Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton returned to Jamaica in early December after serving seven years in a US prison on drug charges. Banton got a hero's welcome, despite his infamous, 1993 anti-gay song “Boom Bye Bye” which called for the murder of gay people.
Xyclone has made a serious statement with the release of his brand new Almost There mixtape. The dancehall up-and-comer busts out 37 tracks over the course of this hour-long, highlight-packed mix. Relatively new to the dancehall scene, Xyclone is a ...<a class="meta-nav" href="http://www.afropop.org/wp/18393/xyclones-almost-there-mix/"> Read more »</a>
  In our program “Afropop Live! NYC, Musical Metropolis” we featured an excerpt from our interview with Brushy One—String, the soulful Jamaican singer/guitarist and YouTube star. In this podcast, we go further, discussing Brushy’s past, his goals, and the development ...<a class="meta-nav" href="http://www.afropop.org/wp/17915/podcast-brushy-one-string-music-and-a-single-vibrating-wire/"> Read more »</a>
What do you get when you combine Congolese rapper Baloji, Lebanese pop star Yasmine Hamdan, Jamaican guitarist Brushy One-String, and Mauritanian vocal powerhouse Noura Mint Seymali? This year’s jaw-dropping Globalfest. What do you get when you combine live recordings of ...<a class="meta-nav" href="http://www.afropop.org/wp/17901/afropop-live-nyc-musical-metropolis/"> Read more »</a>
Vybz Kartel’s recent conviction for murder is a tricky subject. We don’t pretend to know all the details of the case (some of which actually went missing during the course of the trial), but what we do know is that ...<a class="meta-nav" href="http://www.afropop.org/wp/17467/top-4-vybz-tribute-mixes/"> Read more »</a>
[Photo from Jamaica Gleaner] After two and a half years behind bars, dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel was found guilty of murder last night. The scene has been tense in Kingston, where hundreds gathered to chant “Free Kartel,” and riot police ... Read more »
The track’s been kicking around for a few months now, but the video for Popcaan’s “Everything Nice” dropped a few days ago. Popcaan is one of Jamaica’s younger and brighter DJ stars, having come up under Vybz Kartel’s wing and ...<a class="meta-nav" href="http://www.afropop.org/wp/17227/17227/"> Read more »</a>
Young reggae revival stars and compatriots Chronixx and Protoje have just released “Who Knows,” a new collaborative track that pairs Chronixx’s heartfelt singing on the hook with Protoje’s confidently conscious rhymes on the verse. Riding the kind of subtly modernized ...<a class="meta-nav" href="http://www.afropop.org/wp/16914/chronixx-and-protoje-release-new-track-who-knows/"> Read more »</a>