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Showing posts from March, 2011

Reggae Divas: The Visibility of Female Reggae Artists

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Vybez Kartel. Mavado. Beenie. Bounty. Buju. Male reggae artists are constantly in the news, constantly changing styles, innovating Jamaican culture and dancehall culture internationally, and churning out music for reggae fans around the world. Busy Signal. Vegas. Cham. Sanchez. T.O.K. Beres Hammond. The styles of each artist vary so uniquely from one another, that one can't help but love reggae music and the diversity that exists within it. But while Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Hudson, and Keri Hilson can easily dominate the charts and media attention of pop and hip-hop...the female reggae singers hardly get the same kind of spotlight that their female counterparts in all other genres do, nor do they get the same amount of attention as other musicians in the reggae genre. They are just as talented, just as provocative, and the music is just as sweet...but female reggae artists have yet to receive the same level of love and recognition for their years of music

A Woman's Worth [in the entertainment industry]

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A few years ago I went to a Mary J. Blige concert at the Molson Ampitheatre at Ontario Place in Toronto. I've been a fan of Mary since the beginning, but somehow this was the first time I had seen her live. I was glad to be there, and glad to see a packed house, and hear her perform the songs that had been the soundtrack and inner dialogue to so many moments in my life. She sang, she danced, she spoke to the audience about her life's moments that brought her to that place. She connected with us, as we had connected with her hundreds of times before listening to any one of her legendary albums that are obvious staples in anyone's music collection. And when Mary got ready to sing her classic " I'm Going Down " (a cover of Rose Royce's hit from 1977) from her second album, My Life...all it took was a few intro notes from the band, and the women in the Ampitheatre began to cheer, clear their throats...and sing. Time on my hands...since you've been away boy