VPAL Releases Stephen “DI GENIUS” Labwork VOL. 3

Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor, is at it again with the summer must-have album Labwork Vol.3. This monster 25-track double disc compilation includes some of Jamaica’s top artists with the biggest hits to date and will strike the perfect balance of dancehall and reggae. Described by the New York Times as a "hit-making force in Jamaican music" and "one of the scene’s most influential producers for over half-a-decade" by MTV UK, Stephen McGregor has been rightfully defined in the media as a musical genius.

At the age of 16 years he became one of island’s best producers. A son of Freddie McGregor, Stephen was exposed to music since he was born and almost lives in the Big Ship studio, the McGregor’s home studio. He has created beats for countless artists including Mavado, Estelle, Ne-Yo, Nelly Furtado, Sean Paul, Chino McGregor and Sean Paul. Labwork Vol.3 will be available worldwide digitally and on CD for the first time with the collaboration of Di Genius Records & VPAL Music. Labwork Vol.1 & 2 on iTunes is also available on iTunes.


      TRACK LISTING

1.    ASK DEM – AIDONIA & DI GENIUS
2.    F@*K GYAL & BUSS GUN - MAVADO
3.    L.S.L REMIX – CHINO FEAT. KARDINAL OFFISHALL
4.    ME ALONE – DI GENIUS
5.    FROM LONGTIME - LADEN
6.    RICH TOMORROW - CHINO
7.    RICH RICH RICH – DI GENIUS
8.    LIVE TO MAKE – MAVADO & JAHVINCI
9.    TOUCH YOUR BODY - CHINO
10. PON DI COCKY – AIDONIA
11. BRUKI – AIDONIA
12. ANY MAN – BUSY SIGNAL
13. GOOD GOOD GIRL – MAVADO & CHINO
14. GORILLA DREAD LOCKS RASTA – BRAMMA
15. MAKE ME BELIEVE YOU – DENYQUE
16. MATERIAL GIRL – AGENT SASCO
17. STRUGGLE – DI GENIUS
18. IT AIN’T EASY – MAVADO
19. HAND INNA DI CEILING – ELEPHANT MAN
20. PARTY(THAT TIME AGAIN) – LADEN & DI GENIUS
21. GET CRAZY – ELEPHANT MAN
22. DI GYAL DEM – MAVADO
23. GOD YEAR – AGENT SASCO
24. TELL UNUH – AGENT SASCO
25. POLICE - AIDONIA

Tanya Carter And Birch Create Mr. DJ Boy

Belize’s top reggae artiste Tanya Carter has once again teamed up with Christopher Birch, this time for a dancehall song called Mr. Dj Boy.Tanya, who has been getting rave reviews since the release of her hit Exboyfriend, also produced by Birch, is making steady progress in creating her own space on the international reggae scene and the summer release of Mr. DJ Boy is the next chapter in her Reggae/Dancehall journey.

The Belizean star says Jamaica has become her second home and she expects to continue making good music, securing her place as a credible reggae entertainer: “This song with Birch is a continuation of the work we have been doing over the last few months. We had Ex-boyfriend which is doing very well and now we have Mr. DJ Boy on the Tunova riddim which should mash up the summer”.

Chris Birch said Tanya was a perfect fit to the riddim: “Tunova is my first riddim for the year and Tanya’s addition to it gives it a very special flavour. Her song Mr. DJ Boy is gonna make you jump up and dance as it is an authentic party song with all the essential elements. Mr. DJ Boy fits in perfectly on the riddim and takes advantage of its balanced mixture of high energy and vibe.”

The Ex-boyfriend singer has much to be proud of since her last trip to Jamaica in March, since then she has been receiving much love from fans in the Caribbean, the United States, England, Canada and even China and sees this new track as cementing that relationship, “It’s always good to work with Birch and this riddim is wicked. For this song I wanted a different vibe from Ex-boyfriend so my new fans can see my versatility as an artiste”.  

Christopher Birch’s Tunova Riddim features dancehall energy duo RDX, high riding Konshens, the ever relevant Voicemail, internationally acclaimed quartet TOK with a special appearance by Birchill artiste Vershon. Tanya Carter is the only female featured on the riddim. Birch believes that this riddim is one not only for the summer but the winter too: “This riddim has a higher temperature than some of the others I have done. I expect people will enjoy it and especially with Tanya on it will be hot!” Check out the release of Birchill Record’s Tunova Riddim featuring Tanya Carter’s Mr. DJ Boy, this weekend on reputable online portals.

Reggae in the Park Set for August 4th

After a successful inaugural event in 2012, the promoters of "Reggae in The Park - Philly's Premiere Summer Reggae Festival" has assembled another all-star cast of legendary reggae artists for the second showing of this annual event. Scheduled for Sunday, August 4th at The Mann, the festival once again brings the Delaware Valley community and Tri-state together for an all-day family fun-filled event during the summer season.

This years' festival features two (2) Stages of music on the Mann's mainstage as well as the Mann's all-new Skyline Stage, 10 DJ's/Soundsystems, arts and craft vendors, Global and Caribbean Food Village and more.

The lineup will feature veteran reggae crooner Beres Hammond, British reggae star Maxi Priest, Grammy Award-winning artist Shaggy, Tarrus Riley and Yellowman along with U.S. based roots rock reggae bands, The Movement and Inner Visions. "It was a challenge to put together an entertainment package to top our inaugural year", stated co-promoter Jamaican Dave. Children 12 and under are free when accompanied by a paid adult.  

Headliners - Artist Profiles 

Over the course of a 30 year career, Beres Hammond has poured his smoky-sweet voice, an instrument of subtlety and power reminiscent of an Otis Redding or a Teddy Prendergast, over every kind of riddim track. Beres sophisticated musical taste is well suited to translate easily across cultural divides, yet the international reggae massive has remained his most loyal fan base. 

Emerging in the early '90s, Shaggy was the biggest crossover success in dancehall reggae. Not only did he become the genre's most commercially potent artist, he is one of the few reggae artists to top both the album and pop singles charts in America. Shaggy connected with U.S. audiences in a big way with the 1995 release of Boombastic. 

The platinum-certified album won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album, while the title track shattered boundaries at radio, topping Billboard's Reggae, R&B and Rap charts. It also became the #1 selling single and hit #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart. Maxi Priest, a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent, is best known for singing reggae music with an R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. 

Priest's joyous brand of reggae and lovers' rock, infused with charismatic R & B have brought him a level of success that no other British reggae singer has matched. Maxi Priest holds the distinction of being one of only two British reggae acts (along with UB40) to have an American Billboard #1 hit - "Close to You" in 1990. 

King Yellowman, once the undisputed King of the Dancehall, Tarrus Riley, the son of Jamaican reggae singer Jimmy Riley and U.S.based roots, rock, reggae bands, The Movement and Trevor Hall round out the talent on the main stage.

Dubkor Continues to Evolve

Dubkor formerly known as Dubkore is on a musical mission, the talented reggae singer/musician recently staged another concert in his live show series called Reggaevolution.

The event which took place at Pulse 8 in New Kingston featured a number of topflight reggae acts including Ken Boothe, Etana and Junior Reid and the Bloods, Daweh Kongo, Charmaine Limonious alongside Dubkor and the Pikki Head Band.

The show also featured Dr. Carol Cooper who was the guest speaker for the event which was held on African Liberation Day.

Dubkor said the event which is the 5th in the series was well attended. “It’s the 5th show in the series so far and I am happy to say the Reggaevolution series has been growing since we staged the first show last year at Tony’s Bar on Chelsea avenue.

Since we began the series we have featured a variety of established and new acts and the response from the public has been very good,” said the artiste.

Some of the artistes that have performed on other shows in the series are Bounty Killer, Leroy Sibbles, George Nooks, Sizzla, General Trees, Nadine Sutherland, Chronixx and Kabaka Pyramid.

Looking to further entrench himself on the global reggae music scene Dubkor recently released his sophomore album, Rasta Man Riding. The thirteen track album which is available on Itunes and several other leading internet music stores is a remix of his debut album titled Arrogant Man. “We recently released a brand new album; this album is a remix of my previous album. The remix was done by legendary studio engineer Errol Brown. 

Mr. Brown is one of the veterans of this industry and we decided we wanted to mix over the whole album and make it friendlier towards the international market. What we did was to strip down all the tracks and add new instrumentations, so while the songs aren’t new they have a fresher more livelier sound because we have added a lot of horns and stuff like that in order to get the true authentic roots reggae sound. 

So far we have been getting a lot of positive feedback from people all over the world about it,” said Dubkore. The album is also available at Derrick Harriot’s Record Store in Twin Gates Plaza and Country Farm Restaurant which is located 3 Deanery Road in Kingston. Dubkor and the Pikkihead band will be in action at Jamnesia this Saturday in Bulls Bay.