East Bay Express : Print This Story
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- East Bay Express : Print This Story
- Ky-Mani Marley brings the jams but it’s not the reggae kind
- The Cleveland Free Times :: Music :: Local Dirt :: Devil Has Her Day
East Bay Express : Print This Story
East Bay Express – Nov 21, 2007
Imagine a cross between Tracy Chapman and mou Sangare and you’ve just about got Gnahoré. A strong contender for world music release of the year the album offers a seamless synthesis of several traditional African folk music styles and modern studio production — something much harder to achieve in reality than in theory. Na Afriki revels in Pan-Africanism with Gnahoré singing in seven (!) languages none of which is English. The music ranges from sparse acoustic numbers to jazzy uptempo polyrhythm fests providing a perfect backdrop for the amazing talents of Gnahoré a vocalist with an impressive tonal range and a penchant for writing beautiful songs about deep-rooted social taboos. Donnie The Daily News SoulThought. This is what contemporary R&B would sound like if KPFA’s “Hard Knock Radio” and not the corporate suits programmed thousands of stations across America… I Wayne comes off as an impassioned concerned visionary with an entire disc’s work of solid songs which hint that roots reggae is actually advancing in the dancehall age. Classic roots albums tend to be esoteric yet on Book of Life I Wayne effectively updates the genre’s traditional themes — oppressive suffering and upliftment via spiritual cleansing — with modern one-drop riddims (with the exception of “Free the People” which revisits the Abyssinians’ “Satta Massa Gana”). To his credit I Wayne’s songs are accessible without dilution; if Sean Paul represented dancehall’s flashier (and fleshier) side I Wayne shows today’s reggae music can still resonate with conscious vibes.
Ky-Mani Marley brings the jams but it’s not the reggae kind
Press-Enterprise – Nov 21, 2007
However unlike brothers Ziggy Damian and Stephen the groovy rhythms and stabbing guitars associated with the family sound are not his forte. For that matter neither is singing. No this Marley is not waving the green yellow and red reggae flag all he needs are two turntables and a microphone. This Marley was born in the mid-’70s raised in Florida and reared on hip-hop.
The Cleveland Free Times :: Music :: Local Dirt :: Devil Has Her Day
Cleveland Free Times – Nov 21, 2007
" Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival and Martini 5-0 open; tickets are $10. – Jeff NieselI-Tal Plays its Final ShowWhen Dave Smeltz formed I-Tal in 1978 he planted the seeds for Cleveland's flourishing '80s reggae scene. In 1984 some of its members formed First Light one of the most popular area bands ever which crossed the music over to a more mainstream crowd with its hybrid rock 'n' reggae; one of those members Carlos Jones continues to fly the reggae flag here with his PLUS Band. I-Tal continued to play until 1986 mostly out of state. Recently Smeltz has regrouped the band for annual reunion concerts locally. But he's calling it a day citing "personal family stuff" and says the reunion show at the Grog Shop (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd.
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