Janine Cunningham Introduces Jamaica to Jazz on Dub.
Old school blues improvisation meets hard hitting lyrical prowess in a rich imaginative blend of vocal clarity and complexity. Janine brings her refreshing mix of contemporary and conscious poetry to the stage and delivers a mature, sophisticated style and a unique and captivating energy all of her own. She sites the influences of musical stylings from Billie Holiday and Nina Simone to Augustus Pablo and Sizzla Kalongi.
As a singer/songwriter, Janine touches on issues ranging from social injustice, violence, politics and gender to intimate matters of the heart, mind and spirit. Janine a.k.a. ‘Jah9’ has emerged over the last year, almost unknown and has earned the hearts and respect of her peers and audiences with each encounter.
‘Jazz on Dub’ is the sound she is currently working to create - a mix of her two favourite music forms. She intends to take her word sounds to the world, entertaining and inspiring all along the way.
This fusion is all Jamaican and this young woman is full to the brim and pouring her heart out.
Links to Janine:
Facebook
Jamaican rappers in clash
Rapper Kyle Poole aka Six takes it to rapper Chillum. - Fabian Ledgister photos
Another lyrical confrontationcould turn ugly after a feud between local rap artistes came to a head at the Chaotic live hip-hop show, held at Endless Studio in Cross Roads on Saturday night.
Although the event showcased a slew of local rap talent in an authentically underground atmosphere that heightened the 'rap battle' feel, a true battle brewed beneath the surface.
A delay in the event was easily forgotten, as disc jockey Shane 'the fire starter' kept the vibes pumping with '90s hip-hop hits like What, What by Noreaga and Roc Da Mic by Freeway and Memphis Bleek.
As selections kept the mediocre turnout dancing, an impromptu mini-show took place on a nearby balcony, as anxious artistes began to freestyle.
The performance line-up began quite impressively, as local rapper Six took charge of the microphone with songs like Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy - using the catchy line from the cult classic film Scarface - to throw words at some unknown nemesis.
The night would later reveal that nemesis to be his former friend-turned-enemy, Chillum.
"When I met this guy, he told me his mother and father were in jail, but that same day we went to Half-Way Tree and met his mother. Our friendship ended, but now he's telling me the beef is over and then telling this girl to go and do a diss record," said a melancholic Six after his performance.
Unforgiving
Although Six opted not to do most of the diss track, his lyrical enemy, Chillum, was not so forgiving, instead unleashing an all-out verbal assault on Six later in the night, to the delight of patrons.
Chillum continued his tirade before he dropped diss tracks including Life's Hard, where he attacked Six.
"This going on for some time now, but we squash the beef and a girl in my crew didn't know the beef squash and did a diss song. So now he's talkingagain. He needs to know a me mek him get inna dis hip-hop ting, and him fi know is music," said Chillum.
But Six may have taken Chillum quite seriously, as he could be seen after the event waiting at the gate with a number of persons. However, they left less than a minute before Chillum and his posse made their way out of the venue.
Other memorable acts for the night included Scantana, Bebble Team, Godz and 16-year-old dancer and rapper, Sumoya Smith, who took the night with her hip-hop dance-and-rap combo performance.
Most local rappers that night could be heard melding their own Jamaican patois with their learnt hip-hop Ebonics. They have essentially created an interesting sound some view as the birth of a new musical genre.
Event promoter, Nykkiicia Cion of Simple Chaos, described the event as having met some of her expectations.
"These hip-hop live shows have been staged by us since 2007 to give the young rappers a chance to showcase their talent, but I wanted to find a venue that would convey the underground authenticity that I wanted, and the Endless Studio was perfect, but not enough sponsors are seeing the vision and the potential of hip hop in Jamaica," Nykkiicia told The STAR.
Rapper Chillum delivers a heated stint at Chaotic, which was held at Endless Studio in Cross Roads on Saturday.
Montana - The Man behind The Mystic Routes
Mystic Routes believes music is the medium through which people can be uplifted and educated. His journey to positive change and inspiration started in 2000 when he left his job as an accountant to become a student of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts' Music School.
It was at Edna Manley that he formed his own identity as a contemporary reggae singer/musician and met the industry players (such as Ibo Cooper, former keyboard player and band leader of Third World), who would mold his outlook on music in general. Through his affiliation with Ibo Cooper, Mystic Routes became the lead singer of the spin-off band for Third World known as Reggae Ambassadors in 2001, then went on to become lead singer for C-Sharp between 2002/2003.
Since leaving the school in 2003, Mystic Routes has gone on to work with some of the most influential persons in the music industry such as musician/producer, Dean Fraser; singer/producer/songwriter, Duane Stephenson; producer/songwriter Mikey Bennett and has done background vocals for recording artistes Tarrus Riley, Sizzla Kalonji and Anthony B as well as Teflon, Bob Andy and Luciano. In addition to this, he has also performed back-up vocals for Etana, Marcia Griffiths, Nadine Sutherland and Wayne Marshall to name a few. In 2007, Mystic Routes opened for Tony Rebel, Queen Ifrica and Warrior King on their 3-week European summer tour. Among his various private corporate events, Mystic Routes has recently performed at the Seh Sup'n poetry at the Village Blues Bar, Simple Chaos Entertainment's WordPlay as well as the nationally acclaimed 'Stars R Us'.
Links to Mystic Routes:
- Myspace
- Facebook
- ReverbNation
- Email and Tel: - mysticroutes@gmail.com/876-434-5568.
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