Too hot not to get it out to the people.

Spragga gets down with Shabba, Kardinal Offishal, and Swizz Beats on this one, over the beat produced By DJ J Buttah. Check out the audio below…

Off the forthcoming, aforementioned Shotta Culture album, due 8/31.

Following up on my post a couple of weeks back, check out The FADER‘s Shabba-themed podcast, that accompanies their recent Shabba cover, below…

Yes, that Shabba; the ranking one. I am gonna have to keep this column dumb-short just to make room for the dumb-long tracklisting, still only a narrow core-sample of Shabba’s deep and broad 45-ography. I tried to drill through a good cross-section of his work with different producers from different eras, mostly avoiding the video joints and trying to include a few later/leftfield gems that are not necessarily part of the dancehall canon, either. And then I added a few associated jams and tributary Panamanian and Punjabi riddims to provide some context, give an idea of dude’s impact globally (you can even find samples of Shabba’s trademark ugh! On Egyptian pop records from the early ’90s) and make it a proper Ghetto Palms mix.

Download it here: Ghetto Palms 99: Shabba!.

Also, check out the full feature here.

Tracklisting is after the jump….

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The FADER trips back to a time when Shabba ruled the tube and radio with their latest issue. Check out the details on their Icon Issue, which it also features rocker Siouxsie Sioux, below…

Around the same time in the early ’90s, MTV’s 120 Minutes replayed the macabre clip for Siouxsie & the Banshees’ “Cities in Dust” while Shabba Ranks’ “Mr. Loverman” entered heavy rotation. The latter featured Ranks riding king-like on a raft across a Jamaican waterway among a gaggle of girls. In an era when MTV had musical impact, these two ruled the airwaves as unlikely royalty: Siouxsie Sioux the smoldering goddess of the underworld, Shabba cutting a stoic figure across maniacal crossover dancehall. Each brought their own explosive styles to a culture that had never seen anything quite like them—the dark dynamics of stately post-punk and a groundbreaking entry to global airwaves by Jamaica’s newest sound.

Siouxsie Sioux and Shabba Ranks, besides individually upheaving the musical landscapes of their time, can both be heard in copious new music we love right now. So, rather than pretending we weren’t equally passionate for both, for the first time ever, we chose two cover icons. To properly honor each of them, we printed four covers and split them fifty-fifty. And while the duo might initially seem like opposing forces, you just have to look at the artists featured throughout this issue to see how perfectly they intersect: from Santigold to Ikonika, RZA to Dave Sitek, Dum Dum Girls to Cassette Playa, Vybz Kartel to Tego Calderon, while tracing their legacies we found exactly how fiercely today’s musical and cultural climate reflects the dovetailing forces of the king of dancehall and the queen post-punk.

Read more on the new issue here.

Download the full issue in PDF format here, or snag it on iTunes by clicking here.

Shabba, Barrington Levy, Admiral Baily & Tiger tonight at Club Amazura in Queens.

Click here for more info.

Via The Heatwave, comes this hour-long starter kit on Dancehall Reggae for all those who may need it. This follows up their celebration of Sleng Teng’s anniversary a few weeks back. Great way to start the week, I say.

Check out the mix and details below…

I couldn’t quite keep it to one tune per year as I was also trying to make sure that all the key artists from this period were represented. I think I did pretty well in the end but I’m sure I left out some notable vocalists. I KNOW that there are hundreds of BIG TUNES that didn’t get featured.

I suppose there’s always someone who gets left out at a birthday party. Big up Lady Saw, Kiprich, Cecile, TOK, Terry Ganzie, Serani, Spice and all the other artists whose invites got lost in the post.

So here’s The Heatwave’s history lesson aka bashment birthday party. 25 years of dancehall. As Benjamin points out at some point, this is one for the iPod.

Download it here: Via The Heatwave: 25 Years of Dancehall.

Tracklisting after the jump…

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Why? Why not.

Vintage footage from a Stone Love throwdown at the old Biltmore Ballroom in Flatbush, Brooklyn featuring Junior Demus, Little Twitch, Ninjaman, Major Mackarel, Shabba Ranks and more. Check out the video below…

Parts 2-6 after the jump…

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While Shabba Ranks is no longer a big figure in the Dancehall scene anymore he is still around and involved in music. Check out the recent interview where Shabba talks about his plan for the future, the debate on censorship in Jamaica, the death of MJ and more…

More after the jump…
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