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Bob Marley's lyrics, written nearly 30 years ago, ring true today more than ever. There is a
natural mystic blowing through the air, but unless you've been living under a rock, you don't
have to listen too closely to know that a conscious dancehall movement has been underway.
Conscious messengers like I Wayne, Fantan Mojah, Jah Cure, Chuck Fenda, Fyah Blaze and Richie
Spice have consistently occupied the top Jamaican chart spots in 2005...
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Mug shots, stats, background and quotes from Jeffrey Campbell AKA "Assassin", Dameon Beckett AKA "Cham",
Tilmann Otto AKA "Gentleman", Anthony Kelly AKA "Tony 'CD' Kelly", Rodney Price AKA "Bounty Killer",
Roahaun Clarke, Craig Thompson, Allistaire McCalla, Xavier Davidson, AKA "T.O.K.",
AKA "Bay C", "Craig T", "Alex" and "Flex".
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While the mainstream media fixated on the Michael Jackson child molestation trial, Britney Spears'
burgeoning belly and the debate over homophobia in dancehall music and culture, a powerful underground
music revolution that begin the 1990s was thriving. It was called reggaeton -- a combination of
influences from dancehall-reggae, hip-hop, Latin infusions and soca...
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The Jamaican entertainment phenomenon known as the sound system dates back to the early 1950s.
To satisfy the needs of hungy music lovers legendary producers such as Coxson Dodd, Duke Reid
and Prince Buster established outdoor discos to showcase their extensive collections of records.
At the dances people could gain entrance for a very modest fee and thereby enjoy the "wickedest
tune around town".
The records played at the sound systems at that time were 7" vinyl singles and since the artists
only got paid for the A-side, the B-side was just issued as an instrumental version on the flip
side. These B-sides in the 1970s were becoming more and more popular in Jamaica, and creative
producers like King Tubby, Lee "Scratch" Perry and many more started to experiment with these
instrumental parts, founding the special dub music which today is regarded as a music form of its
own...
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