Video: Wyclef Jean f. Mavado, “Hold On”
- story Peter Macia
It’s been a rough 2010 for Wyclef so far: first and most obvious, he’s had to deal with the actual tragedy of his home country’s devastation, and then, he’s had to defend against accusations that his non-profit organization to aid said home country is not on the up and up. We don’t know enough about Yéle to tell you what to do or not do, but we can tell you to keep giving to whatever organization you trust to spend your donations to Haiti properly. Most of the world will inevitably move on to some other priority, but the need will remain. It would be good to see more collaborations like this one to keep the light on conditions not just in Haiti right now but everywhere at all times. Natural disasters should not be the only time we pay attention. So yeah, give to Haiti, but don’t let that be the end of your engagement.
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posted on Jan 25, 2010 in MUSIC VIDEO
Video: Busy Signal, “Nightshift/One More Night”
This video is the best underdog-gets-girl movie since that Patrick Dempsey film from the ’80s where he’s like, a nerd, then turns cool thanks to that popular chick. Extremely appropriate for a combo track with Busy interpolating The Commodores and Phil mofo’ing Collins to a reggae track. Also weird: now we are wondering what goes on in our office building afterhours when we’re not here. Is Sal the door guy getting it in? Okay, we’re not gonna think about that for now. (via Imagelala)
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posted on Jan 25, 2010 in MUSIC VIDEO
Nas and Damian Marley, “Strong Will Continue” MP3
- story Matthew Schnipper
That’s either a Rihanna imitator or a crew of prepubescent boys on the chorus. Nas and Damian Marley’s new track from their upcoming album as a duo, Distant Relatives, (a Best of Both Worlds for our times?), is definitely on a searing Lenny Kravitz guitar tip. The intro also sounds strongly of Christmas music. We’re a long way from Queensbridge. Not too far from Jamaica. Maybe we’re just off the coast of Florida. That’s about right. Rumor is they are changing the name of the album to Sanibel Island.
Download: Nas and Damian Marley, “Strong Will Continue”
Ghetto Palms 85: Haiti: Bidonville Palms
- story Eddie "Stats" Houghton
- photo John Francis Peters
As a recognized fake Jamaican it is with some pride that I have noted the swiftness and lack of hesitation that West Indians in general and Jamaicans in particular jumped in to help out Haiti in their hour of need. But even in Jamaica, where the pace of music production is always set to rapid-fire—Sizzla just released his 39th album by my count, and I’m pretty sure I missed a few—it takes doopses a week or so to write, record, mix and distribute a decent 45 documenting a natural disaster, expressing solidarity and examining the emotion of the moment. Which is why I’m doing the Bidonville Palms edition this week.
The photo above was taken by FADER photo-coordinator John Francis Peters while in Haiti in December 2009. You can see more of his work here and donate to Haiti via Partners in Health here.
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posted on Jan 21, 2010 in GHETTO PALMS
So Shifty, “Wine (Them Jeans RMX)” MP3
So Shifty’s “Wine” beat was the definition of wilding and also had the advantage of Kunley from Ward 21’s instantly memorable hook: “WINE HAR RUMP.” Hokay, no problem! Now, with the release of their instructive dance extended player “Wine Touch Clap” (also featuring Tifa, Timberlee and Nataie Storm), we can wine (h)our rumps to remixes by folks like Douster and Emynd. (Go here to stream a mix of all of them.) This is like a big FADER love-in, we would definitely go on weekend vacation with any of these people. This Them Jeans remix reimagines said wining as more of a hands-in-the-air-ing, a house track chopping up the vocals into an inspirational shout propelling the flash of synths.
Download: So Shifty, “Wine (Them Jeans RMX)”
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posted on Jan 20, 2010 in MP3 / STREAMS
Aziz Ansari Talks Up Skerrit Bwoy Pon De Jimmy Kimmel Show
Our worlds got a little smaller the other night when Aziz Ansari—comedian, actor and author of our current issue’s interview with Animal Collective—went on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and talked about Diplo—producer, DJ, Twitterer and F62 coverstar—and Skerrit Bwoy, star of Major Lazer’s “Pon de Floor” video, preeminent daggering artist, man who we frequently @ with on Twitterand dude we profiled in F54. This is starting to feel like Hands Across America! More importantly, we find it amazing that Skerrit is getting national attention for a dance that has caused an epidemic of broken wangs in Jamaica. Watch the clip above, wherein Aziz describes his fateful meeting with the boys in Australia, and check out DJ Gravy’s blog for some interesting anecdotes about Major Lazer. And remember: don’t try daggering at home unless you want your nutsack to resemble a Guinness Book-sized eggplant.
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posted on Jan 15, 2010 in ART+CULTURE VIDEO
Video: Machel Montano f. Lil Jon & Pitbull, “Floor on Fire”
You can never really go wrong with live footage from Carnival whether or not you’ve made a crunk soca anthem. It’s like free advertising for Trinidad… YES WE WANT TO COME WILD OUT WITH YOU, AND MAYBE WE’LL WEAR SOMETHING WITH FEATHERS ON IT. This isn’t the first time our one-time cover star Machel Montano has collabo’d with down-south dudes Lil Jon and Pitbull—they posse’d up on ’08s “The Anthem”—but this is definitely our favorite so far, Pit and Jon rising to the occasion of Machel’s cool staccato and the hurricane of bananasosity that makes the best soca music. Plus there is literally a floor on fire. (via Triniposse)
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posted on Jan 14, 2010 in MUSIC VIDEO
Busy Signal, “Pon Me (Pon de Floor Riddim)” MP3
- story Julianne Escobedo Shepherd
- photo Andrew Dosunmu (F56)
It came out so long ago we can’t remember if we heard anyone chat over Major Lazer’s indefatigable “Pon de Floor,” but chances are whoever did sucked yakballz compared to Busy Signal’s ferocious take. We didn’t think it could get any spazzier but Busy’s frenetic, wine-instructive cadence chops it up like a top chef and gives a song that ran our summer a brand new life. If “Pon de Floor” was the audio embodiment of Skerrit Bwoy daggering a lady off a ladder, this would be his Evel Kneivel/Man on Wire feat, a wild skydive of a thing.
Download: Busy Signal, “Pon Me” (via Imagelala)
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posted on Jan 5, 2010 in MP3 / STREAMS
Video: Vybz Kartel, “Unfaithful”
- story Peter Macia
Here’s what you gotta love about Vybz: at no time is he not willing to be an a-hole. With most male R&B—which this song can clearly be compared to—the singer plays the role of the scorned, winning the hearts and minds of lady listeners by playing the sympathy card. The women listen and say, “I would never do that to Ne-Yo” and the end result is Ne-Yo (or whoever) bones. Vybz on the other hand is like, “So I was boning this chick and you’re not gonna believe this BUT SHE WAS MARRIED and husband dude walked in on us and oh man was it funny.” And the women listen and say, “I would cheat on my crappy BF with Vybz” and the end result is Vybz bones. Only the difference is Vybz isn’t manipulating his female listeners’s minds to bone, he’s just putting his willingness to bone out there, which in the end is much more respectful. (via Riddim Mafia)
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posted on Jan 4, 2010 in MUSIC VIDEO
Ghetto Palms 83: Spider Web Riddim / Barrio Palms
- story Eddie "Stats" Houghton
- photo Andrew Dosunmu (F43)
Riddim of the week definitely goes to the Spider Web, a new mini-run from one of Kingston’s top female selectors, ZJ Sparks. It seems to be positioned as a soca look; the jump up fits into a recognizable ragga soca marching step and the stand-out tune features Macka Diamond tracing out all the various soca artists (Machel, Ziggy etc) who think they can handle her bumper. But the riddim starts off with an unmistakably cumbia-esque accordion lick and then settles into a synth vamp straight out of “Give it Up” or some other nuyorican house anthem circa 1994, placing it squarely in barrio palms jurisdiction. I like to think Ms. Sparks copped a grip of champeta dubs from some Colombian using Jamaica as a transshipment point, or maybe she happened to wake up that morning to the sounds of Toy Selectah throwing down a tribal guarachero set via FM waves bouncing across the gulf of Mexico from a Tejano pirate. I also like to believe she called herself “sparks” after the caffeinated alcoholic drank of the same name—so probably it’s a childhood nickname and she just read the cumbia villera article in FADER.
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posted on Dec 16, 2009 in GHETTO PALMS
