Jamaica

Pan African Film and Arts Festival 2013 Spotlights Immigration, Civil Rights and Jazz

Five Artsy Things to Do This Week, Including Photos in a Red Line Metro Station

This week's list includes a feisty auctioneer, art in a Metro station and a real-life Romeo and Juliet. 5. The last auction Robert Berman has been running Santa Monica Auctions for going on three decades and has had the C2 building at Bergamot Station for nineteen years. At the end of the month, th ... More >>

Serious Drinking: More Punches From 1887 2 Recipes

This week's column is devoted to alleviating election stress with a knockout punch, assisted by the great pioneer mixologist Jerry Thomas, circa 1887. Thomas was not only a talented bartender, he was a great aggregator of recipes, collecting hundreds in his Bar-Tender's Guide (reprinted in 2008 by R ... More >>

10 Best Cinnamon Rolls in Los Angeles

The scent of warm cinnamon rolls -- or buns, the terms are interchangeable -- wafting through the air can either transport you to a happy place or trigger severe mall anxiety. But either way, it's an American specialty that comes in two very distinct iterations. Built from a bread-like dough, or whi ... More >>

A Hip-Hop Love Story

When Jon Whitfield moved to Los Angeles in 2008, he had no aspirations of seeing Hollywood Boulevard or hitting the beach in Malibu. He didn't come from his home state of Mississippi to play tourist. Then again, he also didn't come to fall in love, get married and merge his burgeoning musical career ... More >>

Seven Paintings, A Story in Performance

Pulp to Headline Coachella Cruise: Here's the Full Lineup

All aboard. Let the Coachella branding begin! Goldenvoice today announced a pair of Coachella boat tours; each will leave in December from Fort Lauderdale. Pulp will headline, with Hot Chip, Yeasayer, Girl Talk and Sleigh Bells among the bigger names.

The Lions Give Roots Reggae New Life

[Editor's note: Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. Be sure to also check out the archives.] Reggae was spawned during one broiling Kingston, Jamaica, summer, spread to the world via the mesmerism of Bob Marley, and now serves as a dorm-room rite of pas ... More >>

Get Ready For Los Angeles' Biggest Rap Battle in Years

Rap battles have always been important in hip-hop. Many aspects of the genre's evolution and spirit of competition have sprung from the art form, and each generation has had its landmark battles. The 1981 Kool Moe Dee vs. Busy Bee battle at New York's Harlem World took MCing to the next level, while ... More >>

National Geographic's Top 10 National Dishes Guess What Americans Like To Eat

Anne FishbeinBurger Kitchen's breakfast hamburger​Food blogs aren't the only publications with endless lists or pictures of pretty things people like to eat. National Geographic, the magazine many of us fondly remember from grade school science classrooms and dentists' offices, is the latest t ... More >>

Toddla T: Wicked Clever, Proper Smart, He Performs at Dim Mak Studios Tonight

Ben Westhoff​Toddla T comes into a room with the movement and energy of Russell Brand, hair akimbo, limbs constantly in motion. The 26-year-old Sheffield native producer -- whose real name is Thomas Bell -- also talks in a similarly manic, slang-riddled accent. In town to perform at Dim Mak S ... More >>

Battle Sangria: Rick Bayless vs. Susan Feniger & Mary Sue Milliken a Recipe from the Winner

C. LeVasserJamaica sangria by Rick Bayless​Some of us have been going out a lot less these days. But rather than unnecessarily spending twenty dollars on a rare gueuze at Father's Office, we've been throwing our money at things like Scharffen Berger chocolate, or imported speck from Alto-Adige ... More >>

Bandwagonesque: Teenage Fanclub Wasteland

Sun Araw, L.A.'s own modern-day psychedelicist, tackles Brit power-pop classic

Countdown to Records Store Day: We Found Sasha Grey's Favorite Record Store!

​ Wombleton Records sells an amazing collection of rare- and not-so-rare imports--though its stated mission is to further cultural exchange between Los Angeles and Glasgow, it does all that and more carrying everything from Suzy Quattro and Zounds LP's to original pressings of Dutch freakbeat ... More >>

Lee "Scratch" Perry's First-Ever Art Show Opens Tomorrow -- Interview with Curator Sebastian Demian

courtesy dem passwords / lee 'scratch' perry​ Lee 'Scratch' Perry is one of the all-time (ALL-TIME) greats--the producer and genius who pulled dub out of the dirt and the sky and whose recorded legacy won't ever give up all its secrets. (Just like in Kiss Me Deadly--what's IN Lee's suitcase?) ... More >>

M.I.A., Thom Yorke and Buraka Som Sistema on New Major Lazer EP, 'Lazers Never Die'

Thom Yorke and M.I.A. guest​So, you know, the cat's out of the bag on whether or not M.I.A.'s one-time lover and longtime producer Diplo has relocated to Los Angeles. And as Pitchfork and others have reported, that scorned pussy (sticking with the metaphor here, folks) is now taking shots at ... More >>

Best Syphon Coffee

Hario Glasspersonal coffee syphon​ Tendered on a mirror-like tray alongside a spare cup of water and a complimentary dish of nuts and dried fruit, your Wallenford, Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee arrives in a slender glass mug, tawny and fragrant. You are encouraged not to drink it.

West African Get Down with Polyrhythmic Songstress Wunmi

West African Get Down with Polyrhythmic Songstress Wunmi

THEY'RE KINKY AND THEY'RE KOOKY

Do Not Miss This: Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus (and Scientist) Tonight at Dub Club @ Echoplex!

​The small island nation of Jamaica has exported a huge variety of musical styles to the world. Sure, stoners worldwide get baked under Marley posters and are down with reggae, and thanks to ambient and indie crossovers the mighty Dub resonates from Switzerland to Timbuktu. There's also ska, m ... More >>

Reggae Chicken: Jamaican-American Fusion Food Truck Rolls Out

On Saturday afternoon, while 26 of Los Angeles' nouveau food trucks converged at the T Lofts in West L.A. for a Haiti benefit, husband-and-wife duo Regine and Chris Patterson were putting the final touches on their Jamaican-American fusion truck, Reggae Chicken, which is scheduled to roll out today. ... More >>

Squid Ink Food Fight: Chicken Jerk Off

Jerk chicken is a dish that seems to have an inordinate number of fans, and I'm not sure why. That's not to say that jerk chicken isn't delicious--it is--I just don't understand why so many people seem to have eaten it. Los Angeles is not loaded with Jamaican restaurants, let alone good ones, and I ... More >>

American Apparel Puts Father Yod On A T-Shirt, Anthology Provides The Soundtrack

Celebrated Hollywood Hills cult head and far-out psych-rock band leader Father Yod may have died in an unfortunate hang-gliding accident in Hawaii in 1975 (we realize the inherent oddness of that sentence to any not familiar with the Ya Ho Wha 13 story), but his image is being resurrected thanks to ... More >>

Ooh La-La Festival

Minneapolis's First Avenue Cancels Buju Banton Show? Now Hold on a Second ...

We've been thinking a lot about the cancellations of gigs by Buju Banton during his recent tour. The latest, according to the Minnesota Independent (via the Daily Swarm), is at First Avenue in Minneapolis. The impetus for this internal conversation is a comment left on our recent post about AEG Live ... More >>

Taste of the Americas at San Antonio Winery: Celebrate Independence with Food and Wine

Seven Latin American countries celebrate their independence day in September. That makes it the perfect month for San Antonio Winery's "Taste of the Americas" food and wine festival. The festival, held September 20 in downtown Los Angeles, will feature dishes from five of those countries--Mexico, El ... More >>

The French Invade L.A.: Sébastien Tellier, Gonzales, Nouvelle Vague, Emilie Simon, and More

What's that wafting this way? The stink of well-aged cheese? A ripe bouquet of sex and spilled wine? The craven stench of wartime neutrality? It's far too easy to skewer the French for a cheap laugh, which might help explain why the Consulate General Of France In Los Angeles and the French Embassy h ... More >>

Los Angeles Film Festival: I Want My MTV

Fest’s music-video showcase takes things back to basics

Rock Picks: Doves, Ceci Bastida, Carina Round, New York Dolls

Also, The Detroit Cobras, the Aggrolites, Loney Dear and others

Diplo and Switch Wield Major Lazer at Bar Marmont

Diplo and Switch wield Major Lazer at Bar Marmont

Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

New Mayor in Hot Seat  Mary Su, who was sworn in as Walnut's first Chinese-American woman mayor Wednesday night, is already at the top of recall petitions because she did not display enough ardor in opposing an NFL stadium being planned for neighboring Industry. Hoodie Recall About 300,000 kids ... More >>

On the Eve of the Grammys, Heavy D Discusses His Nomination, Reggae, Diddy and More

To hip-hop fans in the early-'90s, Heavy D was the original "Overweight Lover." A rap generation later, he was name-dropped more in the reciting of one of hip-hop's most beloved lines: the first bars from another heavy weight, Notorious B.I.G's "Juicy." Now? Without Notorious it'd be a wonder if t ... More >>

The Mission (Accomplished)

Pucker Up Turns 200!

Celebrating a gala anniversary with a look back at a near decade of debauchery

Movie Reviews: Kurt Cobain: About a Son, Michael Clayton

Also Beyond Hatred, Blade Runner: The Final Cut and more

Keef DID NOT snort his Daddy ok?

Okay, I may be the biggest Rolling Stones fan I know (except for maybe Falling James) but I'd defend my hero on this one regardless. Snorting his pops? It's soooo Keith Richards to say something like that. I've studied him, I've met him, I know. But c'mon even if you're just a casual fan, you're f ... More >>

Dirty Reggae

The Aggrolites play ska as Jah intended

Best Dispatches From Captain's Quarters

Desmond Dekker

1941–2006

Fathers and Sons

An interview with Runt’s Michael Edwards

Kingston

The Sound and the Fury

Lester Bangs and the relevance of rock criticism

All Stories Are True

Michael Tolkin on rhythm, divinity and misunderstanding

Selling the Sun

The Pan African Film & Arts Festival at 10

Small Place, Big Hurt

Jamaica in Life and Debt

Into the Melding Pot

Rich flavors from the old country

Northern Touch

To Be Young, Different and/or Black

Birth of the Cruel

Progressive jazz for your silent night