Mr_Vegas-Sweet_Jamaica
Large ups to LargeUp for getting the exclusive on dancehall veteran Mr. Vegas' acoustic set on the newly-launched Radio Lily, run out of the Miss Lilys Variety store/gallery space next door to ?uesto's favorite Jamaican eatery. In anticipation of his forthcoming LP Sweet Jamaica (Feb. 21) the singjay performed an epic all-acoustic set to put dancehall doubters on notice. He also sat down with LU for an exclusive interview (get an excerpt below and read the full Q&A here). See the rest of the photos here and stream music from Sweet Jamaica here. Most importantly, check back soon for LargeUp's exclusive video of the performance (and if you remember theirJimmy Cliff piece, you know that when it comes to webisodes, they nuh romp wid it (<--see what I did there?)
LU: “Heads High” is a song that has just gone international to a level where you will hear it at people’s weddings, for instance, from all over the world. Do you hear any current music coming out of Jamaica that can attain that level? Vegas: I think Gyptian “Hold Yuh,” Serani “No Games”… are gonna be around for a long time. Yuh know, we [Jamaican artists] always find ourselves in the mix of things. Sometimes, we don’t find anything for a little while. We still keep supporting the good producers. If Clevie produces something, I have to go vibe with Clevie, cause I know what he can bring. Tony Kelly, we know what they can bring. I don’t have any doubt that we’ll find another “Heads High” or another “No Games” or another Gyptian tune. I do think when a lot of artists get a break to go on a major label, they start working with all these foreign-based producers, and hip-hop producers, because we are trying to fit. We believe that if it sounds international then it is international. I always stick to my formula that, if it breaks in Jamaica, and you, as an American, likes it, you like it because you like the original thing that’s coming from Jamaica. If you wanna hear some hip-hop sounding thing, you would choose to listen to Beyonce or whoever.
