Gaining his first number one in Jamaica whilst still at High School, Little Roy is the personification of how roots reggae artists can cross over to the mainstream.  From the acclaimed album Battle For Seattle, an album of Nirvana covers and produced by Prince Fatty, Lithium combines roots reggae vibes and grunge to create the magic combination that is lighting up festivals from T In The Park to The Electric Picnic via Texas and Australia.    

Reggae Music Again is Busy Signal’s anthem to the music he loves and a call to his fellow artists to embrace and reconnect with the original music of his homeland. This track is relevant right now because, as in the case of the 2012 version of Independent Jamaica, it brought the 50 Years compilation full-circle. Busy Signal, one of Jamaica’s prime dancehall DJ, is paying tribute to the classic Roots Reggae of his childhood displaying his singing skills over a classic “riddim” that would not have been out of place for Dennis Brown or Inner Circle.

And The Beat Goes On is a hypnotising heavy dub adaptation of The Whispers’ disco banger. This latest single features on Hollie Cook in Dub, a hypnotising adaptation of her enormously well received eponymous debut album. The dub version showcases real tape echoes, heavy spring reverbs and alternate instrumental elements such as melodica, percussion and horns. All versions (a full-length vocal, radio edit and dub) of And The Beat Goes On were mixed live in Prince Fatty’s studio in the same Rub a Dub style as was made famous in Seventies Jamaica by King Tubby and others, i.e with fingers, late-night vibes and rearranged with a razor blade.

This is a remake of the first (and now classic) song celebrating Jamaica’s independence. The original was sung by the legendary Lord Creator and produced by Vincent Chin, the founder of reggae’s main label: VP Records. The song was redone to bring the 50 Years compilation full circle by having two of the best singers from the new generation. Peetah Morgan, lead singer of the popular group Morgan Heritage, and an artist in his own right, has been the voice of roots reggae carrying the legacy of Bob Marley into the 21st century. Hollie Cook, the rising British dub-reggae superstar, took England by storm in 2011 with the release of her first album and a flurry of live performances across Europe. Her sultry and langourous singing over modernised roots and dub riddims have made reggae relevant for a new generation.

Natalie Storm is one of a new generation of international multi-genre Jamaican artists. Gal U Good, produced by The Canadian Tropical Bass producer Poirier and featuring on his Alert Riddim EP released in June 2012, shows the perfect marriage of bass music and new school Jamaican vocalists. 

Storm is author of the Punany Monologues (or Punanylogues) on the leading Caribbean culture website LargeUp. Natalie’s mixtape Songs To F@#k and Fight To is available at federationsound.com/blog/natalie-storm.

A reggae take on one of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s most infamous tracks, Got Your Money, with lovers’ rock revivalist Hollie Cook assuming the role of Kelis and our very own Horseman taking on the man himself. Got Your Money is the lead track on Fatty’s next album Prince Fatty Versus the Drunken Gambler which has been described as a mix of hip-hop fantasy and reggae reality. It is out in September.

Living reggae ambassadors Toots & the Maytals unveil their first ever acoustic album this summer through Metropolis, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Jamaican Independence Day. Record holders for most No.1 singles in Jamaica, they have been concocting and performing their brand of firecracker reggae/ska since 1961, with tracks like Monkey Man cemented as rock and pop standards, covered most movingly by the late legend herself, Amy Winehouse. “When he starts to sing, the place lights up”— Jimmy Cliff, singer and songwriter.