Posts tagged: ToppaTop10

Toppa Top 8: Don Corleon Selects His Favorite Dub Records + Exclusive Interview

June 21, 2011

Words by Jesse Serwer

Donovan “Don Corleon” Bennett’s Dub in HD, out today on iTunes, Amazon and other online music retailers, is the first dub album by a major Jamaican producer that we’ve heard of in years. Corleon, the producer behind some of the largest riddims of the last decade, told us the project is meant not as a money-making proposition but specifically to expose the next generation of reggae/dancehall fans and producers to the sound and technique. We quizzed Corleon about the project, but–this being Toppa Top 10 Tuesdays and all—first we asked him to break down some of his all-time favorite dub LPs.

Tags:Aswad, Augustus Pablo, Chalawa, Don Corleon, Dub, Jah Shaka, King Tubby's, Mad Professor, Protoje, Scientist, Sly and Robbie, ToppaTop10

Bless Up, Mi Dads: Ten Current Caribbean Artists and Their Musical Fathers

June 14, 2011

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Words by Jesse Serwer

When you think of kids carrying on their father’s musical legacy, the Marley family is, rightfully, probably the first to come to mind. And if you’re talking about current reggae/dancehall music, you have to acknowledge the McGregor clan, with siblings Stephen, Chino and Shema all carrying on the Big Ship banner begun by their still-active father, Freddie McGregor. With Father’s Day coming up this Sunday, it got us wondering: who are some of the other current Caribbean artists and producers with influential musical fathers behind them? As many “mama” tunes as there are in reggae, dancehall and other genres, tributes to fathers are rare. Here’s 10 names we’re guessing you may know, and 10 reasons why you should also know their fathers–if you’re not up on the connections already.

Tags:Big Ship, Chino, Da'ville, Derrick Morgan, Errol "E.T." Thompson, Errol Brown, Esco, Fay-Ann Lyons, Freddie McGregor, Jah Thomas, Jimmy Riley, Judy Mowatt, Juke Boxx, Laza Morgan, Leftside, Lloyd Parks, Marcia Griffiths, Morgan Heritage, Queen Ifrika, Salaam Remi, Shane Brown, Shema McGregor, Stephen McGregor, Superblue, T-Vice, Tarrus Riley, ToppaTop10, Van Gibbs

Burning & Looting: Top 10 Actual Pirates Of The Caribbean

May 25, 2011

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Words by Jason “J-Rockaz” Orford and Eddie STATS Houghton

If you live anyplace which receives TV signals from Earth, you are probably aware that the new Pirates of The Caribbean movie, On Stranger Tides, opened this past Friday because it was actually bigger news than The Apocalypse (which premiered Saturday to disappointing box office turnout.) Of course this just confirmed our own irrational belief-system here at LargeUp, which revolves around the idea that all gigantic pop culture phenomena actually start in the Caribbean.Well, then. Here is our top 10 list of the original gun-pon-teeth badmen, the real-life, self-made maritime gangstas who inspired the Disney World ride turned Johnny Depp movie franchise.

Tags:Anne Bonny, Bahamas, Black Bart, Black Caesar, Blackbeard, Captain Morgan, Disney, Hendrick Quintor, Henry Morgan, Jamaica, John Julien, John King, Mary Read, pirates, Pirates of the Caribbean, Samuel Bellamy, ToppaTop10

Toppa Top 10: Biggie’s 10 Best Jamaican References

May 17, 2011

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Words by Jesse Serwer

This Saturday, May 21, would be the 39th birthday birthday of one Christopher Wallace. Every Biggie fan knows he was Jamaican, but lesser known is the degree to which patois dialect and dancehall music informed his lyrics. While some instances are dead obvious—stop your bloodclot crying—others require some more explanation. In the spirit of the late Frank White, we figured we’d hit you with a little Biggie 101, so those that don’t know… now you know.

Tags:Bam Bam, Barrington Levy, Biggie Smalls, Diana King, Don dada, Jamaica, Jamaican rum, Junior M.A.F.I.A., lamb's bread, Maddy Maddy Cry, Panhead, Papa San, patois, Patra, Sadat X, Sister Nancy, slang, Supercat, The Notorious B.I.G., ToppaTop10, Wray & Nephew

Toppa Top 10: Top 10 Summertime Reggae Festivals

May 10, 2011

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Words by DJ Gravy and Jesse Serwer

Vybz Kartel at last year's Reggae Sumfest

Summertime only means one thing for many music fans: mammoth outdoor festivals. These events are particularly important in the world of reggae, considering the association people outside the Caribbean make between Jamaican music and warm weather, sunshine and general good-time vibes. So while there’s a small handful of important wintertime events in the Caribbean like Sting, almost every reggae/dancehall fest worth its salt(fish) falls between May and September. Here’s our picks for the best summertime fests around the US, the Caribbean and the globe.

Tags:Best of the Best, Jazz Reggae Fest, One Love Peace Festival, Reggae Festivals, Reggae on the River, Reggae Sumfest, Reggae Summerjam, Rototom Sunsplash, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, St. Kitts Music Festival, ToppaTop10, Uppsala Reggae Festival