Posts tagged: The Mighty Diamonds

LargeUp TV: The Toppa Top 20 Weed Anthems, Pt. 2 (Hosted by Carlton Livingston)

April 20, 2013

Words by LargeUp Crew, Photo and Video by Jason Zucker—

Sure, hip-hop has The Chronic, “I Got 5 On It,” and Meth and Red’s entire catalog, but when it comes to weed-smoking anthems, reggae is king. With literally tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of reggae weed anthems to choose from, we selected some of our favorites and tapped the artist behind one of ‘em, Carlton “100 Weight of Collie Weed” Livingston, to run down the best of the best. Earlier this week, we rolled out numbers 20-11 in our first video. With 4/20 upon us, here’s the Toppa Top 10.

Tags:4/20, Barrington Levy, Bob Marley, Carlton Livingston, Collie Buzz, Collie Weed, Frankie Paul, herb, herbalists, John Holt, Kaya, Kush, Kushungpeng, Legalize It, Legalize the Herb, Marijuana, Pass the Kutchie, Peter Tosh, Reggae, Sizzla, Sizzla Kalonji, Smokers Anthems, Sugar Minott, The Mighty Diamonds, Weed, Weed Anthems, weed tunes

Visual Culture: Jamaican Dancehall Signs From the Collection of Maxine Walters

August 22, 2012

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Words by Jesse Serwer—

For the last 12 plus years, Jamaican film and TV producer Maxine Walters—she’s had her hand in most every major movie shot in JA over the last three decades, from The Mighty Quinn to Clara’s Heart— has been archiving and collecting one of Jamaica’s most unique and overlooked visual bounties: the vibrant, hand-painted signs found in public spaces across the island. Sturdy and technically illegal, these bold homemade advertisements are nailed to poles and trees everywhere from Half Way Tree to mountain villages, usually during the middle of the night, to promote grassroots events ranging from that weekend’s bashment party to the arrival in town of a pantomime play, or all-star reggae concert.

Tags:Dancehall, Dancehall Signs, Gregory Isaacts, Jah T Worldwide Entertainment, Jamaica, Jamaicans, John Holt, Ken Boothe, Kingston, Maxine Walters, Professor Nuts, The Mighty Diamonds, The Mighty Quinn

Toppa Top 10: Ten Reggae Tunes That Influenced Punk Rock (Selected by Earl Gateshead)

June 26, 2012

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Words by Earl Gateshead—

Tags:Big Youth, Bob Marley, Brixton, Denis Bovell, Dilinger, Dr. Alimantado, Earl Gateshead, Errol Dunkley, Junior Murvin, Lee Scratch Perry, London, Punk rock, Reggae, Subatomic Sound System, The Mighty Diamonds, Trojan Sound, U Roy

Throwback Thursdays: Omar, “There’s Nothing Like This”

May 26, 2011

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Words by Martei Korley

Hearing Omar sing over the staccato yet laid-back bass lines of ‘There’s Nothing Like This” for the first time circa 1990, “This cat’s got style” was the only thing that came to mind. He weaved an aural tapestry with the ease of a Ronald Isley, but with a very modern feel. Omar Lye-Fook rose to become a star of the UK soul scene with this song, continuing a family tradition. His Jamaican father was a bandleader and founded the imprint Kongo Records, on which “There’s Nothing Like It” was first released. Bringing things back full circle, the song’s riddim was subsequently used by none other than Junior Reid. The “One Blood” singer re-recorded The Mighty Diamonds performing “I Need A Roof” over the track on a remix for his J.R. Productions label, creating what was perhaps the first neo-soul mash-up to emerge from Jamaica. As was appropriate for such a wistful song, the sepia-toned video taps into the carefree feel of a childhood summer.

Tags:Junior Reid, Omar, Omar Lye-Fook, The Mighty Diamonds, UK soul