The Style & Vibes Podcast

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Tia is a Lover’s Rock, Reggae, Dancehall artist and singer-songwriter based out of the Virgin Islands. The up and coming singer has a beautiful voice complimented by traditional bassline riddims. Debuting in 2014 with her single ‘Healing’, followed by more singles line  ‘Be Without You’, produced by Dean Pond ‘Eyes On Me’, ‘No Love Sweeter’, ‘Regret’ and ‘Come Through’, Tia released her debut EP to the world, titled Black Cocoon. Produced by Troyton Hinds and released on Troyton Music, the EP went on to reach number 5 on Reggae iTunes Chart. In this episode we discuss her journey in music, how she collaborated with Dancehall icon Bounty Killer on her latest single ‘Nice Up,’ how her style is developing and more!

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Check out her latest single  ‘Nice Up’ with Bounty Killer

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In our continued discussion of Small Axe with Rachel Osbourne of Julie Mango TV, we dive deeply into the Lover’s Rock episode. We discuss the nostalgic influences of our adolescent year witnessing similar events, discuss the Lover’s Rock genre and its growth, important scenes in the series and of course the iconic Janet Kay’s Silly Games. 

Caribbean Streaming Services to Explore in 2021

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Small Axe is a British anthology film series, created and directed by Steve McQueen. The anthology consists of five films that tell distinct stories about the lives of West Indian immigrants in London from the 1960s to the 1980s. The series premiered at Cannes film, got picked up by BBC and then Amazon. I’m joined by Rachel Osbourne of Julie Mango TV to discuss the anthology series’ as it directly relates to the Caribbean and its diaspora. We explore the name of the series, its focus around Black struggles with racism, accessibility to the full diaspora, coverage by black mainstream media and community connection.

Caribbean Streaming Services to Explore in 2021

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In this episode I highlight a few things happening in the world right now. The La Soufrière volcano eruption on the main island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, DMX passing away on April 9, recap Notorious B.I.G  Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell documentary on Netflix, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness vs. the music industry, Jo Mersa Marley virtual listening for his new EP Eternal and Earth Wind & Fire Verzuz The Isley Brothers. 

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Kabaka Pyramid is a talented Jamaican lyricist, blending Reggae, Dancehall and Hip-Hop influences to create music that inspires with songs like “Believe”, “Ready” and “Babylon Fallin” he also has. Exploring powerful messages with a rebellious tone with a quality sound that is celebrated by many. Coming off the recent release of his mixtape Immaculate and gearing up for his first riddim product entitled Victory Rock, I spoke with Kabaka about his musical process, how he honed his lyrical skills, his views on Black solidarity,  and of course what he’s looking forward to when things get back to normal.

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Patricia Chin, affectionately known as Miss Pat to just about everyone, is the co-founder of VP Records with her late husband Vincent. VP Records is an independent Caribbean music record label, with music distribution and retail arms of the business. In this episode, Miss Pat shares parts of her musical journey, her impact on the music business, and her making moves in a male-dominated industry.  Miss Pat recently released  Miss Pat: My Reggae Music Journey a coffee table book filled with history and photos from her personal collection. 

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Ronnie Tomlinson is the CEO of Destine Media, a Caribbean artiste public relations and management company.

Her successful transition into the entertainment market started in 2008 after the economic crisis. Being laid off from Goldman Sachs solidified her decision to become an entrepreneur and to never be dependent on a corporation for financial stability.

She manages the narrative for artistes such as Mavado, Ghetto Youths Intl, Konshens, Shaggy, Kabaka Pyramid, Hood Celebrityy, Tarrus Riley, Malica, Buju Banton and recently added Sean Paul.  But we’re not talking about her career in the music industry, but rather the industry itself. 

Ronnie recently wrote a contributing article in the Jamaica Observer about Reggae’s evolution in an article titled Reggae is Alive and Well, But Evolving. We’ve had plenty of discussions right here on the podcast about the quality of the music, changes and challenges that the music that both Dancehall and reggae have gone through in recent years. More often than not we talk about what is going wrong, similar to conversations happening online, in-person and on other media platforms. But Ronnie makes a great point about the evolution of the music landscape being different and why there IS quality music out there that we should feed energy to and we explore why.  

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Chino McGregor has a level of consistency in the Reggae and Dancehall space that for some, may go under the radar. Recently releasing a new project, The Process in three parts, Gimmicks Over Lyrics, Gyal Factory and Riddim Ryda Style, respectively; I sat down with Chino and we discussed his journey in music that brought him to The Process; leveraging his access at an early age through his father, Freddie McGregor, developing his skills as a producer, song writer and honing his signature balance DJing (Dancehall style rapping), and melodic harmonies our producer Kerry coined as “Toast & Flow.”

Chino draws from his musical inspirations Hip-Hop, Reggae, Dancehall, R&B and more to create a sound that leaves you wanting more. The Process is a reflection of where he is today, but it’s his journey to getting to The Process is what you haven’t heard that will intrigue you the most.

U-Roy Essentials Apple Playlist

S&V Werk, Work, Wuk Tee

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February is Reggae month in Jamaica, Black History Month in the U.S. and February 6th is the birthday of Bob Marley.  His contribution to Reggae music is unmatched and his name rings legendary in any music conversation.  While I’ve always understood Bob Marley’s musical legacy,  by watching performances and listening to industry heads in documentaries, I’ve never quite experienced his importance through the eyes of fans. In this episode, I invited my mom on the podcast to a candid conversation about the impact Bob Marley had since she grew up with him musically. We talk about her reggae musical roots, when she first heard his music, key moment in his career, the sentiment around Rastafarian culture in the 70s and his legacy post death.

Apple Playlist | Spotify Playlist 

S&V Werk, Work, Wuk Tee

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Domestic violence as it relates to entertainment is nothing new. It exists in entertainment, because it exists in real life. The public gets a bird's-eye view Of the situations and are left to discuss and decide how they feel about the parties involved. 

Why are we talking about this now might you ask? It was definitely inspired by the allegations of physical, sexual and verbal abuse brought against Majah Hype, a famous Caribbean-American comedian and entertainer, by his now ex-fiance which she shared in a LIVE video on social media in December. 

We have seen some of our favorite entertainers get caught in domestic violence allegations and convictions. But are you wrong for still enjoying the art of your favorite entertainers once you’ve heard these stories?

In this episode I am speaking with Uzuri Holder, a clinical social worker, to discuss really what happens in domestic violence situations from her professional expertise and what happens in real life and celebrity cases.  

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S&V Werk, Work, Wuk Tee

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Produced by Breadfruit Media