John Masouri

As I write, Toots is in intensive care in a private Kingston hospital, being treated for COVID-19. Our hearts go out to him and his family, and we wish him a complete and speedy recovery. 

My latest interview with him, recorded in July, found him eager to tour once...

The Marley Files is the latest addition to my Reggae Chronicles series, and another anthology of selected articles and features, many of them previously unavailable in English. As well as telling the stories behind Bob Marley and the Wailers' key recordings,...

The return of Buju Banton has been spectacular to say the least with a highly acclaimed world tour, a handful of essential singles and now a new album, Upside Down, that has everything we'd expect to hear and more from the Garga Mel. 

There are in-depth interviews with...

Rebel Frequency is the first volume in my Reggae Chronicles series, and the first anthology of writing devoted to Jamaica's new wave of singers and musicians. We're talking about Chronixx, Protoje, Kabaka Pyramid and Jah9, together with newcomers like Koffee, Mortimer...

"Peter Tosh - Un Rebelle Sans Pause" is a major, eleven page feature on the most militant and compelling Jamaican reggae star of them all, drawn from the many interviews and research materials I'd amassed whilst writing the unauthorised biography, "Steppin' Razor - The...

Germany's outstanding specialist reggae magazine is just one issue away from celebrating their century and I'm proud to have been one of their contributors from way back, when they briefly published an English language edition. 

We've all come a long way since...

Echoes celebrates its 44th anniversary this month and so many thanks to owners Paul Phillips and Chris Wells for their continuing dedication to the cause. Respect is due! Their last issue of 2019 (and which covers January 2020) kept me busy before Christmas with full l...

December's issue, like this year's Grammy nominations, is slanted towards the veterans. Founder member and lead guitarist Cat Coore tells the story of Third World's acclaimed new album More Work To Be Done, produced by Damian Marley, who's so pleased with it, they've a...

Echoes' cover star is Chronixx, talking about the 5th Anniversary edition of Dread & Terrible and plans for the future, as well as reflecting on his rise to fame. 

Our monthly Vibes column discusses what's happened since Jamaica relaxed its ganja laws, and Run The...

VP Records in New York are celebrating their 40th Anniversary this year. I wrote a history of the label, with quotes and reminiscing from founder Patricia "Miss Pat" Chin and her son Randy for this latest issue of Riddim Magazine, a German language specialist reggae pu...