Toppa Top 10: Ten New + Current Artists WIth Caribbean Roots
A look at 10 artists with Caribbean roots currently making a mark in the broader music world, from FKA Twigs to Bobby Shmurda.
Now Things: An Interview with Liam Bailey
Words by Kieran K. Meadows, Photos by Kevin Ornelas—
One of our top artists to watch for 2014, Liam Bailey became a LargeUp favorite last year with his feature on drum-and-bass kingpin Shy FX’s lovers ... Read More...
Toppa Top 14: LargeUp’s Guide to South by Southwest 2014
Words by Kieran Meadows, Natalie Weiner and Jesse Serwer—
It's the time of the year when the music industry decamps to Austin, Texas to spend a week catching up on the best sounds from all around the w... Read More...
Toppa Top 21: 21 Artists To Watch For 2014
Words by LargeUp Crew, Photo by Martei Korley—
A year ago, the LargeUp braintrust sat down and selected ten "Artists to Watch" for 2013. Not every pick delivered on their promise, but our top choice, Chron... Read More...
Toppa Top 10: The Best Reggae Tunes of 2013
Words by LargeUp Crew, Photo by Martei Korley—
Reggae returned in a big way in 2013, dominating the musical conversation out of Jamaica right from the first week of the year. That was when we named Chr... Read More...
Badda Don Dada: Ward 21 Channel Super Cat on “Mic Magician”
Words by DJ Autograph—
I might be a Jamaican but my introduction to Ward 21’s “Mic Magician” is a fortunate and direct result of my current effort to learn Swedish. I was listening to Safari Sound’s show o... Read More...
Throwback Thursdays: Marky Mark + Prince Ital Joe Chant Down “Babylon”
Words by Jesse Serwer—
Credibility in hip-hop didn't always come as easy as it does now. Just ask Vanilla Ice. A pre-Hollywood Mark Wahlberg, then known as Marky Mark, was no exception—even though the na... Read More...
Top Honors: Ini Kamoze
Words by Jesse Serwer—
Many know Ini Kamoze from "Here Comes the Hotstepper," the massive reggae/hip-hop crossover single from 1994. Others may recognize his as the voice sampled by Damian Marley ("Out i... Read More...
Toppa Top 10: Raggamuffin Gangster Rap
Words by Jesse Serwer—
Back when Shabba and Super Cat were killing the game in the early '90s, the influence of dancehall could be felt throughout hip-hop. While East Coast rappers with Caribbean backg... Read More...
Throwback Thursdays: DJ Treats on Ms. Dynamite’s “A Little Deeper”
Words by Richard "Treats" Dryden—
DJ Treats returns with another illuminating Throwback Thursdays post. In addition to LargeUp, you can see his work in Complex, Mass Appeal and other fine publications, and... Read More...
Instant Vintage: Shy FX + Liam Bailey Conjure Dennis Brown on “Soon Come”
Words by Jesse Serwer—
We beseech thee for a late pass.
We slept on the news a few months back that U.K. drum and bass/jungle don (and "Original Nuttah") Shy FX would be returning with a straight-up r... Read More...
Heds & Dreds: A History of Funkmaster Flex + Dancehall
Words by Jesse Serwer—
New York radio don Funkmaster Flex recently dropped his first mixtape in a decade, Who You Mad At? Me or Yourself? and he saved the best for last, unleashing a pair of new danceh... Read More...