Mothers Day Celebration

Mothers Day Celebration with Taurus Riley and Pressure in Virginia

This week CBR had a wonderful opportunity to experience a special “Mothers Day Performance” in Chesapeake, Virginia. The show was held at the more than popular “Blakleys Night club”. Special shout to Humble Beginnings Promotions for producing a first class, exciting, extraordinary event! CBR staff would also like to send a special Big up’s to westIndiantimes.net, Tiney Winey, Diva Squad, J.A Diamond, Sweet Pashun, Tye , Famous, Sexy Trini and Quick draw from Bassline Sound.

It was around 11pm when CBR members arrived at the event. The crowd was very impressive but not unexpected because Taurus Riley and Pressure were the crooners who were going to sing some of reggae music biggest contemporary hits. Adonai, “The sound of the future” was playing and the crowd responded to every word that was uttered and every tune that played. The sound system was provided by “Huble Beginnings” promotions and the machine was tuned to perfection. Virginia has one of the most participatory fan bases in the entire U.S. The vibes were right and the stage was set for the evening main attractions everyone including CBR staff and members were ready.

Swinger from” Crazy Love” sound took the stage made a few announcements and proceeded to “Bun a serious fire” while Quick draw of Bassline played some original sing along tune. It sounded as if every voice in Blakleys was in sync at that moment. Nice job by Bassline and Crazy Love. Show time now Pressure took the stage first and the crowd roared. CBR.com members were astonished to see the response from the fans, knowing every word of every song that Pressure delivered. This is likely because VA has a strong Virgin Island community and Pressure is from the Virgin Islands. After Pressure wooed the audience for a good thirty five minutes or so he wasted no time by taking the fan to the next level by introducing the man that everyone was anxiously awaiting and VA was prepared. They had whined, Tek-wey dem selves, Gully Walked, Willie bounced and sang to get this point of the evening. Taurus sang like he was singing for his mother and all of the mothers in the world! His heart and soul were behind every word that came out of his mouth. One of the memorable highlights of the night was when Taurus gave a speech about Rasta don’t mix up with politics but I quote his words “I don’t know about you but I would love to see a black president” and began to sing a tune titled “Black President we want a Black President”, forward –forward pull up that! Wicked tune, Bad tune pull up that tune 4 times to say the least. The last tune that Taurus sang was everybody’s favorite. When the music for “She’s Royal” started, the floor in Blakleys began to shake! The chorus and 1st verse was sung by the crowd. The thune forwarded at least 5 times. When the VA finally allowed Taurus to voice the song, all you hear coming out of the speakers was “Let Me give you some love and affection” Pressure took the stage and history was made in VA. Everyone was surprised to see Pressure take the stage with Taurus and bust the place again! His timing was right, they had to practice that routine before. Nevertheless, everyone in Blakleys loved it!

After all "Virginia is for lovers" and CBR loved it as well. What a night in VA like many others before this one and many that will follow and CBR.com will be right there to keep the world up to the times!

What a night in VA like many others before this one and many that will follow and CBR will be right there to tell you way the people a (chat bout) in real time!

The Return of the Don Dadda

On Saturday July 29th, Washington, DC played host to an historical Reggae event. All who were in attendance including CBR were extremely surprised by the turn of events and the talk will continue on for years to follow.

Mr. Don Dada, The Wild Apachie, Mr. Super Cat himself performed a live concert in Washington, DC at Zanzibar on the Waterfront. Also, veteran Jr. Demus, who has performed with “The Wild Apachie” for years followed suit at Zanzibar. Mr. Demus thrilled the crowd with his famous “One Drop” style and received what seemed to be continuous forward. When Super Cat took the stage the crowd gave the “Don Dada” a response that showed their respect and the fact that Washington, DC has missed Mr. Cat for 10 years. He performed all of his hits and the patrons showed their love. The Don Dada also gave “Big Ups” to Sean Paul dispelling the rumor that he and Sean Paul are nemesis. Cat showed admiration for Dutty Cup and as far as the beef is concerned Cat said “We don’t kill champions, we raise champions. As if Cats’ 10 year return to Washington, DC was not enough, in the middle of the performance Mr. Rexton Rawlston himself, that’s right Shaba Ranks takes the stage. The crowd exploded with forward and the horns-men were present. Shaba performed some of hits like “Can Dun”, Dem Bow and “Ting a ling” and women responded by throwing their Bras on the stage. Shaba was joined by veteran DJ Wickerman and singer Xanadu from New York City.

The sounds that built up the fire were Raw Deal from Baltimore, Revolution and Emperor from DC and Glama G of Spanishtown, Jamaica. The promoters did a top class job in selecting these sounds for this historical event. Every sound built a fire and the next sound just added more fire to the fire!!!!!!!

There was a common sentiment amongst the patrons that there could be no price tag attached to the experience they just had. 900 patrons were transformed to Reaggae historians as History was made in DC on Saturday July 29th 2006, when Super Cat and Shaba Ranks blessed the stage together in the Nations Capital and CBR was there for the play by play.

Hardcore Juggling in Baltimore

CBR traveled to Baltimore this weekend to take in the “Hardcore Juggling” dance with Shashamane, Tek-9 and Amplex, promoted by Outlaw sound. The anticipation of this dance was intense since Baltimore is not known for its Hardcore Juggling or for that fact anything except what viewers see on the weekly HBO series “The Wire”. There were many familiar faces from the War Scene other than the guest of honor. “The East Cost Warrior” Revolution was present and of course Stoka from Upsetta, Generations from Brooklyn and Killer Khan from Love People in Virginia were all there, maybe due to the fact that they all have upcoming clashes and were doing a little homework.

When CBR reached the dance around 1:30am the crowd was amazingly nice. There was a proportionate mixture of ladies and gents. Tek-9 was playing and released some nice early foundation tune. Rick from Tek-9 was surprisingly - humble compared to his usual outspoken demeanor. Next up was Shashamane and they had a nice first round. They started out with Morgan Heritage and the MC, African made a speech about how he rewrote the tune. African then went into some regular hits and the Baltimore patrons responded with forward. Overall Shashamane had a solid round. Next up was Amplex with Glama G representing Washington, DC. Glama had just reached the dance and began to build his vibes. He started out slow and then began to pick up steam. The highlight of his round was some vintage Bounty Killer. CBR would have to say the 1st round was a toss-up between Tek-9 and Shashamane. The second round was loaded for Tek-9! They played a slew of Mavado and really worked the crowd. There were a couple of highlights in their second round: They played plenty Mavado, They played some serious vintage and they had the people moving. The same can’t be said for Shashamane, their second round was saturated with technical difficulties. The sound decided to chip out when Shashamane started their second round and continued throughout the round. Even when the engineer changed speakers and and retuned the sound it just would not play properly. Shashamane endured the technical challenges and continued to play some serious music despite the sound. Overall Baltimore’s “Hardcore Juggling” was a success! Big up Outlaw sound who continue to represent Baltimore and advance the business in their city. Big up Tek-9 who represented and showed their skills. Big shout to Shashamane who demonstrated why they are an international sound and represented the mother land straight. And a special shout to all of the Baltimore patrons who support authentic reggae music, Chatbout!

Hardcore Juggling in Baltimore Part II blueline

During the Month of March “Outlaw Entertainment” of Baltimore kept part II of “Hardcore Juggling”. This Month featured High Rollaz from Baltimore with Terra C (formerly of Kolours and LP out of Brooklyn) Generations from Brooklyn and Earthquake out of Washington, DC. There was a lot of anticipation for this one because Earthquake and Generations are nemesis. Unfortunately it did not live up to the hype. The honorable mention goes to High Rollaz. Terra C showed his experience as a selector. He used a combination of speech and tune and really made a statement. He went right at Generations and Earthquake who seem not to have any response for the experienced selector or his lyrics. Earthquake and Generations were disappointing to say the least. It would make since that they would put forth a good effort to settle their own vendetta but nothing. It is safe to say that Part I (Amplex, Tek-9 and Shashamane) exceeded expectations and Part II did not. Anyway, Big up High Rollaz for representing properly.

Generations outta Brooklyn, NY

CBR – The Cool Ruler blueline

Ladies and Gentleman on Saturday March 15th, in Washington DC one of Reggae Music Icons graced the stage and put on a historical performance for a sellout crowd. The “Cool Ruler” Mr. Gregory Isaacs himself brought out reggae lovers from all walks of live. The crowd was definitely international and everyone had high anticipation for the historic event that was about to be experienced by all in attendance. It has been 10 years since Gregory has been to the Nations Capital.

Tribal War, Rumors, Night Nurse, Number One, all songs that have attracted thousands of fans worldwide to love the crooner and his harmonic voice. Born in the Fletcher's Land area of Kingston, Jamaica, on July 15, 1951, Isaacs arrived in the music business via the talent show circuit, a tried and true formula for many of the island's budding singing stars. Byron Lee was the first in the industry to spot his talent and brought him and Winston Sinclair into the studio to record the duet "Another Heartbreak" in 1968. Sadly, it went nowhere, and Isaacs decided to try his fortunes with a new vocal trio, the Concords. They set up home at Rupie Edwards' Success label and over the next couple of years, released a number of singles, including one with Prince Buster, but none caught the attention of the Jamaican public. It's been estimated that the singer has released up to 500 albums (including compilations) in Jamaica, the U.K., and the U.S. combined. The singer recorded with anyone and everyone and was just as quick to revise his old songs as create fresh ones. Although none of these are entirely disposable, inevitably the quality of Isaacs full-length work began to decline in the mid-'80s. The Ted Dawson-produced Easy and All I Have Is Love-Love- Love, for example, certainly have their charms, but are hardly crucial. But that didn't mean the hits had dried up. Those 500 records are albums only, not singles, and the shops (and charts) continued to overflow with Isaacs' 45s’. And the rise of reggae just added hot new producers to the singer's packed recording diary.

Needless to say Gregory’s performance was well worth the 10 year the 10 year wait. CBR is happy to say that we were there for every second.

Valentines in VA

Well CBR spent Valentines in the state for lovers, Virginia, Hampton Roads, Tidewater area. The drive down 95s was well worth it when we reached our destination. Virginia patrons were out in full force to celebrate this “Day of Love Dance”. Over the last 10 years the business in Virginia has experienced a steady growth and incline. There seems to be a strong support amongst the key figures in the industry and an ever growing commitment from the patrons. Big up Humble Beginnings for a quality dance and strong showing in the business.

The guest of honors for the evening entertainment was Crazy Love from Virginia, Revolution and Blueprint from out of Washington DC. When we reached Blakely’s in Chesapeake, Virginia it was obvious that there were PLENTY WOMEN there. The ratio was about 7 to 1 and I must add they were looking very good! (visit photo album for pics) Crazy Love was playing and doing a very good job of entertaining their crowd. They knew what to play and they played right and at the right time. They filled the place with vibes. Very good job Crazy Love! Next up was the (East Coat Warrior) Revolution from DC. Revolution began with their signature God Bless vibes. Blakely’s lit up with extra vibes, I mean extra vibes, more fyah and the crowd responded with horns, whistles and forward in kind. CBR heard a couple of Bounty, Chuck Fender and Buju dubs too, eeehhh, nice vibes Revolution. Blueprint took over the controls and took the dance to the next level. They played a mixture of R&B,Hip-Hop and dancehall and mixed it up nicely. It was the Blueprint and Revolution was a nice 1 2 punch.

Special Shout Too:

Humble Beginnings, Westindiantimes.net, Crazylove sound, Revolution, Blueprint, Teddy Bear Promotions, Lady Cham, Crazy Legs, Diva Squadd, Va Supporters and Blakely’s

Lexus Superior