THE YEAR IN GOSPEL REGGAE: Top News Stories of 2009
Jan. 7, 2010 - 2009 was a bountiful year for the gospel reggae genre as the number of artists worldwide rose to over 600 strong. Christafari hit a milestone with their 20th anniversary. Artist touring was on the rise, Twitter came on the scene and Facebook edged out MySpace as the new platform for the latest artist news and video blogs. Top artists like Papa San, Monty G, Mr. Lynx, Koen Duncan and Christafari released groundbreaking albums and GospelReggae.com released a staggering 70 reggae releases. That's double the amount released in 2008! We launched our Boomshots podcast and the HMSS radio show in addition to adding a host of gospel reggae albums to iTunes. Here are the top stories in gospel reggae for 2009:
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MOSES FOUND DEAD AS THE MURDER RATE IN JAMAICA SOARS.
Jamaican gospel dancehall artist, the late Kasim' 'Moses' Grant was found dead in a gully in Gordon Town, St. Andrews, Jamaica in January of 2009. A whirlwind of speculations and accusations still surround his death. Was it murder, suicide, an accident or gang related? It seems that there are still more questions than answers. What we do know is that the senseless violence in Jamaica has to cease. Jamaica currently has the third highest murder rate in the world (per capita). The island had about 1,660 homicides in 2009, close to the record of 1,674 set in 2005 when it had the highest murder rate in the world. Moses was an incredibly talented soul that genuinely loved the Lord and will be sorely missed. At the time of his death, reports are that he was in the studio working on his sophomore release. There is no news as to what will happen with these recordings. Moses' first album "Testify" is currently available on both CD and download and every cent goes directly to his widow.
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CHRISTAFARI GIVES AWAY NEW ALBUM FOR FREE, CRASHING THEIR SERVER.
In July, Christafari released "No Compromise," the bands 20th anniversary release that features guest appearances by over 30 of the top gospel reggae artists in the world. As a tribute to the late Keith Green (who had an album and biography of by same title), for the first three months, Christafari made the album available for whatever fans could afford--or even free. The response was so great that it actually knocked down their web server a few times! This album is now available for purchase and after counting up the physical sales after the promotion was over, the album still ended up being the top gospel reggae seller of 2009! In promotion of the release Christafari toured Europe and South America extensively in addition to a few spot dates in the USA.
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LOZ AND LOJ FORM PARTNERSHIP FOR FUTURE RELEASES.
Lion of Zion started in 1998 by Mark Mohr of Christafari and almost 50 releases later, they have the broadest distribution in the genre and have been credited for launching the gospel careers of top artists like Stitchie, Sherwin Gardner, Mr. Lynx and Avion Blackman. Monty G initially signed with Lion of Zion back in 2002 and since then has co-produced over thirty titles with DJ Frost under his own label Lion of Judah Sounds. This new partnership that was cemented with the release of Positive's "Never Let Go," made it official that the two biggest tastemakers in the gospel reggae industry had united. Subsequent LOZ/LOJ releases are Mr. Lynx's "The Seeds You Sow," DJ Frost's explosive "Streetlight Mixtape Vol. 4" and Monty G's highly anticipated "World Domination" CD. Monty, Lynx, Frost and the LOJ crew toured the USA in November and December in promotion of these new releases.
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THE MARLIN AWARDS FINALLY HAPPEN, REALLY!
Given unsure times due to worldwide economic turmoil, the Marlin awards (that were initially scheduled to be held in July of 2008) were postponed to October of 2008. Just a few weeks before October they were postponed again to March of 2009 to the dismay of many artists. While there were a few doubters, no one has ever accused Kevin Harris and his incredible team of being quitters. Thanks to their stick-to-itiveness and sheer tenacity, the third time was a charm! Bravo for a phenomenal evening and another incredible show! They also released their first CD of top nominees and winners. This compilation was added to our store this week. Order it now!
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ISAAC BLACKMAN WINS BIG AT MARLINS AND MARRIES DIXIE-ANN HUNTE!
While a gospel reggae artist getting married may not be top news, in early spring 2009, when two powerhouses Isaac and Dixie wed, all of Trinidad took notice. Their wedding was the week after the Marlin awards, a good reason why Isaac wasn't available to collect his four awards (including "Song of the Year") in person. Dixie's full-length gospel reggae debut is now available online and rumor has it the two have another collaboration that is expected to be delivered from the stork in 2010--Congrats guys! Pick up a copy of Dixie's "Rooted" today (Available on CD and Download).
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PAPA SAN FINALLY RELEASES HIS ALBUM AND GETS A STELLAR NOD.
In a genre that is already chock-full of delays, Papa San's "Higher Heights" takes the cake. In 2008 everyone was awaiting Papa San's fourth release that kept getting pushed back month after month. Finally a release date was announced and his album launch was set for Sept 26th, 2008 in Jamaica. The only problem was that after his official release concert in Jamaica, the rest of the world had to wait almost an entire year to receive the album due to drawn-out label negotiations in the USA. While the final international release may have been a bit anti climactic, the end result was well worth the wait when "Higher Heights" debuted at #4 on the Reggae Billboard Charts and #19 on the Gospel Billboard Charts and received a Steller Award nomination. I guess good things do come to those who wait! Order this CD today!
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PRODIGAL SON STRIKES REGGAE GOLD AND LAUNCHES RADIKAL YAWD.
Few gospel reggae artists had a better year than Prodigal Son, yet he didn't even release an album in 2009. Instead he released a barrage of singles and landed a coveted spot on VP Records' "Reggae Gold 2009." The song was "Head Cyaan Hot So" earning Prodigal the privilege of being the first gospel reggae artist to ever be featured on such a massive mainstream compilation. He also won three Marlin Awards including "Album of the Year." While most artists were just talking about starting their own label and stable of artists, Prodigal was actually doing it. In addition to recording his own material and producing a plethora of music videos, he also managed to sign, record and release albums by Dwayne Murphy (released in December) and Shepherd (who's album drops on gospelreggae.com this week).
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GOSPELREGGAE.COM HAS OUR BEST MONTH EVER!
Thanks to all our loyal customers, GospelReggae.com and Lion of Zion Entertainment just had our biggest sales month ever! In fact, in the 30 days preceding Christmas, our sales virtually doubled what they did in the same period last year. That's unheard given the current state of the music industry and the global recession! This proves that the gospel reggae genre is growing! A lot of this is credited to our growing staff and hit CDs by Monty G, Mr. Lynx and DJ Frost (along with dozens of other key releases). Thanks for all of your help and for giving us our best sales period in our 12-year history of selling Christian reggae online!
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