Reggae & Dancehall #23
Every month, Reshma B drops a little sunshine-lifted joy into the Clash inbox, and we’re always happy to share her latest Reggae & Dancehall round-up with you lovely reader types. And so…
NEWS
Vybz Kartel has beaten his first murder case. The acquittal comes as something of a shock as Kartel’s been behind bars for so long it was starting to feel like he would never make it out.
But on July 24th a Jamaican Supreme Court judge rejected two questionable witness statements in the 2011 shooting of Barrington ‘Bossy’ Burton. The judge ruled that police have failed to make their case after keeping ‘the Werlboss’ in custody for almost two years.
The second murder case – for the beating of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams – will be tried in November. According to the DJ’s lawyer, Christian Tavares-Finson, that case should be the easier of the two to defend.
In keeping with the trend of hip-hop/reggae mash-ups, on August 5th the Harlem collective A$AP Mob gathered in downtown NYC for a showcase of A$AP Ferg’s (pictured) new album, ‘Trap Lord’.
Upon arrival, A$AP Rocky took to the mic to address the audience before he took off in a private jet just in time to join Drake at OVO Fest in Toronto.
Between gunshot sounds, Ferg romanced the crowd as they tanked up on Henny cocktails, DJing the album’s complete tracklist from his laptop and breaking down who did what behind the scenes.
Considering his Trinidadian origins, it’s no surprise that Ferg’s album has an all-around island edge. Proud Mob boss A$AP Yams took time out to tell nonbelievers to “kiss my ass”.
Closing out in style, the mob partied to Ferg’s track ‘Shabba’ featuring A$AP Rocky. Check out Ferg chatting about why he chose to devote a song to the dancehall icon Shabba Ranks and what to expect from the rest of ‘Trap Lord’, just recently released.
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