Skip Marley (2021)

 One Liner: Grandson of Bob Marley, doing a pretty solid job of holding up the mantle

Wikipedia Genre: Reggae
Home: Kingston, Jamaica

Poster Position: Late Addition
Friday at 3:15 on the Miller Lite Stage.

Both Weekends.

Thoughts:  I know about some of the Marley progeny, like Ziggy and Damian, but I hadn't heard anything about Skip until the Grammy's back in 2017 when Katy Perry's (freaking terrible) "Chained by the Rhythm" performance involved someone firing off a few reggae bars as she danced around a little white house.  Well, that guy was Skip.  

He was last here in 2017 to play ACL.  I didn't wander over to see the set, but I generally liked the idea of it.  Since that appearance, he has released a single album - 2020's Higher Place.  His songs are still generally reggae, but some of them veer into rap/hip/hop sounds as well.  Even the reggae songs sometimes show an interesting shift from the traditionalist reggae.  And because I have listened to some Bob Marley and Toots & the Maytals, I am a preeminent scholar on traditional reggae.

He full on dives into rap with a track on the album that features Rick Ross.  Could totally be a regular rap song - no real traces of reggae on there.  But other parts of the album go back to the more traditional sound with the up skank rhythm and everything.  But even with that rhythm, this still sounds more like rap than grandpa Bob did.  "My World" could just be a rap song with Skip mainly singing the R&B hook part.  "That's Not True," with his uncle Damian, is a pretty legit reggae track.  I like the horns.  The top track, by a bunch, is "Slow Down," with 35.4 million streams.

The track features H.E.R., so that could be the reason it has so many streams.  I think she's much more popular than old Skipper.  But, his voice sounds super like Bob's in that intro singing.  I like it.

Skip is the son of Cedella Marley, who is listed on Wikipedia as a serious slash - Jamaican singer, dancer, fashion designer, actress, author, and entrepreneur.  Just about everything in there.  He was born in Kingston, but actually raised in Miami.  Skip has received two Grammy nominations, one for that song up above, which was nominated for Best R&B song.  See, I told you this wasn't straight reggae anymore!

I like his version of "Johnny Was."  Legit.  His second biggest streamer is "Cruel World," with 21.6 million streams.  This one is a 2017 single, and doesn't make the album.

Also, that sounds more like EDM than reggae.  This guy is all over the map.  It's like an EDM guy wanted to make an island track to tuck in the midst of his other sick drops.  Not bad, not great either.  I prefer the more legit reggae stuff.  There is a whole group of remixes by Major Lazer, and those straight up made me say cuss words, look up from my work, and figure out how to stop listening to that portion of his catalog.  Yuck.  Going even older, this one is his old hit, and it also kind of sounds like it was made by a techno guy. "Lions," with 15 million streams.  A 2017 single.

I wonder if he brings a real band on stage, or if he can recreate all of this with a laptop. I suppose that it could be recreated live, with a real drummer trying to replicate the machines.  But I guess he can be just like other ACL "bands" who just break out their Macbook and let it rip while they sing along.  I guess we'll see.  I'd be kind of interesting in seeing him, but it would only be if nothing else interesting was going on.

Audic Empire

One Liner: Austin reggae rock band

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but their website says "Texas Reggae / Southern Rock"
Home:  Austin!

Poster Position: 22 - bottom row!
Weekend One Only.

Friday at 1pm on the Tito's Stage.

Thoughts:  Well, they pulled one over on me.  Thought for sure this would be another local rapper down here on the bottom line.  Instead, this is, uhh, what kind of music is Sublime?  Like, reggae alternative?  Ska pop rock?  Well whatever, this is that.  Makes strong use of that offbeat synth thing that I associate with reggae, or Sublime, or 311, or the Samples.  After some research, it appears that technique is called the "ska stroke up."  Learn something new every day!

"Come and Toke It" is, not surprisingly, about how we should have legal weed in Texas and everyone should smoke it right away.  And that matches perfectly with the Sublime vibe here.  125k streams, by far their most popular.

Digging the angry red-bearded rapper with the dreads.  It's actually damn catchy.  Most of this is pretty fun music - maybe not what I would normally aim for personally, but it seems like a good time.  Also, on Spotify, their next live show listing, under Artist Pick, says they play October 1 at Zilker Park, Austin, at 8pm.  I think that time slot is a liiittttle bit ambitious for a band on the bottom line of the poster.  But who knows?

"Coffee & Bongs" is cracking me up though - they leave behind the reggae riddims to break out a happy trails-ass song about boning.  According to one thing I read online, the band started up in 2010 with Ronnie Bowen and James Tobias, who are now the singers and songwriters.  But the guitar player seems like the star of the show, even if the synth player has to hit more notes than anyone else to keep the upstroke going.  Like, the solo on "Don't Wait Up" is a pretty legit run of guitar action.  Or the opening of "King from Under" - the guy's name is Travis Brown.

Three albums - 2020's Head Change, 2018's Indica Nights, and 2015's Sativa Sunrise.  Hmm, I wonder if they like weed?  "Don't Wait Up" is their second-most streamed, but it is also from that new album, so I'll reach back into one of the older ones to give you a little taste of the older stuff.  This is "Mesmerized," from Indica Nights, with 54k streams.

I was just fully mesmerized by that jenky ass video.  But again, pretty good song if you're into this island goofball vibe.  I think I like it.  It's supremely goofy - the schtick that these dudes have come up with.  A dreadlocked white dude who raps is inherently goofy, and making rock with reggae riddims is also kind of silly today, but at the same time, I'm kinda digging the vibe.  What's wrong with feel good music?

Rebelution

One Liner: Reggae rock for the college bros to chill to.

Wikipedia Genre: Reggae Rock.  Yes, that is one genre, not two.
Home: Isla Vista, California

Poster Position: 6

Both Weekends.

Thoughts:  They were also here in 2014, and here is the (super in depth) review that I wrote at the time: 
"Oh yeah.  Time for some ganja at ACL?  Time for some ganja at ACL.  Sounds kind of like a chilled 311 or the reggae and relax parts of Sublime.  Feeling Alright is their top song [and it continues to be their top song in 2019, with 38 million YouTube views for that video, and 33.8 million streams on Spotify]. 

They also have a songs called So High, Good Vibes, and Lazy Afternoon.  Of the five songs I just heard, every single one has the exact same reggae beat and some happy time lyrics about love or relaxation.  If ACL is going to have that one big weedbox tent like they did a few years ago, I bet these dudes open for Jimmy Cliff.  For what it is, this is pretty solid frat-bros-smoking-joints-on-a-sagging-goodwill-reject-couch-in-the-front-yard-of-a-dilapidated-rent-house-in-Boulder-or-Berkeley-or-Austin kind of vibe.  Not offensive in the slightest, just nothing I’m going to go out of my way to listen to for more than a song.  I wonder if the band is actually one dude with a Casio 2000, where he just hits the DUB BEAT button and then sings some happy time sounds.  If so, more power to him.  YOU THE MAN!"

So, I didn't appear to be very impressed with them at the time - I also did not do a very comprehensive review of them.  FIVE SONGS!?!  I just listened to like 80 songs by Robyn and went through them 3 or 4 times!  C'mon 2014 Jack!

I'm less distant from them today - trying out the 2018 album Free Rein right now, and there is nothing offensive about a good dub groove and some chill lyrics.  Of note, Wikipedia calls their style "Reggae Rock," not just Reggae.  Clicking through to an explanation reveals that this term has been used to describe such bands as The Police, Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, 311, and Rebelution (among others).  This genre found its rise into popularity with Sublime's popularity in 1990's Long Beach.  The Police, though?  They made like two songs with reggae undertones.

They have a ton of albums - that "Feeling Alright" track comes from their first one, 2007's Courage to Grow.  Since then, they released 2009's Bright Side of Life, 2012's Peace of Mind, 2014's Count Me In, 2015's Count Me In (Acoustic), 2016's Falling Into Place, and 2018's Free Rein.  They also put out a Live at Red Rocks album, and I can only imagine the levels of dope smoke that emanated from that canyon on that particular night, holy hell.

The members of the band all went to UC Santa Barbara, and their first album was their big break, immediately becoming highly popular among the reggae set.  Their only Grammy nomination came in 2017, for Falling Into Place, nominated for Best Reggae Album.  Also, FYI, there is a Christian website called therebelution.com that provides articles, books, and resources for Christian teens, parents, and youth workers - should you have a need.  Funny thing, I wanted to find a recent article about them - most of these bands have loads of recent press that pops up when you google their name - these guys do not.  I wonder if they are just a known quantity by now and people aren't trying to find out who they are anymore.  Even when I expressly seek an interview, the top three that come up are from 2016, 2012, and 2009.

I'll give you the top track from their most recent album to bookend that top track up there.  No real reason to go through all of the albums and provide you examples from each - they all sound pretty much the same.  I mean, its a good sound - very relaxing, very good groove, super chill - but you don't need to get a bunch of examples to understand the band.  This is "Celebrate," with 9.5 million streams.

That video blows, but the track is another good one.  Do you think that the synth player really has to hit the keys on that beat the whole song, or is that part a loop and he just plays the other part?  because that would really cause carpal tunnel if he actually had to play that chord 3,450 times per song, in every single song they do.

What the hell, I'd go chill out and listen to this stuff live.  Seems pretty enjoyable.

Koffee

One Liner:  Young reggae lady with a super catchy sound and a Rihanna co-sign

Wikipedia Genre: Reggae, dancehall
Home: Spanish Town, Jamaica.

Poster Position: 12

Both Weekends

Thoughts: Hell yes.  I'm no reggae aficionado, but this lady's sound is super catchy.  Only six songs available on Spotify, but I've been looping through them for a while now and the groove and singing is all cool.

Her top hit is "Toast," which boasts 10.6 million streams.

Great beat, cool vocal delivery - like I said, very catchy.  According to the comments to that video, Rihanna has been sharing this song on her instagram story so a lot of people found the video through that path.  33 million views for the video, so pretty impressive.

I was thinking what a cool name this is, and how well it matches the reggae dancehall feel of these tracks, but then I found that the Wikipedia entry for Koffee is for a digital radio station in Australia, whose slogan is "Time to Chill," and I'm not here for that.  I hate that radio station now.  Oh, but now I found a Wikipedia entry, just have to specify (singer).  Nice.

Random other aside - the start of "Rapture" has some synth bits that very much remind me of a section of some Linkin Park song - a weird twist when listening to a reggae album.  Here is a live version, but it sounds like the studio.  3.2 million streams.

I have no clue what she is saying.  I know at least part of it is in English - I heard "process" and "rapture" and "capture" in there, but she just flows those syllables right over the beat without any pained pronunciation.  Seems effortless and cool.

I found an interview with Koffee that has a fascinating history of some of what makes reggae its thing - although I've never heard of Nest HQ as a website or thing, this is great stuff:

The Jamaican approach to a typical musical ‘compilation’ is called a ‘riddim.’ First an instrumental is created in the same fashion as any other type of music. Think reggae/dancehall. The riddim is then given a name (i.e. Sleng Teng Riddim, which is considered the first all digital riddim created in 1984). The name of the riddim comes either from the producer who made it or after artists have “voiced” on it and the lyrics or narrative influence the name. What sets this approach apart from most other types of music is that as many as 20+ artists will perform a separate song (or ‘chune’) on the same instrumental. Sleng Teng is among the most “versioned” (rerecorded) of Jamaican riddims, listing around 380 versions to date. When the songs are completed and released, a ‘selector’ (otherwise known as a DJ in most other cultures) will mix the songs together and go between each artists song on the riddim, typically relatively quickly, which is known as ‘juggling’ all the while ‘chatting’ on the microphone to energize the crowd. With that being said, a particular riddim could be played for several minutes depending on how much the crowd and selector are feeling the music and the selector will typically follow this up with other riddims throughout their set.

Koffee (Mikayla "Koffee" Simpson) is a 19 year old deejay/singer, and the article goes on to describe some of the riddims she used to make her music.  Interesting stuff.  They also lay the groundwork for a claim that Jamaica was actually the birthplace of rap.  And when you listen to the vocals over the top of these tracks, it actually sounds very much like the current rap world - half rap/half singing.  Check out this video - purportedly her first time in the studio - she looks like a child and spits like a pro (reading lyrics off her phone!).

Yeah, baby.  That is one of her singles - "Raggamuffin" released in 2018 and with 1.4 million streams.

I think she is cool - her tunes are catchy, her style is nice - I'd go try this out.

Skip Marley

One Liner: Grandson of Bob Marley, doing a pretty solid job of holding up the mantle
Wikipedia Genre: Reggae
Spotify Says Similar To: Andrew Tosh and Jo Mersa Merley
Home: Kingston, Jamaica

Poster Position: 14
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  I know about some of the Marley progeny, like Ziggy and Damian, but I hadn't heard anything about Skip until the Grammy's this year when Katy Perry's (freaking terrible) "Chained by the Rhythm" performance involved someone firing off a few reggae bars as she danced around a little white house.  Well, that guy was Skip.  
He doesn't have a full-length album yet, just three real songs available on Spotify (and two remixes), and they show an interesting shift from the traditionalist reggae.  And because I have listened to some Bob Marley and Toots & the Maytals, I am a preeminent scholar on traditional reggae.
The first is pretty traditional reggae track, with admittedly more of an electronic instrumentation, but a normal reggae beat and rhythm, and a message of peace about how we should all just chill.  2.3 million streams for "Calm Down."

That is a good track.  And then the second one, while it starts with a guitar intro, it then goes into an almost EDM electro rise, before a more traditional reggae beat kicks in, and then it goes back to the EDM sound for the chorus.  This is "Lions," with 6.6 million streams.

I like the first one better than that one, but I'm also not that big into the EDM thing, so give me traditional reggae any day.  And then the last of the three songs is called "Cry to Me," and only has 727k streams, but it sounds even more traditional than either of those others, just with some electronic drum and click stuff.

Good groove in that one.  And I suppose that it could be recreated live, with a real drummer trying to replicate the machines.  But I guess he can be just like other ACL "bands" who just break out their Macbook and let it rip while they sing along.  I guess we'll see.  In fact, the more I think about it, this feels more like a rap album, with hip hop beats, with a reggae singer instead of a rapper doing the vocal.  I'd be kind of interesting in seeing him, but it would only be if nothing else interesting was going on.

Recommend? Yes, but I kind of doubt I'll go see him.

Raging Fyah

One Liner: Reggae roots rock good times
Wikipedia Genre: Reggae
Spotify Says Similar To: Kabaka Pyramid and Jesse Royal (of course...)
Home: Kingston, Jamaica

Poster Position: 17
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  I picked them to be one of my first reviews simply because their name is money.  At first I thought it was a typo until I thought harder about how it would sound spoken out loud. FIIYAAHH! Like Marky Mark telling the other people on board the Deepwater Horizon that they should jump into the wudder to avaaad the fiyyyah.  These cats were nominated for a Grammy in 2016 for best reggae album (2016's Everlasting).  Honestly, after a run through these tunes, this is legit.  Very chilled, happy mood reggae.  The most listened-to track is called "Judgment Day," from the 2015 album of the same name, with 533k streams.

You know, when you think of reggae music, that is the stuff, right there.  He mentioned rebels, he mentioned roots rock reggae music, he mentioned heaven.  Check all the right boxes, now let's fire up a Louisville Slugger sized spliff and chill.  It can get cheezy, as all reggae can, such as on the sax-flowing "Ready for Love" (also from 2016's Everlasting) but then you get bailed out by the title track of that album, which is a perfectly constructed, horn-laced, synth-bounced, nappy-dreaded ode to Jah's love.

"You can feel it in yer bones, my friend!"  That is the goods, right there.  JAH LOVE!  And "Raggamuffin" just made me want to jump up and dance.  So this is the real deal stuff, even if it veers into the caricature of reggae.  I could have moved on to the next band a while ago, but I like it.

Recommend?  Yes.

Chronixx & Zincfence Redemption

One Liner: Classic reggae sound from a new school guy.

Poster Position: 14

Thoughts:  Chronixx is a traditional sounding reggae guy, from Jamaica, who apparently got his big break in the States because of Jimmy Fallon noticing him on vacation in Jamaica and inviting him to perform on his show.  I'd link to a video, but all I found on YouTube were garbage homemade videos of the screen of someone's TV.  Anyway, the big song that caught Fallon's attention, and his most popular track (except for a Major Lazer song that Chronixx is just featured on) is "Here Comes Trouble," from 2014's Dread & Terrible.

That is that cool, classic reggae sound I remember.  Funky, groovy, but still feels kind of light and friendly, despite the lyrics.  He's only got that one album, but then he has a mess of singles on Spotify that you can also taste test.  This is classic sounding stuff, and I generally enjoy reggae.  I'm no true connoisseur of the genre, but I've purchased and jammed a bunch of Bob Marley, some Toots, Jimmy Cliff, and  Peter Tosh.  But I can't sit here and tell you that this is legit or a bad facsimile or whatever - to my ears this sounds cool.  Here is a little love song that came out as a single in 2013, called "Smile Jamaica."

Hella breezy love song, super smooth.  Just over 2 million streams of that track.  Finally, although this sounds nothing like the rest of his music, in case you want to try out that Major Lazer collaboration and hear what reggae EDM sounds like, jam this:

Kind of bad ass, man.  Also, kind of weird to read those lyrics, which are kind of nonsense when you actually read them.  Reggae drops!  Aw jeah!

As for Zincfence Redemption, that is apparently his travelling band, named after his label, but I can't find any definitive reason for that name.  When I search for it on Google, I get a lot of images of corrugated metal fences that are corroded, so maybe those are actually known as Zinc Fence and are prevalent in Jamaica?  I'm going with that as an explanation. Although I'm preemptively uncomfortable with the thought of how much dank-ass weed smoke is going to waft around when this guy plays, I'd be interested in going to check him out.