting (the reggae equivalent of rapping) to a whole new level thanks to his talent for improvisation, easy flow and sense of humor. For better or for worse, he also symbolized dancehall’s predilection for “slack” lyrics

The rhythms of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare – Sly & Robbie – have been the driving force behind numerous songs, dubs and remixes since the mid-1970s, not only with major Jamaican artists but also international stars like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. Sly and Robbie were already famous artists in Jamaica

1. The warm and authentic soundCDs, MP3s and music that is streamed all sound clean and pristine, manufactured. There is nothing digital about how vinyl records are made, and that’s why their sound offers an experience that is close to listening live music. The crackles and pops and variations in vinyl make it sound more

The vibrant and occasionally outrageous cartoons of Wilfred Limonious decorated the sleeves of many reggae music records, in particular of dancehall vinyl records. He was one of Jamaica’s most prolific graphic artists, working both for the island’s music industry as well as a newspaper cartoonist. Wilfred Limonious was born in 1949 in Albert Town. He

Not many musicians would think of using what is associated to a child’s toy in their songs, yet Augustus Pablo was able to use the unique sound of the melodica to revolutionize Jamaican music in the 1970s. His real name was Horace Swaby, and he was born in 1954 in St. Andrew, Jamaica. In high

Lee Perry is a legend of Reggae, a unique genius of music who was active from the 1960s and all the way to his death in 2021. Born in the rural Jamaican village of Kendal in 1936, Lee “Scratch” Perry began his surrealistic musical odyssey in the late ’50s, when he worked with ska man

Reggae is a music genre that originated in the Caribbean island of Jamaica in the late 1960s. It evolved from earlier musical styles like ska and rocksteady, and eventually developed different genres such as early and classic reggae, roots, lovers rock, dub, rockers and dancehall. Let’s find out the origins and evolution of reggae music.