You no longer have to ask “What ever happened to…?” After dominating the scene in the 90’s, Dancehall songstress Patra is back on her grind, releasing new music and telling her story. And, honestly, she looks like she hasn’t aged a bit.

Check the story below…

For years, “What ever happened to Patra?” has been one of the great mysteries of dancehall music. The “Queen of the Pack” had a run of crossover hits in the early and mid ’90s including “Romantic Call,” “Worker Man” and “Pull Up to the Bumper,” but after her sophomore album Scent of Attraction in 1995, she essentially disappeared from the scene. (Though she did release two, very below-the-radar albums in the 2000s— 2003?s The Great Escape and 2005?s Where I’ve Been) Recently, after turning up on the bill for a show at BB King’s Blues Club in New York City, we learned that Patra was back in the studio, working on a new album and plotting a comeback. Last month, Tiffany Rhodes of bad-gyal spandex label Butch Diva invited us to meet the elusive singer, whom she’d landed as a model for her fall line, as they prepped for a catalog shoot at Tiffany’s studio in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. In one of her first interviews in years, Patra spoke with us (wearing the transparent lace shirt you see in these photos) about everything from her iconic braids and her fashion choices to her days as the “female Shabba Ranks,” her departure from the music business and what she’s been up to all these years. Patra isn’t one to give away secrets, though. She might be on Twitter now, but this is one lady who values having an air of mystery about her.

Read the full interview here: Large Up » Long Time Yuh Nuh Call: Exclusive Q+A with Patra (+ Web Exclusive “Bad In A Bed” Stream).

The folks over at LargeUp chop it up with the young crooner and horn player, Aloe Blacc, on his heritage and music to date.

Check out the intro below…

When we conceived of the idea for our Now Things series focusing on cutting-edge artists across all genre boundaries who happen to have roots in the Caribbean, Aloe Blacc was the artist we had in mind. In the time since we first got hyped about his eclectic catalog of soul, rap and salsa, he has gone on quite a rampage of world domination, performing on Jimmy Fallon, taking a Gold record in France and storming the UK charts with his HBO-placed single “I Need A Dollar” (currently at #3). Although much of the buzz has been about that particular song, Aloe’s versatility as a writer and performer gets clearer and clearer, whether he’s singing about Panama on “Patria Mia” (below), translating John Legend into Spanish or putting down his own reggae cover onstage in Germany. In the midst of that whirlwind, and right before he was set to bring his long-running, Sunday afternoon Los Angeles party The Do-Over to Puerto Rico, Aloe spent the better part of a mellow, thoughtful afternoon to sit in the sun with us at Habana Outpost in Brooklyn and go deep on his Panamanian roots, his Stones Throw LP Good Things and all the unwritten chapters of the book called Aloe Blacc.

Read the full interview here: Large Up » Now Things: Exclusive Aloe Blacc Interview

Tarrus Riley is quickly becoming one of the more popular voices in Reggae. The folks at Large Up have recognized this as well, having collaborated on his new video “Shaka Zulu Pickney.” Check out the video and info below…

TOK’s Bay-C launched his Nyabinghi riddim this Sunday gone, providing an antidote to the cookie-cutter releases of the day. That’s doubly true during Black History Month, when something as grounded as a Nyabinghi riddim connects on a deep emotional level. Among the artists in the juggling is the late JOE, who tragically passed away from a brain aneurysm a few hours after performing his song “Rasta Chant” at the riddim release party. RIP, JOE – you definitely went out on a high note. Other artists on the compilation include TOK, Shane-O and the man called Singy-Singy: Tarrus Riley.

Never one to back down from a cultural theme Tarrus joined forces with Storm Saulter and New Caribbean Cinema for an epic video shoot. The video juxtaposes costumed ancestors with ordinary Jamaicans in everyday situations, resulting in some powerful images. This type of imagery is very rare in modern Jamaica, where roots reggae has long since been eclipsed by dancehall in informing the visual language of the day. It invites Jamaicans to explore and embrace their heritage in a very tangible way. The video premiered, not surprisingly, to thunderous applause at Kingston’s Studio 38 venue…maybe in part because it doesn’t seem too far fetched that Marcus Garvey or Shaka Zulu could actually be spotted somewhere down on Orange Street. So in the spirit of Black History Month and just because we love anything which uplifts and improves, we plugged the behind the scenes footage about the project and a pictorial as well….

Check out their full feature here: Large Up » New Video: Tarrus Riley is ‘Shaka Zulu Pickney’.

A behind the scenes video awaits after the jump…

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The folks at LargeUp have posted a great feature with Belizian artist Hubert Neal, Jr. discussing his 26-piece show The Dudus Chronicles which is currently showing at the Grosvenor Galleries in Kingston, JA. Check out the details below…

When Belizean artist Hubert Neal, Jr. arrived in Kingston, Jamaica on May 20, 2010 to start a residency at Melinda Brown’s Roktowa studio, he had plans to paint Jamaica. Three days later, the military and police invaded Tivoli Gardens in hot pursuit of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, a man who had been, for months, wanted for extradition by the United States of America. The hunt for Coke and its accompanying media coverage was impossible to ignore, and Neal began to paint. The results of this process was a series of twenty-six works titled The Dudus Chronicles, on display now at the Grosvenor Galleries in Kingston. It’s colorful and varied–but also quite disturbing, never shying away from depicting the violence that accompanied the search for Dudus. Largeup caught up with Neal during his last few days in Jamaica to talk about his process, his work, and his position as an outsider looking in.

Images of a few of his paintings are below…

Read the full interview here: Large Up » Drawing Dudus: Exclusive Interview with Hubert Neal, Jr..

On what would have been his 85th Birthday, Large Up take a look at the little-known Caribbean roots of Malcolm X.

Check out the full feature here: Large Up » Caribbean Roots: Malcolm X.

On the heels of the Nas/Damian Marley collabo set to hit stores tomorrow, Okayplayer’s Caribbean arm, Large Up, takes a look at some of the best Hip-Hop/Rap link ups over the years.

Check out the full feature here: Large Up >> Toppa Top 10: Rapper/Deejay Collabos.

..and check out my personal fave below…

Also, who knew Lil’ Jon produced this?

Sickinhead was featured on a LargeUp interview where he broke down his style and origin into the Dancehall sceen.