Reggae Run Tings presents the Toppa Top music videos of 2015. It was a lot of fun putting this ranking and playlist together. There were many great videos to choose from this year. We were happy to see how many young artists made the cut. Its great to see the care and artistry that young artists are putting into their music videos.
The winner of the best music video of the year goes to Inner Circle & Chronixx and their video for Tenement Yard (New Carrying Dread). A part of me would like to believe that this just represents a normal day in the life of Chronixx. Just walking around and making the world a better place for the people he meets. It's wonderful to see Inner Circle collaborating with him in the creation of such an exceptional track and video.
Congrats to all the other Queens and Kings who made this years list. As well we would like to thank everyone who has visited and supported the site in 2015.
To help spread a little festive cheer Reggae Run Tings presents Yellowman's Breadfruit Roasting on an Open Fire. Yellowman has some really great Reggae Christmas carols. Yellowman's A Very, Very Yellow Christmas, along with Jacob Miller's Natty Christmas have become the traditional soundtrack to my holidays. We wish all our supporters and fans safe and happy holidays.
This week's featured music video is One Day by Jah Vinci. Its a nice song, telling youth to keep thier heads up no matter the stress or strain. The video does a good job of telling the story of the song. Like and share if you think that things are going to get better One Day.
NASA scientists recently announced that they have found direct evidence of running water on Mars. With the news came a lot of excitement, with talk about missions to Mars and the possibility of people living on Mars. The news reminded me of a Ziggy Marley song from his last album Fly Rasta. The song is called I Don't Wanna Live on Mars.
The tune does a great job of expressing the joy of living and an appreciation of whats really important in a persons life. Instead of pinning our hopes on flying off to other planets, we should enjoy and take care of the one we have. Not only is the earth a beautiful place to be but its also home to all the people we love. Better to love someone here on Earth than a Martian in Space. I don't wanna live on Mars.
Reggae Run Tings recently ran into Reggae superstar Half Pint. Check out the video below to hear him show some support for Reggae Run Tings! Really, really, really and truly, Half Pint is a first class artist and its a joy to hear him promote the site. Whats your favourite tune by Half Pint? Let us know in the comments below.
This week's words from reggae comes from Protect Me, New Kingston's big tune featuring the Wailing Souls. The song has strong lyrics and a positive vibe. Check out the music video for the song, which is still our featured music video of the week. Let us know what keeps you grounded in the comments below. Like and share if you agree with the message in the music.
Reggae artist Razor B is hotting up the place right now. With his hit tune Hot Up making waves, Razor B is now poised to become a fresh new face in the Dancehall. He already has a big follow up tune with Up In Deh and there is sure to be much more to come from Razor B in the near future.
Check out an interview he did recently with On Stage by clicking on the picture of Razor B which will take you to his profile page here on the site. Let us know who your favourite up and coming artist is in the comments below.
This week's featured reggae riddim medley is the Seh Feh Riddim mix. The mix includes tunes by Vybz Kartel, I-Octane, Dexta Dapps and more. Listen, enjoy and share the mix.
This week's featured music video is Protect Me Jah by New Kingston featuring Wailing Souls. The tune samples Wailing Souls' classic Fire House Rock. Just the other day I was lamenting the loss of vocal groups in the current reggae scene. Its great seeing a young group doing vocal harmonies and collaborating with a foundation group like the Wailing Souls. Maybe there is hope for vocal harmonies in Reggae after all.
Earlier this week Reggae Run Tings reached a new milestone with 10000 hits on the site. Give thanks to all our fans for continuing to support and enjoy the site. Its great seeing the site reach people not only here at home but across the globe. Special shout out to all our international fans in Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine, Singapore and where ever else you may find yourself. We plan on making Reggae Run Tings better all the time with new features and updates on the site. If you would like to contribute to Reggae Run Tings email us or leave a contact in the comments below.
The music video playlist and ranking for September 2014 is the most popular playlist we have posted on our Youtube channel. Since it's been about a year since we first posted it, it seemed like a good time to revisit some of the great music and videos featured in the list. Chronixx, Jah Cure, Tarrus Riley, Gyptian and more help make the playlist a real joy to listen and watch. What was your favourite music video playlist that we've posted? Let us know in the comments below.
"Even if you step on a man's Clarks, nobody nah fight again."
This week's words from Reggae comes from Beenie Man's Party Vibez Nice. Its nice when people can enjoy the vibez and not fuss over shoes. People have probably died because of stepping on a persons shoes. Lets stop with the fussin and fighting. Check out the song's music video. Have you ever gotten into a fight over shoes? Let us know in the comments below.
Check out Turbulence's message to all the fans of Reggae Run Tings. Give thanks for the support. Let us know how you feel about the site by leaving a comment below.
This Thanksgiving long weekend old school legends Tiger and Lady Saw will be mashing up the place at Sound Academy. Black Reaction will be providing the music. Early bird tickets are still available, get them while they are still around.
This week's featured music video is Don't Do It by Treesha. It's a strong message to all those who resort to firing off their guns, "Don't Do It!" Share and leave a comment if you like and agree with the message in the music.
The Dancehall Tunn Up tomorrow night at Revival. Mr. Lexx, Spragga Benz and General Degree are going to be in the spot performing all their hit songs. Lindo P will also be there to bring some fire to the start of the show. Advance tickets are still available, so get them before they're all gone.
"Bring back the memories of the songs we used to know. Bring back the harmonies of sweet music like before..." Matumbi
In recent years there has been a resurgence of classic or foundation elements of Jamaican music. Music incorporating early musical traditions such as Nyahbinghi drumming have become more popular with many young conscious artists. Artists like Jah 9, Protoje or Chronixx will all have at least one or two tracks on each album backed by drummers. Dub music has also been embraced by many of the younger generation. Even popular artist Busy Signal released Reggae Dubb'n Again, a vinyl only dub version of his album Reggae Music Again. Despite this revival one element of Jamaican music that hasn't seen a popular comeback over the years is harmony vocal groups.
Harmony groups were a crucial part of the development of Reggae music and Jamaican music more generally. During the ska years vocal groups had big hits with tunes like Life Could Be A Dream by the Maytals and Simmer Down by the Wailers. The popularity of vocal groups gained prominence in the Rock Steady years with vocal groups such as the Heptones, Paragons and the Gaylads being the biggest acts of their day. As the music turned once again with Roots Reggae, vocal groups were at the front line.
The Heptones
There were dozens of harmony vocal groups, mostly harmony trios, during the early days of Reggae music. Songs from that time that are now considered anthems and classics were often the work of harmony groups like the Abyssinian's with Satta Massagana or the Mighty Diamonds with Pass the Kutchie. The importance of vocal groups in reggae goes beyond Jamaica. The vocal groups Matumbi and Steel Pulse were pioneers in the establishment of reggae music overseas in England. Vocal groups such as Black Uhuru continued into the 80's but the era of vocal groups had already peaked and started to decline.
Some of the writing on the wall could be seen as popular groups broke up or became focused around a single lead singer. The most famous case of this being the Wailers with Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley. First it became Bob Marley and the Wailers and than the group split, with Bob becoming the single lead singer. Despite the decline, one place that harmony vocals lived on was in the female harmony singers. Bob's music after the split with Bunny and Peter has very strong vocal support from the I-Three's (Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths) which helped shape Bob's music into the classic sound that people all over the world know and love. To this day female harmony vocalists don't get much respect or congratulations for their contribution to reggae but that's a reasoning for another day.
The I-Three's
Today harmony vocal groups barely exist. Even the members of Morgan Heritage probably the most successful modern vocal group are off doing solo projects. There are some notable exceptions, with a few groups still carrying on the torch. One of my favourites is the Rasites who delivered a modern classic with their album Urban Generation. They're still recording and released the single Drum and Baseline recently which we featured on our site. Another group I'm excited about is the No-Madd's a young group out of Jamaica who's musical influences vary too much for me to want to categorize. As promising as these groups are they still represent a drop in the current ocean of reggae music.
I'm personally passionate about the subject of harmony groups because they are what made me first start listening to Reggae music. First it was Israel Vibration who with their off key harmonies and deep roots sound captured my spirit. From there the mystical sounds of groups like the Abyssinian's and the Congos deepened my love for the music and its kept a hold on to me ever since. While I've embraced many of the new turns in reggae music like the singjay revolution and now the reggae revival or new roots I still hold on to the hope that one day those sweet harmonies will come back to Reggae.
For all those new to Reggae music or who would like to grow their understanding of reggae music I've included a ten album/cd list. Its not a ranking more like a musical study guide. Support your local record shop and pick them up there or you can find them on itunes. Here they are in no particular order:
1. Abyssinian's - Satta Massagana
2. Congos - Heart of the Congos
3. Meditations - Deeper Roots : Best of the Meditations
4. Black Slate - Amigo: Best of Black Slate
5. Earth & Stone - Kool Roots
6. Culture - One Stone
7. Mighty Diamonds - Deeper Roots
8. Matumbi - Empire Road
9. Black Uhuru - Ultimate Collection
10. Rasites - Urban Generation
Well we've all been there before haven't we? We try to be considerate and thoughtful but sometimes, hopefully rarely, we just have to say it. For all those times and all the times you wanted to but restrained yourself, here's Shaggy with a tune for you. What was the last time you felt like the songs lyrics? Let us know in the comments below. The tune is a bit vulgar so fair warning.
This week's words from reggae comes from Christopher Martin's big tune I'm A Big Deal. If you know your a vip celebrate it with the video for the tune. If your a big deal let us know in the comments below.
This week's featured music video is Miss You So Much by Dexta Daps and Blakk Man. This one goes out to everyone who's lost someone special. They maybe gone but they live on in our hearts and memories.
Reggae music is a sunshine music. The rhythms envelop you like the sun when you step out on a sunny day. Unfortunately here in Toronto we don't get much sun. Since no one really associates reggae with winter, we jam pack as much reggae music into the little sunshine time we get each year.
After that the snow falls and its kind of hard to convince reggae artists and fans to come out when it's -20 outside.
Between July and September each year there is the Irie Music Festival, Island Soul Festival, Toronto Reggae Festival, Rastafest, Jamaica Day, Jambana and the Reggae Night at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition). Basically for a couple months each year you can go out to a different reggae festival each weekend. Since most of them are very reasonably priced its easy on the wallet and lets people come out with the whole family. Lot's of the festivals have additional activities and food vendors making it a fun way to spend the day, with the evening concert a cherry on top.
One thing that is a constant struggle, is trying to coup with the chance of being rained out. All the events previously mentioned take place outdoors and with so many a few will get rained out each year. The weather can turn bad pretty quick. This year at Iriefest there was even hail, which along with the lightening storm caused the show to be cancelled before the headliners could perform. It's a lot of work to organize such a large festival and a heartache when it gets washed out.
Give thanks to all the organizers, volunteers, funders, partners and everybody who came out and made it a wonderful summer for reggae music in Toronto. Special thanks goes out to all the artists who graced our stages. Hopefully some of the artists will be brave enough to come back and perform during the long, cold winter months.
The top ten reggae video ranking and playlist for August is now up on the site. Kabaka Pyramid had the top ranking video this month for his hit tune Well Done. Kabaka was also featured on Inner Circle's We The People Ha Fi Talk which was the runner up video of the month. The list has a lot of variety with some party tunes, lovers tracks and conscious anthems. Let us know what you think of the ranking by leaving a comment below.
This week's featured reggae mix is the 50/50 Riddim. Artists on the riddim medley include Louie Culture, Nadine Sutherland, Exco Levi, Iba Mahr and Chaka Demus and Pliers. Listen, enjoy, comment and share.
We have a new artist drop to present to you. Give thanks to the Silvertones for this awesome shout out to the website. Hear what Silvertones has to say about Reggae Run Rings by clicking the video below. Let us know what you think of Reggae Run Tings by leaving a comment.
This week reggae fans in Toronto are in for a unique treat. From Aug 19-21 Rastafest will be presenting the first Reggae/Rasta film showcase in Canada. Each day includes panel discussions, performances and movie screenings. Tickets for the films are just $10 a day and the panel discussions are free and open for all to attend. This Friday's panel discussion will be on the evolution of Reggae Music and will include Warrior King on the panel. A great way to explore different aspects and artistic mediums within reggae culture.
Check out the latest riddim mix up on the site. This is for all the lovers, walking and talking in the park. Artists on the mix include Harry Toddler, Tony Curtis, Beenie Man, Bling Dawg.Tune in and enjoy the Good Love vibes. Love and share,
We have a new riddim mix up on the site. This ones for all the dancehall fans. Artists on the mix include Beenie Man, I-Octane, Mavado, Alkaline and Vybz Kartel. Enjoy and share.
Next week Rastafest will be rolling out in Toronto. Saturday, August 22 is their big stage show featuring the legendary Johnny Clarke and the mighty Warrior King. A host of local artists will also add further joy to the event. You can visit Rastafest website by clicking the their flyer below.
This week's featured music video is We the People Ha Fi Talk by Inner Circle ft. Kabaka Pyramid. Another big combination track by Inner Circle. Its great to see some founding generation artists collaborating with today's rising stars. What artist collabo's would you like to see? Lt us know in the comments below.
We decided to do something to celebrate whats left of summer with a list of Top 10 Summertime Reggae Videos. The list isn't ranked, we just mixed the videos together. The list represents the fun and possibilities of summer time. So catch the summer time vibez while you still can by playing the list.
Share and let us know what you think of the list by leaving a comment below.
The top ten music video ranking for July is now up on the site. Jessie Royal took the top ranking this month with his video for his songs Gimme Likkle and Finally. Check out his and all the other great videos in the list this month.
Who do you think had the top ranking video this month? Let us know in the comments below.
The festival season continues next week with Toronto Reggae Festival. They will be building they're own "reggae village" and stage on the polson pier, which should make for a unique experience. The two days are jam packed with first class artists like Beres Hammond, Marcia Griffiths and Luciano. Early bird tickets are still available so get yours now. Click on the flyer below to go to the Toronto Reggae Festival website.
This week's featured video is Nuh Worry Yourself by Pressure Buss Pipe. A nice love song for all the summer time lovers. So "nuh worry yourself" and check out the link to the video below.
Reggae fans were treated to the return on stage of Blessed this year at Irie Music Festival 2015. Blessed got the show going with his hit "Jah Lift Me Up". A local fan favourite, Blessed gave the fans what they wanted with a strong performance and some words of wisdom addressed to the crowd. He had people jumping with his Juno award winning tune "Reggae Time". Unfortunately the performance was cut short by a lightening storm that had everyone running for the nearest shelter from the torrent of rain. After the rain cleared Blessed and headliner Junior Reid came out to greet the festival goers still at the grounds.
This week's featured music video is for Gimme Likkle and Finally by Jessie Royal. The video brings together two new ganja anthems by Jessie Royal. My favourite scene is when he pulls up to the police station to drop off a load of herbs to the sergeant. So "gimme likkle herb let me cool down me nerve".
THIS WEEK'S WORDS FROM REGGAE COMES FROM DEMARCO'S NEW TUNE MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. WE GOT THE RICHEST DUCK IN THE WORLD REPRESENTING FOR DEMARCO. CHECK OUT THE TUNE BY CLICKING THE LINK FOR IT'S VIDEO BELOW.
WE HAVE A NEW FEATURED VIDEO UP FOR THE WEEK. THIS WEEK'S FEATURED VIDEO IS GOD INNA ME CORNER BY ROMAIN VIRGO. ITS A COOL VIDEO WITH WHAT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD CHUNK OF JAMAICA SINGING PARTS OF THE SONG THROUGHOUT THE VIDEO. WITH SO MANY PEOPLE TAKING PART, ROMAIN VIRGO ONLY MAKES A QUICK CAMEO APPEARANCE IN HIS OWN VIDEO.
WE'VE CREATED A BOLD NEW LOOK FOR THE SIGHT. WE WANTED TO CLEAN UP SOME OF THE VISUAL CLUTTER OF THE SITE, MAKING THE SITE SIMPLER TO NAVIGATE AND EASIER ON THE EYE. IN ADDITION TO THE SITE MAKEOVER, WE'LL SOON BE POSTING UPDATES TO ALL OF OUR MAJOR PAGES AND FEATURES. LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THE SITE'S NEW LOOK BY LEAVING A COMMENT BELOW.
BUSY SIGNAL THEY CALL THE COVER HIT MAKER PRESENTS A REMAKE OF ALL TIME RIDDIMS THAT COMES BACK AGAIN WITH THE "WHAT IF" HIT SINGLE. WHICH IS PLAYING ALL OVER THE STREETS OF JAMAICA. BUSY HAS A TREND TO MASH UP ALL THE OLD TIME TUNES AND BRINGS A NEW FLAVOR TO IT AND TAKES THE DANCEHALL SCENE TO A NEXT LEVEL.THAT'S HOW THE STORY GOES.
REGGAERUNTINGS PRESENTS THE OFFICIAL BRAND NEW BOOM SOUND
FYAH GEORGE IS BACK AGAIN WITH THE ORIGINAL HIT "BOOM SOUND"
CALLING ALL SOUND MAN TO LISTEN TO THIS TUNE THAT REPRESENTS ALL THE BIG SOUNDS IN JAMAICA
FOLLOW US NOW @REGGAERUNTINGS
FOR ALL OF THE DANCEHALL FANS OUT THERE WE ARE ADDING A DANCEHALL MIX OF THE WEEK FEATURE TO THE SITE. THIS WEEK'S MIX IS A MEDLEY OF THE SUCCE$$ AND STRIVE RIDDIM. EXPECT A NEW DANCEHALL MIX EVERY WEEK OR SO ON THE SITE. LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW AND LET US KNOW WHAT RIDDIM YOU WOULD LIKE US TO FEATURE NEXT WEEK.
WE GOT A NEW FEATURED MIX FOR THE WEEK WITH THE TENEMENT YARD MEDLEY MIX. THE MIX INCLUDES SONGS BY BUGLE, TANYA STEPHENS, ASSASSIN AND CHRONIXX. THE MEDLEY DOES A GREAT JOB OF SHOWCASING THE WONDERFUL TENEMENT YARD RIDDIM. LET US KNOW WHAT RIDDIMS YOU WOULD LIKE FOR US TO USE IN OUR NEXT FEATURED MIX BY WRITING IT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
THE LATEST MUSIC VIDEO PAGE HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH ALL THE BEST NEW MUSIC VIDEOS FOR APRIL 2015. THERE'S OVER 30 NEW VIDEOS ON THE PAGE. LOT'S OF NEW YOUNG ARTISTS AS WELL AS SOME OLDER FAVOURITES. WE HAVE ALSO UPDATED THE LATEST MUSIC VIDEO PLAYLIST, SO WITH ONE CLICK YOU CAN LISTEN TO ALL THE VIDEOS AT ONCE. LET US NOW WHAT YOUR FAVOURITE VIDEOS ARE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW SO THAT THEY HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF MAKING IT ON OUR TOP MUSIC VIDEO RANKING.
THIS WEEK'S FEATURED MUSIC VIDEO IS "IN THE GHETTO" BY BLACK-AM-I. ITS A NEW TUNE FROM BLACK-AM-I, ONE OF THE YOUNG ARTISTS CURRENTLY WORKING WITH GHETTO YOUTHS INTERNATIONAL. "IN THE GHETTO MORE DANCE FI KEEP. LIFE ROUGH, ROUGH, ROUGH BUT THE MUSIC'S SWEET". LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS WEEKS VIDEO BY LEAVING YOUR COMMENTS BELOW.
