LargeUp

Fashion Fridays: Ladies Creole Wear in Dominica

Jesse Serwer — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:00:03 +0000

Words by Jesse Serwer, Photos by Martei Korley— MODEL: Malia Constance Visit Dominica during the island's independence celebrations, and you're sure to be struck by an outpouring of national pride in the form of the ubiquitous, traditional Creole wear. While other islands acknowledge their mixed African and European heritage by donning similar formal attire during festive seasons, no one does it quite like Dominica. On Creole Day (the last Friday before Independence Day, Nov. 3), the entire island's population is encouraged to sport traditional Creole wear—marked by West African plaid patterns and European-style cuts. Not everyone complies, but almost everybody does– from schoolchildren to bank tellers to the Prime Minister. The twin beauty/cultural pageants known as Madame Wob Dwiyet (mature women) and Miss Wob Dwiyet (for young women and teenage girls) have helped keep this tradition alive and vibrant. At the pageants, held in Roseau during the independence season, women showcase homemade spins on wob dwiyet, but are judged on their mastery of traditional movements in the dress as well as knowledge of Dominican culture. International editions of the pageants are also held in the US and Canada, with winners going on to compete/showcase at the main event in Roseau. Scroll through for Martei Korley's images of Malia Constance at the Dominica Botanical Gardens in Roseau.

New York Post: No Ice Cream Sound Visits NYC

Jesse Serwer — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:01:03 +0000

Words by Jesse Serwer— As you may already know, our friends over at clothing brand/music blog Shimmy Shimmy have a smartly-designed periodical called No Ice Cream Sound extending their brand into print. For the fourth and latest edition of the zine, they decided to focus on New York City, with features on local reggae/dancehall notables Shaggy, Clive Chin, Rayvon and Dre Skull as well as clothing brand Rockers NYC, Deadly Dragon and filmmaker Samantha Black. They also tapped yours truly for a guide to the Top 10 Caribbean eateries in NYC. Copies of No Ice Cream Sound #4 (which was designed by DJ/producer Smutlee) are £5.00 and come with free Shimmy stickers. Buy yours here, and look out for an online look at that aforementioned NYC Caribbean Food Top 10 on LargeUp next month.

Toppa Top 10: Top Ten Summertime Festivals

Jesse Serwer — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:37:00 +0000

Words by LargeUp Crew, Photo by Nicolas LÊ— It's about that time of year when the Caribbean's biggest music acts leave home and hit the road for festival dates around the world. As usual, things kick off Memorial Day weekend, with the long-running Best of the Best and UCLA Jazz Reggae fests set for Miami and LA, respectively. Here's a look at some of this year's most action-packed, Caribbean-focused music festivals, from the West Coast to the South of France.

Throwback Thursdays: Red Fox on Red Fox’s “Born Again Black Man”

Jesse Serwer — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:54:08 +0000

Words by Red Fox— Earlier this week we premiered "Soulja," the new video from NYC dancehall legend Red Fox. Seeing as its also the 20th anniversary of Red's As A Matter of Fox LP, we asked him to remember/introduce the video for "Born Again Black Man," off of that album. We shot the video in '93 and used Ralph McDaniels as a director 'cause at the time Ralph was the one who was showcasing the whole Ruff Entry Crew on Video Music Box, on [New York's] Channel 31. He really got us more fans and was always in the mix with us. For the casting, we chose nothing but girls of darker complexion 'cause, at that time, most of the videos were featuring all the light-skinned girls. Plus the bleaching thing was on the rise. I really wanted to get a point across that people of darker complexion are beautiful.

Visual Culture: The Photographs of Pogus Caesar

Jesse Serwer — Wed, 22 May 2013 05:37:35 +0000

Words and Interview by Jesse Serwer, Photos by Pogus Caesar— St. Kitts-born Pogus Caesar has captured the heartbeat of the Caribbean community in the U.K.—and particularly in his hometown of Birmingham, England's "second city"— for over three decades. While his work as a television producer (for the BBC and Channel 4, among others), documentary filmmaker and photographer has brought him around the world to cover a wide range of topics, of particular note are his many photographs of artists and entertainers in unguarded moments. Many of these photos were collected in a gallery show, Muzik Kinda Sweet, since shown at London's 02 and adapted into a book of the same name. A subsequent gallery show, Reggae Kinda Sweet, has honed in on his images of reggae acts and musicians from Dennis Brown to the Mighty Diamonds.. LargeUp spoke with Caesar about his city and his many subjects, from Lee "Scratch" Perry to Stevie Wonder to Guyana-born British actress Carmen Munroe and a bus-riding glue sniffer in Birmingham. Click here to go to Page 2 and read our interview with Pogus, then here to start scrolling through a gallery of his photos, with commentary from the photographer.

LargeUp Premiere: Red Fox’s “Soulja” Video

Jesse Serwer — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:00:52 +0000

Words by Jesse Serwer— Red Fox is one of the pillars of dancehall music in New York City. Sure, he originally hails from St. Catherine, Jamaica and came to fame with the classic "Down in Jamaica" (alongside singer Naturalee) but the rough-voiced deejay has called NYC home for decades. Back in the '80s, Red was one of the artists who helped make Brooklyn the international hotbed for dancehall, both as a solo act and founder of Ruff Entry Crew, the dancehall supergroup which spawned Shaggy, Screechy Dan, Rayvon and Bajja Jedd, to name a few. His early '90s collaborations with DJ Premier and Brand Nubian are certified hip-hop dancehall classics, emblematic of the cross-cultural exchange happening between the two genres and cultures in NY at that time. For the video for his latest single, the conscious tune "Soulja," Red gives us a Fox-eye view of his home city, taking us through Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan and a train ride in between. The World Trade Center area in particular is the primary setting for the video, which is set to a conscious tune that sees Red sharing food for thought on topics ranging from college tuition to pesticides. Watch the clip below:

PHOTOS + VIDEO: LargeUp x Rice and Peas at Great Googa Mooga

Jesse Serwer — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:53:36 +0000

Words by Kieran Meadows, Video by Taylor Viera, Photos by Lucio Bracamontes and Mark Dixon— The rain and clouds may have canceled Day 2 of the GoogaMooga Music & Food Festival in Brooklyn's Prospect Park Sunday, but not before a little taste of the Caribbean brightened up an otherwise overcast and soggy Saturday afternoon on Day 1. For close to an hour, the Rice & Peas crew took over the Joe's Pub stage, hosted by Miss Lily's Jerk Hut, where jerk chicken was the specialty being served up to hungry festival-goers. Micro Don and DJ Gravy set things off, running through classic reggae tunes old and new. Due to the alternating stages, it took some time for the crowd to migrate from the main stage, but by the time special guest Nardo Ranks did his big 90's tunes "Dem A Bleach" and "Burrup," the party had officially started. As Max Glazer upped the tempo with the Buy Out riddim, Rice & Peas dancers Korie Genius, Lindsay Hall, Sir Ledgen and Selena -- all four looking great reppin' matching crisp black LargeUp tees -- came out to warm up the stage, demonstrating dances including Row Di Boat, Signal Di Plane, Parachute, Pon Di River and more. A great moment was watching the whole crowd do the Thunderclap along with the dancers. The four crushed Konshens' "Gal A Bubble" with some fresh choreography, and paid tribute to the late Bogle, doing his moves to Voicemail's "Wacky Dip." Dancehall Queen Miss Likkle Bit took the stage solo to Major Lazer's "Pon De Floor," showing off her skills, strength and flexibility. As she reprised her headtop chair routine from her viral video to Mr. Vegas' "Bruk It Down," ladies literally ran towards the stage to get a better look at what was happening and "to take notes," as Micro had suggested to them moments earlier. The set concluded with some Carnival party vibes to the tune of JW & Blaze's "Palance." Micro Don had what seemed like the entire audience palancing, moving in unison from left to right. Though it could have gone on longer, things ended on a super high positive note. Watch the video highlight reel below and scroll through the photo series to get a taste of Saturday's GoogaMooga festivities. LargeUp dance squad: (L to R) Sir Ledgen, Lindsay Hall, Selena Watkins, Korie Genius

GIVEAWAY: Win Tix, Be Photographer For A Day At UCLA JazzReggae Fest

Jesse Serwer — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:41:00 +0000

Words by LargeUp Crew—

LargeUp and Okayplayer are offering you the chance to win tickets for the 27th Annual UCLA JazzReggae Festival, happening this Memorial Day Weekend on May 26th and 27th. The lucky winner will receive one pair of tickets and a photo pass to photograph the two-day event. If you knock your gig as a music photo-journalist for a day out the park, we'll post your pictures on LargeUp and Okayplayer, too. The two-day festival, at UCLA Intramural Field in Los Angeles, will feature performances from Common, Santigold and Jhene Aiko on Day One/Sunday (aka Jam Day) and, on Reggae Day/Monday, Ziggy Marley, Barrington Levy, Mr. Vegas and Marcia Griffiths. Vendors will also be there selling Jamaican and vegetarian fare as well as clothing, jewelry and more, and an art exhibition will feature works from X is the Weapon, Sole Bike Shop, Canlove: A Graffiti Recycling Program and UCLA students. Check the festival poster for the full concert lineup. If you know how awesome last year's festival was, you know it would be crazy to pass this up. To enter to win tickets, follow these directions: 1. Subscribe to our mailing list (enter your e-mail address under "Stay Updated" in the right column)

2. Head to Twitter and tweet the following: I want to go to UCLA #JazzReggaeFest this Sun & Mon: http://lrgup.co/19VhYFY @Largeupdotcom & @JazzReggaeFest gimme those tix! To qualify, you must follow @Largeupdotcom, so we can DM you with info on how to collect your tickets. Winners will be chosen THIS THURSDAY so commence to tweeting! Don't feel like playing? Tickets can be purchased the regular way here, of course.

Mixtape Mondays: Major Lazer, Smutlee, Safari Sound, Bud E Green

DJ Theory — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:26:11 +0000

Words by Deejay Theory — Welcome to another edition of Mixtape Mondays. We're back to add the necessary soundtrack to your week with vibes from a global roundup of deejays. From one drop to big room, and culture to cardio, we keep the ting versatile with something for everyone this week. Go in below. Major Lazer, Workout Mix: Monday morning is here and apparently it's time to get pumped up. The Major Lazer squad are unwavering in their efforts to make you sweat it out this week with the drop of their Workout Mix. Fresh off performing in Cannes and turning large groups of people upside down the world over, our doops Walshy Fire chefed up this megamix of twerkout anthems to get you whining on the treadmill and shedding some el bees for the summer ahead. Leading off with a drop from Hulk Hogan (awesome) and a wicked "Differentology" special, things stay about as high energy as possible so you might as well just shut up and get to werk for 45 minutes. Oh yeah, it's also a collab with GQ. Stream and download below, tracklist here. Smutlee, Live from Amsterdam: Speaking of Major Lazer, our UK mate Smutlee peeled a recording off the afterparty he handled in Amsterdam last month and it's now up for your copping pleasure. An hour of live juggling, blending dancehall, moombahton, trap, hip hop, house, garage... something to easily slide into the extended workout playlist if the previous mix didn't peak your desired heart rate. Stream and download below. Safari Sound, Girls, Gunz and Flowers Vol. 1: Our Swedish generals Safari Sound just laced up the counterpart to their recent Word, Sound and Power mix — a yin and yang of sorts between the two. The first being a conscious one drop mix, the latter being, well, pretty self-explanatory. Being a reggae DJ often involves balance, something this crew seems to consistently deliver better than most. For volume one of this new series (who could ever really keep up), Shirkhan flexes straight dancehall and the customary dubs and specials with some current rap hits to fully embrace the Girls, Gunz and Flowers (cough) concept. Stream and download below, tracklist here. Bud E Green, Reggae Goodlife Promo Mix: Our Boston pal Bud E Green has a new one to hype up his new monthly rub a dub reggae, dancehall and dubplates jumpoff at perhaps my favorite Boston venue Good Life. The launch of the party next Wednesday May 29th features none other than our own DJ Gravy at the controls and LU fam Nardo Ranks making a guest appearance as well to seal it up. The mix, like all of Mr. Green's, is a live recording of 45's and dubs packed with a gang of your favorites from the classics to today. Stream and download below, tracklist and more info on the party here.

Ready For Di Road: Watch Bunji Garlin’s “Differentology” Video

Jesse Serwer — Sat, 18 May 2013 04:36:21 +0000

Words by Jesse Serwer— The video for Bunji Garlin's "Differentology" is one of the most anticipated ever from a soca artist. "Differentology" was the breakout tune of Trinidad's carnival season, a season which has already produced some memorable, high-concept videos that have stepped up the game for soca visuals. Months have passed since Carnival hype died down, but the hype surrounding "Differentology" has only grown. Even The Guardian has taken notice, naming it first in a list of "Essential summer jams for 2013." Throw in the fact that the video was shot (and publicized) back in the afterglow of carnival in February, and you have the biggest soca story in mont Well, the "Differentology" video is finally here, and while it's definitely high-concept, or at least multi-concept (there's mud people, gladiator swordfights and imagery from a variety of other eras, from medieval to Victorian), the reviews from Trinidad range from mixed to highly negative. It's even been compared by some to Lil Bitts' much-maligned "Raise De Dust" video, a clip so terrible it inspired a #ThingsBetterThanLilBittsVideo hashtag on Twitter. Not exactly an accurate comparison, as "Differentology," while it has its shortcomings, also has merits. Watch the video below, and decide for yourself.