Global Reggae Charts - Issue #5 / September 2017

issue # 5 | september 2017
monthly magazine
featured voter
Karsten Frehe - Germany
featured artist
Hempress
Sativa
global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017

global reggae charts | issue 4 / august 2017

editorial
Welcome to a new edition of the Global Reggae Charts! We are five months in and the charts are
becoming. But we are still far from being contempt. Last month, I talked about improving our editorial
concept. This quickly developed into internal talks about overhauling our website.
We launched with a quick implementation of the site in order to get things going without committing
too many resources (after all, this is still a project we realize in our spare time). But by now we
have the core piece, the voting system in place and think that it’s robust enough to proceed on that
basis. Thus, we can now set our eyes on new goals.
Relaunching our site and making it a better experience and a more inviting place on the internet is
high on our priority list. Some ideas are pretty straight forward. Putting more data and content on
the site in a native web format - and not only in the form of our e-zine - is an obvious next step. As
I mentioned in the last edition’s editorial, we don’t aim to become another media outlet. Rather, we
are going to focus on the charts and some industry-specific content.
So far, we haven’t worked out a detailed plan for the relaunch yet. We’ll begin the real work at the
end of the year. However, we are already collecting ideas. Our major question in that regard is:
How can the Global Reggae Charts website provide the utmost value to its users? And, since it
determines the answer to the former question: Who are our users?
In order to get a better idea of the latter, we set up a brief reader poll last month. You can still
participate at http://bit.ly/globalreggae. Moreover, if you have ideas how we can improve globalreggaecharts.com,
please drop us a line at info@globalreggaecharts.com. We are grateful for any
input!
Moreover, we are also very open for new collaborators. So, if you are interested in contributing to
the Global Reggae Charts, we’d be very interested to hear from you. At this point in time, I don’t
want limit your suggestions as helping hands are generally a good thing. But of course there are
a couple of things that would be particularly useful: web development, music and reggae industry-specific
writing (or other content!) or data science. But as I said before: these are only some
things that come to mind. If you are interested in contributing in whatever capacity: write to
info@globalreggaecharts.com. with a brief introduction and some lines on why/how you want to
support. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
Cheers
Thomas
Thomas Euler is founder of the German reggae & dancehall blogazine
whagwaan-magazine.de // feedback: info@globalreggaecharts.com
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global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017

Album single Charts | top 20
Period
Ending 31/08/2017
Contributing voters: 56
europe
# LM 2M PK Mo Artist Single Label
↑ 1 3 2 1 3 Kabaka Pyramid Can‘t Breathe Ghetto Youths International
↑ 2 15 - 2 4 Samory I Rasta Nuh Gangsta Rorystonelove / Black Dub
+ 3 - - 3 1 Alborosie Living Dread Baco
↑ 4 7 12 4 4 Hempress Sativa Rock It Ina Dance Conquering Lion
5 1 1 1 3 Damian Marley Medication feat. Stephen Marley Universal
+ 6 - - 6 1 Capital Letters Judgement Day Sugar Shack
7 2 4 2 4 Chronixx Skanking Sweet Virgin
8 4 8 3 4 Protoje Blood Money Mr Bongo
↑ 9 13 - 9 2 Estelle Love Like Ours feat. Tarrus Riley VP
10 9 - 7 3 Collie Buddz Good Life Harper Digital
11 10 - 10 2 Jesse Royal Always Be Around Easy Star
↑12 14 6 1 5 Talisman Relijan Sugar Shack
13 6 11 4 4 Morgan Heritage We Are feat. Kabaka Pyramid & Dre Island Cool To Be Conscious
14 11 10 10 5 Hempress Sativa Fight For Your Rights Conquering Lion
+ 15 - - 15 1 Pressure Busspipe Sensi Jah Mikey One & Haze St. Dub
16 8 13 2 5 Havana meets Kingston Carnival feat. Solis & Randy Valentine Baco
+ 17 - - 17 1 Black Roots I Believe feat. Jah Garvey Nubian
+ 18 - - 18 1 Dubmatix Roll Dem feat. Gappy Ranks Dub Arc
+ 19 - - 19 1 Cornell Campbell My Roots Girl Med Tone
+ 20 - - 20 1 Cookie The Herbalist Eaze! feat. Lee „Scratch“ Perry Boomrush
+ 20 - - 20 1 Mungo‘s Hi Fi Amsterdam feat. Eva Lazarus Scotch Bonnet
+ 20 - - 20 1 Jesse Royal Generation feat. Jo Mersa Marley Easy Star
Samory I
Hempress Sativa Kabaka Pyramid Alborosie Dubmatix
global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017 2

Album Charts | top 10
Period
Ending 31/08/2017
Contributing voters: 44
europe
# LM 2M PK Mo Artist Album Label
↑ 1 2 - 1 2 Samory I Black Gold Rorystonelove / Black Dub
2 1 - 1 2 Chronixx Chronology Virgin
3 3 - 3 2 Damian Marley Stony Hill Republic
↑ 4 5 7 2 5 Inna De Yard The Soul of Jamaica Wagram / Chapter Two
↑ 5 7 8 1 5 Nattali Rize Rebel Frequency Baco
↑ 6 9 - 6 2 Perfect Giddimani Live My Life Again Giddimani
7 6 2 2 3 Morgan Heritage Avrakedabra Cool To Be Conscious
+ 8 - - 8 1 Alborosie Freedom In Dub VP
+ 8 - - 8 1 Christos DC Tessera Honest Music
+ 10 - - 10 1 Illbilly Hitec One Thing Leads to Another Echo Beach
Perfect Giddimani
Alborosie
Illbilly Hitec
Samory I
Christos DC
# = this month’s position on the chart LM = last month’s position on the chart 2M = position two months ago
PK = peak position MO = months on the chart ↑= signifies upward movement + = new entry
#make your vote on
globalreggaecharts.com
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global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017

global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017 4

WEB
RADIO
GERMANY
global reggae charts
featured voter
INTERVIEW
For the fifth issue of our magazine we talked to
Karsten Frehe, who presents his show „Forward the
Bass“ at the awarded internet station Byte FM.
Global Reggae Charts: Can you please introduce
yourself and your radio show!
Karsten: My name is Karsten Frehe and I am working
as an art and geography teacher at a school in
Hamburg. For a really long time now, Reggae and
especially Dub have also been very important to me.
I started Irie Ites (Germany) in 1995. Since then I have
been writing reviews and articles for different magazines,
especially the German Riddim mag, as well. In
November 2014 I started my radio show at ByteFM.
ByteFM is a very well-known and influencial German
webradio based in Hamburg. Check it out at www.
byte.fm.
short FACTS
Station: Byte FM
Location: Hamburg
Show: Forward The Bass
Host: Karsten Frehe
On air: Monday 18:00 to 19:00 CEST (UTC+2)
https://www.byte.fm/sendungen/
forward-the-bass/
GRC: What are the features you like better about
radio than the website? And the other way around?
K: Radio is more spontaneous and I can play a big
variety of tunes without having to write articles or
reviews about the artists. I include old and new tunes
with different flavours of reggae inspired music. The
website takes a lot more time to work on. You need to
listen to the music closely in order to write a proper
review or article.
GRC: What spectrum of music do you play in your
show and which artists have you found most inspiring
lately?
GRC: You have been involved with Irieites.de for a
long time. How did you become a radio DJ?
K: Irie Ites started as a radio show in 1995 and is still
running at a local public radio in Kassel. After that
the sound system, website and label were founded.
I left Kassel in 1998 and others took over the radio
show. But radio has always been a major interest of
mine, so I knocked on the door of ByteFM and since
then I’ve been broadcasting again.
K: Like I have said, the variety is pretty big. I am a
fan of roots reggae, digital dancehall, rock steady,
ska and especially dub. I am not a big fan of modern
roots any more, because the lyrical contents and the
music seem to stay the same and some of the releases
are really uninspired. But I definitely find loads of
fine and exciting music in the global dub scene. Here
is a little namedropping, of what I have been playing
lately: Stand High Patrol, Roger Robinson, Dub Dynasty,
Dubmatix, Vibronics, Aldubb and a lot more.
Next to that scene, you can find jewels of releases in
other genres of reggae, like the amazing rock steady
album „Nothing More To Say“ by The Frightnrs. Of
the newer releases, I have been playing almost every
tune from the exceptional album „Hira“ by Meta &
The Cornerstones.
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global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017

Hempress
Sativa
global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017 8

ARTIST FEATURE
global reggae charts
featured artist
Women in Reggae
Text: Thomas Euler // whagwaan-magazine.de
Reggae and dancehall historically both had their fair
share of highly talented and artistically impactful
women. Still, by and large the two genres certainly
qualify as male-dominated. For every Marcia Griffith,
Sister Nancy, Tanya Stephens or Lady Saw, there
always used to be a multiple of male artists with
comparable standing. At least when judging on the
grounds of their commercial success which often
didn’t measure up to the critical acclaim and the
fan’s appreciation. Multiple factors contributed to
that development, ranging from industry dynamics
(some might describe them as patriarchal) to societal
structures.
What certainly didn’t contribute is a lack of talent. Through
the years, the great ladies of reggae have created
some of the genre’s very best records, among
them several all-time classics. As such, it is great to
see that today’s generation of reggae and dancehall
artists features a number of women at the forefront:
Jah9, Etana and Spice are among Jamaica’s most notorious
artists. And the Australian singer Nattali Rize
has gained momentum internationally (her current
album Rebel Frequency topped the Global Reggae
Charts for two months straight).
And once you look under the surface and dig a bit
deeper than the highest-profile names, you’ll find a
lot more. There is a whole bunch of highly talented
and very promising young women like Xana Romeo,
Toian, LMK, Marcy Chin, Ishawna, Sevana or
Shanique Marie. None of them appears to be contempt
with the status-quo of women in reggae. And,
more importantly, none them seems particularly affected
by historical limitations the genre might have
put in front of female artists.
Another name that definitely needs to be mentioned
in that context is Hempress Sativa. In early 2017, she
released her debut album Unconquerebel which
gained a lot of positive feedback from fans, critics
and fellow musicians alike. Before that, her single
Rock It Ina Dance had already achieved notoriety
on dances and radio alike. The song illustrated that
Hempress is well-versed in old school dancehall
vibes and capable of reworking them into a fresh
sound. To get there, she worked with no other than
Hopeton Overton Brown - better known as Scientist.
Having a reggae and dub legend in her inner circle -
Scientist mixed another three songs from the album
- is a good indication of her appreciation for the
music’s pioneers.
Which isn’t a coincidence. Her father, Albert “Ilawi
Malawi” Johnson, used to be a selektor at Jah Love
Muzik, a Sound System that was pretty popular from
the late 70’s throughout the 80’s. Growing up in a
musical household meant Kerida Johnson (Sativa’s
birth name) came in contact with reggae music from
a very early age. In comparison to other kids whose
parents are music fans, though, said contact wasn’t
limited to listening to the music. Instead, by virtue
of having a music professional as a parent, she also
learnt what it means to be in the music industry.
That, interestingly, isn’t an uncommon theme among
today’s generation of Jamaican artists. Here is a brief
(and very incomplete!) list of artists whose parents
were professionally involved with reggae in some
capacity:
- Chronixx (father: Chronicle, singer)
- Protoje (mother: Lorna Bennett, singer)
- Keznamdi (both parents: Chakula, band)
- Xana Romeo (father: Max Romeo, singer)
- Marley siblings (father: Bob Marley, singer;
- Stephen & Ziggy also: mother: Rita Marley, singer)
- Queen Ifrica (father: Derrick Morgan, singer)
- Ishawna (father: Don Angelo, singer)
- Meleku (father: Sizzla, singer)
- and many more
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global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017

global reggae charts
featured artist
Now, don’t get me wrong: That’s neither a criticism
nor would I dare say that “your career is simply the
child of your parent’s success. It still takes talent,
effort and one’s creative vision - and in many cases
very likely a lot of thick skin to deal with such accusations
and the inner conflicts they can produce.
Instead, I regard it as an entirely positive thing. More
knowledge about how the game is being played makes
for better players and results.
And this can easily be witnessed when looking at
Hempress Sativa’s work. Although her career is arguably
still in its early stages, she has put out some
very ripe music already. She clearly has the vibes
and the talent. Also, she managed to work with some
great collaborators; Scientist is only one example.
Others are drummer Kirk Bennett, guitarist Earl
“Chinna” Smith or Errol “Flabba” Holt who bring
many combined decades of reggae experience to the
(studio) table. And, most importantly, she knows how
to bring all this together into a compelling package.
A feat that takes many years of experience. Which
she started to make from early on.
Projecting the future is generally an inaccurate science
and probably twice so in the world of music.
But if Kerida Johnson continues on her current path,
it’s hard to see why her next endeavors shouldn’t be
leading her to good places. She is one of the most
exciting female reggae artists. And she’s part of a
generation that could change the entire perception of
what it means to be a woman in reggae.
title: Hempress Sativa - Unconquerebel
label: Conquering Lion Records
release date: 07|01|2017
global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017
8

ON Air
global reggae charts
radio shows
Canada
Radio Regent
ItaL rOOts RaDio
with Sweet T & MAdCast-Fuji
Tuesday - 3:00 pm EDT/UTC-4
Germany
Antenne Münster
COOL & DEADLY
with Roots Operator Wolle
4. Saturday - 8:00 pm CEST/UTC+2
Germany
Radio Regentrude
GLOBAL REGGAE CHARTS
with Brigitte Reinert
Last Friday - 8:00 pm CEST/UTC+2
Italy
Radio Popolare Network
REGGAE RADIO STATION
with Vitowar
Last Sunday - 11:45 pm CEST/UTC+2
Italy
Atom Radio
Global Reggae Charts
Sunday 5:00 pm CEST/UTC+2
Norway
Radio Nova
Oslo Reggae Show
with Dominic Reuben & Selecta Harmony
Last Tuesday 21:30 - 23:30 CEST/UTC+2
UK
Black Country Radio
RIDDIM SESSIONS
with Kevin Moore
Friday - 1:00 am BST/UTC+1
UK
Radio St. Austell Bay 105.6 FM
A-Z of Reggae
with Mark Norman
Last Sunday - 4:00 pm BST/UTC+1
UK
Vibes FM
REGGAEMYLITIS
with Sarah C
Last Wednesday - 6:00 pm BST/UTC+1
USA
Islandah Radio
GLOBAL REGGAE CHARTS
with Duke Locario
Last Friday - 10:00 pm EDT/UTC-4
Venezuela
Radio Nacional de Venezuela
DESDE EL GHETTO
with George Dread
2. & 4. Saturday - 11:00 am VET/UTC-4
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global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017

global reggae charts
voters
global
VoterS
Argentina
La De Dios / Music Director
Australia
2BOB Radio / Roots‘n‘Reggae Show
897FM / Ital Galore
Belgium
Radio Centraal / Back 2 Bass
Canada
CFRU-FM / The Crooked Beat
Radio Regent / ItaL rOOts RaDio
Costa Rica
Radio Urbano 105.9FM / Di Docta Show
Croatia
Reggae.hr / Editor
Denmark
Station Amager / Reggae Moods
France
La Grosse Radio - Reggae / Program Director
Radio Mille Pattes / Zion High Station
World-A-Reggae / Editor
Germany
Ablazin Radio / Host
Antenne Münster 95.4 / Cool & Deadly
ByteFM / Forward The Bass
Freies Radio Kassel / Irie Ites Radioshow
querfunk / DREADheadz AJ
Radio Leinehertz 106.5 / Wha Gwaan
Radio Regentrude / Music Director
Radio StHörfunk / Sluggish Radio Show
Radio Top40 / Host
Radio Z 95.8 / Rastashock
Reggaeville / Author
Reggaeville / CEO
Radio Xanthi One / Music Director
ReggaeYard / ReggaeYard
Israel
Kol Hanegev 106.4 FM / Ba Ba Reggae
Italy
Atom Radio / Host
Jammonite Radio / Reggae New Releases
Radio Popolare Network / Reggae Radio Station
Radio Popolare Verona / Exodus
Radio Web-Base / Reggae Music
Jamaica
Blitz Radio 2000 / Music Director
Netherlands
Impact AM / Music Director
NPO FunX / Music Director
World A Reggae / CEO
Norway
Radio Nova / Oslo Reggae Show
Poland
Polskie Radio Czwórka / Strefa Dread
Radio Kampus / Dancehall Masak-Rah
Radio Oko / Reggae Jazda
Russia
Daily Vibes / Editor
Switzerland
Jam On Radio / Music Director
UK
fuzionlive.com / Reggae Takeover
Radio St Austell Bay / A-Z of Reggae
Reggae Roots Review / Reggae Roots Review
Vibes FM / Reggaemylitis
USA
Island Stage Magazine / CEO
KAZI 88.7 FM / Reggae Evolution
KDUR FM / Heart Beat of Zion
KPOV 88.9 FM / The Coop
Reggae King Radio / Reggae Rhapsody
Reggae Music Forward / Host
WBZC 88.9 FM / Sounds of the Caribbean
WORT 89.9 FM / Tropical Riddims
WZBC Boston College Radio 90.3 FM /
Raggamuffin International
Venezuela
Radio Nacional de Venezuela / Desde El Ghetto
global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017 10

media partners
Imprint
Publisher:
Boomrush Productions
Tondernstr. 14
26127 Oldenburg
Germany
Editor-in-Chief:
Felix Rühling
info@globalreggaecharts.com
Author:
Thomas Euler
whagwaan-magazine.de
Art Director:
Solvey Schönknecht
Advertising:
Felix Rühling
info@globalreggaecharts.com
© Boomrush Productions 2017
All rights reserved.
Reproduction in part or whole is strictly
prohibited without prior consent or
authorization from the publisher.
Website:
https://globalreggaecharts.com
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global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017

global reggae charts | issue 5 / sept 2017