Reggae Music

It was all about the vibes at the Lake Casitas Recreation Area on Saturday. Thandiwe Eshe felt them. The spunky 5-year-old flailed her arms in the air as she chased down the giant bubbles she made with a large circular wand. "I like the big ones," she said. "They're jiggly." So did Lori and Phillip Norris, who on stage are known as the reggae group Fire and Brimstone. "I love the venue," she said. "It's fabulous."

Snoop Dogg has been called many things over the course of his two-decade career -- Snoop Doggy Dogg, Bigg Snoop Dogg and Snoop D-O Double G are just a few of the monikers. When the multi-platinum rapper announced last summer that he'd been reborn as Snoop Lion and would trade in the menacing gangster rap that made him a superstar for rasta patois and issue a disc soaked in reggae rhythms , reaction was mixed, with a few critics writing it off as a gimmick. The rapper-turned-Rastafarian has announced his new album, Snoop Lion's debut, “Reincarnated,” will arrive on April 23. RELATED: Snoop Lion: 'La La La' and a rapper's transition into reggae Executive produced by Diplo and his Major Lazer production team (who even gave Beyoncé a sampling of their dancehall influences)

Local reggae fans have already enjoyed a steady stream of formidable musical talent via the usual summer reggae festivals. But this Sunday's concert headlined by Luciano and the Wailing Souls at Malibu's Calamigos Ranch will have another beneficiary: children. Not only will kids 12 and under be allowed in free to the day's "family style" event, with its sideshow of games, swimming, animals and a merry-go-round, but proceeds are slated to go to children's programs in both Los Angeles and Jamaica.

The Long Beach rapper Snoop Dogg has several iconic traits -- a laid-back and menacing flow, evocatively violent lyrics and a deep affection for cannabis sativa among them. He'll get to keep at least one of those interests in his new incarnation as Snoop Lion, an alias gleaned from a new interest in Rastafarianism and a hard pivot to traditional reggae music. The identity change, which he first announced last week, is suprising but not unprecedented in contemporary hip-hop (Nas recorded a collaborative album of reggae-infused tunes with Damian Marley)

Marcia Griffiths didn't expect the second coming of the Electric Boogie. The veteran reggae singer, a member of the I-Threes vocal group that backed Bob Marley for years, released a record called "Electric Boogie" in 1983. But the single wasn't successful outside the reggae scene and didn't even become a fixture in her own concert repertoire.

The Long Beach rapper Snoop Dogg has several iconic traits -- a laid-back and menacing flow, evocatively violent lyrics and a deep affection for cannabis sativa among them. He'll get to keep at least one of those interests in his new incarnation as Snoop Lion, an alias gleaned from a new interest in Rastafarianism and a hard pivot to traditional reggae music. The identity change, which he first announced last week, is suprising but not unprecedented in contemporary hip-hop (Nas recorded a collaborative album of reggae-infused tunes with Damian Marley)

Gregory Isaacs, the Jamaican singer who pioneered the style of reggae music known as lovers rock and became one of the genre's major stars in the 1970s, has died. He was 59. Isaacs died Monday at his home in London, according to his manager, Copeland Forbes. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer last year. Known as the "Cool Ruler," as he styled himself in the title of a 1978 album, Isaacs cut a dapper figure in his designer suits and silk shirts ? an image suited to a style of music that emphasized romantic yearning over reggae's more traditional themes of spiritual and political transformation.

Snoop Dogg has been called many things over the course of his two-decade career -- Snoop Doggy Dogg, Bigg Snoop Dogg and Snoop D-O Double G are just a few of the monikers. When the multi-platinum rapper announced last summer that he'd been reborn as Snoop Lion and would trade in the menacing gangster rap that made him a superstar for rasta patois and issue a disc soaked in reggae rhythms , reaction was mixed, with a few critics writing it off as a gimmick. The rapper-turned-Rastafarian has announced his new album, Snoop Lion's debut, “Reincarnated,” will arrive on April 23. RELATED: Snoop Lion: 'La La La' and a rapper's transition into reggae Executive produced by Diplo and his Major Lazer production team (who even gave Beyoncé a sampling of their dancehall influences)

Like a refreshing tropical breeze, reggae music can blow away some of the unpleasantness of life and lift the spirit. Reggae artists frequently remind their audiences to "sing and dance your troubles away" and "come together like one family living in a peaceful society." Their message of unity, peace and truth is meant to serve as a force for raising the consciousness of humanity. However, listening to the music's lyrics is not a prerequisite for enjoying the syncopated beat.

Start with reggae films, new and old * "The Harder They Come" (the Jimmy Cliff classic, newly released on DVD) * "Rockers" (1977 reggae indie featuring roots legend Burning Spear) * "Dance- hall Queen" (1997's dancehall Cinderella) * "Life and Debt" (stunning, reggae-inflected documentary to be released on DVD this month) * "Studio One Story" (new Soul Jazz DVD spotlighting the pioneer reggae record label) Add crucial books on reggae culture * "Catch a Fire," by Timothy White (definitive Marley

When you think reggae, the first name that springs to mind is Bob -- Marley, that is, but probably not Bob Andy. A contemporary of Marley's, the Jamaican-born Andy is making a rare appearance at Sunday's "Legends of Reggae" concert, part of KCRW's World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. " I'm here to put a face to the name," the singer says, laughing. Considered one of reggae's most influential songwriters, Andy has songs that have been recorded by a variety of artists including Gregory Isaacs, the Specials, Taj Mahal, Maxi Priest and UB40.

Gregory Isaacs, the Jamaican singer who pioneered the style of reggae music known as lovers rock and became one of the genre's major stars in the 1970s, has died. He was 59. Isaacs died Monday at his home in London, according to his manager, Copeland Forbes. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer last year. Known as the "Cool Ruler," as he styled himself in the title of a 1978 album, Isaacs cut a dapper figure in his designer suits and silk shirts ? an image suited to a style of music that emphasized romantic yearning over reggae's more traditional themes of spiritual and political transformation.

Trevor Rhone, a leading Caribbean playwright and screenwriter who co-wrote the 1972 film "The Harder They Come," which helped introduce reggae music and urban Jamaican culture to international audiences, died Sept. 15 at a hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, after a heart attack. He was 69. "The Harder They Come" starred reggae performer Jimmy Cliff as an aspiring singer who becomes a hero to the poor after killing a police officer. The film, co-written with director Perry Henzell, was drawn from the story of a Jamaican criminal killed by police in 1948.

No upcoming concert in Los Angeles is stirring up passions more than the Century Club appearance Tuesday by Buju Banton and Beenie Man, two Jamaican stars who are viewed by fans as icons of the island's musical uplift but also reviled by the gay activist community as anthem singers for bigotry.

A Hollywood club has canceled a performance by Buju Banton, a reggae star whose violent lyrics about gays and lesbians have made him a flashpoint figure. Adam Manacker, general manager of the Highland nightclub and restaurant, said Thursday that e-mail complaints and concerned callers in recent days had prompted him to research Banton's past and call off the Oct. 2 show. Refunds are available through the vendor where the tickets were purchased.

FOR two decades beginning in 1978, the live home of reggae music was Reggae Sunsplash, a festival that made its mark in Jamaica with a lineup of the genre's kings, including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Dennis Brown. Sunsplash landed on the shores of the United States in 1985, stopping at the Greek Theatre to spread its good vibrations every summer through 1996.

At its worst, when its only concerns are good times and ganja, reggae music takes a back seat only to disco as the world's most annoyingly soporific pop sound. But at its best, reggae strives to be a voice of encouragement to the have-nots of the world--one of the most ambitious and important goals of any pop form. Dennis Brown's show Monday night at Club Postnuclear in Laguna Beach offered the ambitious kind of reggae.

Half Pint's "Greetings (to All Ragamuffins)" was the Jamaican equivalent of Tone Loc's "Wild Thing"--a record that went beyond hit status to become a catch phrase and a social phenomenon. The 1986 smash sparked a number of follow-up "Ragamuffin" songs, and other artists freely borrowed the propulsive, bass-driven rhythm for their own music. Even the meaning of ragamuffin changed as a result--from a term denoting a ragged street person to one suggesting a badge of honor worn by those who weather adversity.

THE international audience at Jamaica's annual Reggae Sumfest -- the weeklong summer festival considered the creme de la creme of reggae shows -- is a handy public opinion poll. The popularity of an artist is commensurate with the number of lighters raised during his or her performance. And at this year's show, one artist sparked fire like no other. Granted, that artist had the benefit of a noteworthy name: Damian Robert Nesta Marley, the youngest of Bob's sons. (He's even known as "Jr.

Mingling with the pungent wafts of ganja smoke and the bobbing pulse of Jamaica's surrogate national anthem, "One Love," a jarring note of discord is messing with the mellow vibe of this remote village. Here in the Dry Harbor Mountains lie the remains of reggae legend Bob Marley, and those who come to honor his memory insist it is here he must stay.