2016 Rewind – Happy New Year 2017

krazygyal

7 years ago

2016 Rewind: Jamworld876’s team reviews the past year and wishes you a Happy New Year 2017

2016 has passed and a new one is about to begin. In this article, we reminisce about the significant releases and events of the past year.

January 2016, a Dancehall new year is about to begin

“Kingston Town”, performed by Fantan Mojah in collaboration with Capleton and Turbulence, was released on 01/01/2016. Featured on Fantan Mojah’s fourth album “Soul Rasta”, which was released a week later on 01/08/2016.

February

On February 19^th, 2016, Agent Sasco releases his third studio album “Theory of Reggaetivity”, followed a week later by Sizzla’s highly anticipated Reggae album “876” and Ce’cile‘s album “Diary of a Journey”. A couple of days later, on February 29th, 2016, Natty unveiled his sophomore studio album “Release the Fear”. By the end of the month of February, Sound system pioneer Winstone “Merritone” Blake (11/19/1940 – 02/27/2016) died of complications of asthma at age 75 earlier this year.

Spring

As spring was about to begin, veteran Reggae artist Jimmy Riley (05/22/1947 – 03/23/2016), father of Tarrus Riley, passed away in New York, where he was undergoing treatment for cancer. At the end of the month of April, UK-based Reggae/Dancehall singjay Gappy Ranks aka Pelpa unveiled a new album entitled “Guide Me”. The, in May, Mr Vegas dissed Drake for not crediting Dancehall artists on his latest album “Views”, in the song entitled “Dancehall Pirate”. To wrap-up spring, Ziggy Marley released a self-titled album on May 20th.

June

Summer was about to come. It was getting hotter. And, the controversial Dancehall Deejay Vybz Kartel intended to dethrone the self-titled king of the Dancehall, Beenie Man, with a brand-new album entitled “King of The Dancehall”. However, while some were having fun and preparing for the summer vacation, Konshens had to cope with the loss of his brother Delus (06/18/1981 – 06/22/2016). On June 24th, Ky-mani Marley and Gentleman released the duet album “Conversations”.

Summertime

In July, in Germany, one of the biggest european Reggae event, the SummerJam Festival, was held in Cologne. Then, the annual Reggae Sumfest took place in Montego Bay, Jamaica. In the continuity with his 2011 album “Revelation Pt. I: The Root of Life”, Stephen Marley released “Revelation Pt. II: “The Fruit of Life” on July 22nd. In august, the Reggae Geel was held in Belgium and the Rototom Reggae Sunsplash in Benicassim, Spain.

September: Back to work

Sad news for the Reggae music industry. Born, Cecil Bustamente Campbell OD (05/24/1938 – 09/08/2016), the pioneer of Ska and Reggae music, Prince Buster died at age 78. Jah9 releases her second album, the 9-track record entitled “9”, on September 9th, 2016. A week later, Beenie Man unveils his new album titled “Unstoppable”. Then at the end of the month, Ward 21 released an EP titled “Power Surge”.

October

The 35th IRAWMA ceremony took place on October 2nd. Morgan Heritage won the Best Album Award for their latest record “Strictly Roots”. Chris Martin was picked Best Male Vocalist, Etana: Best Female Vocalist, Vybz Kartel: Best Male Deejay and Spice: Best Female Deejay, to mention a few. About a week later, Jamaican trumpeter Bobby Ellis (07/02/1932 – 10/18/2016) died at age 84. Then, producer Lloyd Campbell, known for the “Fingerprint Riddim”, died at age 68 after a 10 year-long battle against cancer.

2016 is about to end

A museum was inaugurated in honor of Peter Tosh in Kingston Jamaica on November 1st. Imprisoned Dancehall artist Vybz Kartel has been transferred to maximum security Tower Street Adult Correctional Center. Meanwhile, Capleton was touring in Europe. He rocked La Cigale in Paris on November 14th. A couple days later, J Boog released his third album “Wash House Ting”. For the first time since 1983, the annual Reggae Dancehall festival Sting held in Portmore, Jamaica was cancelled. It was reported that the event will be held in the form of an award ceremony from now on.

What’s coming up for next year?

So far, so good it has just begun. Like every year, Rebel Salute will be held in St Ann, Jamaica. Queen Ifrica has planned to release her long-awaited third album. Much more music is to come. So, I wish you all a happy new year and my best wishes for 2017. Thank you all for your continued support throughout all these years. Bless.