In the music video, “Till the DJs Gone,” Boston native Juma – a mysterious figure oft shaded by dark sunglasses who at first acts as a pensive observer – navigates a contemporary milieu under the spell of a corporate subconscious controller. Men and women stare at ipads and cell phones, brainwashed by the messages of greed and consumerism propagated by the digital screens set before them. Juma breaks the communication by hacking into the mass system that disseminates the pervasive messages in order to send out his own message. The song and video transform into a commentary on the state of commercial music as Juma states, “We’re being force fed radio/transmitting garbage/the corporate media monsters.” He ultimately asks us, the listener, to take control and reshape the face of music. Juma creates a meta-narrative of the independent artist rallying against a commercialized cultural system through his music.

The purpose of the song is “to heighten awareness and to help people to start thinking twice and three times about why certain things are valued,” according to Juma.

He jokingly calls himself a “conspiracy theorist.” Juma is a rather upbeat and humorous person, but he holds fast to his beliefs. “The lyrics of the song are talking about mass media and using radio as a point object. What I wanted to visually get across with the video was, the core of the song, the story of awakening. So it’s really about making people aware of agenda setting, which is a communication theory that posits that news media and media systems may not be able to tell us what to think, but certainly what to think about,” says Juma, who makes sure to fleck his statements with academic language.

“We are all being bombarded with these messages that effect who we are. And the intent of these things is to trigger a particular consumer behavior. I tend to feel like there are capitalistic forces at work in the world,” he continues. “The prospect to monetize human existence – in a sense is kind of crazy – is antithetical to why we’re here. It totally devalues who we are as human beings.”

The single, “Till the DJs Gone,” is off his upcoming sophomore album, Fall of the Giants, which is set to be released on January 31st. The title track of the forthcoming album, “Giants Fall,” had a video release during the summer of 2010. But unlike his most recent video, the “Giants Fall” full-length music video has a run time just under eight minutes. The video follows a struggling alcoholic, played by Juma, who grapples with deep seeded issues of witnessing his mother being abused by his father as a child.

“Domestic violence is the backdrop to this guys present day…. He is really in dire straits psychologically,” says Juma. The character creates an imaginary psychologist to help him sort out his twisted memories as he spirals deeper into a suicidal depression. A force emanates from a bible in the house – of which the character is reaching for – which transports him into a spirit world, “where he fights his giants in the form of these demonic smoke projectiles.”

This David and Goliath theme runs not only through the two singles, but the entirety of the album. “The whole album is about winning, overcoming, its about freedom, fear, and limitation. Whether its personal fear that holds people back from being the best that they can be. Whether it be societal limitations that keep people from coming together or keep people from excelling in society,” states Juma. His strength in his music stems from his ability to take a macro-perspective. “It speaks to overcoming any and all forms of obstacles, may it be emotional, spiritual, intellectual, societal. It speaks to the celebration of those giants falling.”

“I am a man of many giants,” states Juma. His album, though having political and cultural meanings, is rooted in a personal narrative. “What inspired me to come up with an album was my own personal giants in my own life. And that change to victory made me want to share it.”

His ideas work as thematic motifs and ubiquitous narrative arcs. The political bent on the album can also be applied to the music industry, something that Juma has a strong opinion about. “In celebrating the fall of giants, it absolutely connects to the deconstruction of the old model, institutions, and the old music industry… an institution that we now realize was in need of deconstruction, and now reconstruction.” Juma is a completely independent artist who often produces his work on his own. Furthermore, Fall of the Giants – like his first album – will be released on his own record label, Inniss Entertainment.

Juma’s opinions on the music industry are steeped in experience, as he is no newcomer to the rap game. His debut album, Blast Music, features the song “Pray 4 U” with guest vocals from Grammy winner John Legend. Juma befriended Legend back in 2001 when they were both working at a Boston management consultant firm. This was a time when Legend was still relatively unknown, slowly gaining popularity. After trading mixtapes, Legend and Juma decided to collaborate, creating a song about having faith in the face of adversity.

“Music has always been a part of my life,” explains Juma. He has opened for Fat Joe, Amanda Diva, The X-ecutioners, Kirk Franklin, and many others. When asked about why he makes music, Juma jokes, “the heavens didn’t open up, and a voice didn’t come down and say ‘Juma, do an album,’” the omniscient voice stated with a deep rumble. For him, music is just a given; it is a piece of his life.

With his upcoming release, the sister single of “Till the DJs Gone, “We Don’t Really Care,” is available as a free download on his soundcloud page. And further information about Juma can be found at facebook.com/JumaMusic.

So what’s next for Juma? After watching a TV show on the apocalyptic Mayan predictions for 2012, Juma jokingly mentioned that he is “reshaping [his] plans for the year.” But it is more likely that his future parallels his opinion on the music industry; we are moving back to “where it should be, back into the hands of the curators. With the digital age and the ability to record and release music at no cost has empowered artists.” And Juma is doing just that – exactly what his own music suggests – which is to defy the corporate music giants.

Swedish trio Movits! makes music best described as “hip-hop-swing-jazz.” Seriously. Get ready America, because you haven’t heard anything like this before.

With song titles like “Ta På Dig Dansskorna” and “Huvudvärken,” the band did not even realize there was a market in the United States for their music until after Stephen Colbert invited them onto the Colbert Report in 2009. Even now, I have to conduct this interview through email because the band does not have a U.S. cell phone with them while touring the Midwest and West Coast. But armed with two albums worth of infectious dance material, including their latest single, “Sammy Davis Jr.,” (a song that would fit in easily with one of those old iPod commercials with silhouettes dancing against colored backgrounds), it should not be long before Movits! attracts even more attention all over the world.

Originally, the guys started out playing acoustic hip-hop and touring around Sweden. However, at an after-party in 2005, they were dancing to Benny Goodman’s “Sing Sing Sing” and realized what kind of music they really wanted to be making.

“That song started everything,” said saxophone player Joakim Nilsson. Other influences include everyone from Outkast and Lil’ Wayne to Maskinen and Lykke Li. “I think hip-hop in Sweden is a bit more experimental. It fuses a lot of different styles together.”

No doubt this atmosphere is conducive to the band’s own musical experimentation.

Taking their name from a character in old folk music songs, the band (which also includes brothers Johan and Anders Rensfeldt) released their first album, Äppelknyckarjazz (roughly translated, it means “apple stealing jazz,” and refers to street kids back in the 1930s and 40s in Sweden who wore “apple-stealing pants”). But despite the old-time appeal, the lyrics do focus on modern day issues. Many of the songs are subtly written about social matters and injustices. For example, translated from “Sammy Davis Jr.”: “This is what we in Lulea call a James Brown Moment / They call it a daydream, sayin’ it was different / But grandma, it’s alright / That I should grow up, cut my hair and get a job and not tryin’ to be James Brown / But was it not the same / For young mom and dad, when it happened.”

The first album earned Movits! more attention than they expected. “We didn’t really plan on touring at all in the U.S.,” Nilsson says. “But the Internet has made it a lot easier to discover new music from different parts of the world and I guess that people are more used to hearing languages they don’t understand.” As far as the group’s performance on the Colbert Report, Nilsson joked, “Oh, it was just another day at work,” before adding, “No, seriously, it was a groundbreaking moment for us. After that, our album came out and reached number one on the iTunes hip-hop chart in the U.S. I guess it’s true what they say about the Colbert Bump.”

In fact, according to a follow-up show, Colbert reported that before the band’s appearance, their first album was number 93,400 on the Amazon.com sales charts. After the broadcast, the album shot up to number 75.

Now, the band’s second album, Out of My Head, has been well received in Sweden, and the band has logged many miles traveling around the U.S., playing festivals like South by Southwest and the Lotus Festival. Next up, they will be touring Europe and hopefully by the end of the year, the band will be headed back to the studio. “We have some new ideas that need to come out,” Nilsson said.

Until then, Movits! is enjoying their time in the U.S., although they are still occasionally reminded how much they still have to learn.

“We had an amazing show last night at a festival in Bloomington, Indiana,” Nilsson said, “but one thing that we’ve learned on this trip is that you guys tend to give different cities the same name. Apparently there’s a Bloomington in Illinois as well and of course we booked all our train and plane tickets to that place!”

NEW YORK — Hip hop scene suddenly got a newcomer, Brooklyn-based rapper Max Burgundy, who just released his debut EP “#Waiting.” He effectively illustrates his own emotion throughout the EP by mixing his real words with the colorful/solid beats. With his raw straightforward hip hop style, Burgundy has already shared stages with artists including Das Racist and Twin Shadow, and also has collaborated with producers such as OMEN (Drake, Lil Wayne, Ludacris) and KHRYSIS!!! (9th Wonder, The Away Team, Little Brother). Blast sat down with Burgundy and he openly discussed this crucial turning point in his life and where he would go from here.

BLAST: You just released your debut EP “#Waiting” on May 2. What does this title mean?

MAX BURGUNDY: “#Waiting” means a lot of things to me. The first is, I feel like I’ve been waiting to be a musician, waiting to rap, but also, I’ve done a lot of work in the food service industry so I think a lot of people say, “Oh, what are you doing?” “Oh, just waiting.” You know, “Waiting for a table to come,” “Waiting for people to leave,” “Waiting for people to pay.” And, I’m just waiting to do something different. [I’m] waiting for art to, um, to make itself. [I’m] waiting for me to make art. It’s kind of what it meant.

BLAST: Why did you choose “Hey Love!” as the first single?

MB: As the first single, I just felt like it was…it was approachable, I think the rest of the album is a little bit darker, um, in a good way. And, I felt like “Hey Love!” was something that could be a song people could really get into and listen to. And, I thought it was an alternative love song. I think a lot of people are quick to come in for 3 minutes and just say to many babies, “Love this” and, “Love that,” and leave. I think that’s great but I think “Hey Love!” is really supposed to capture, and I hope that it excessively captures, what love is like, especially as a younger maybe more humble shy guy. You know, I think it gets to the point where sometimes women are so beautiful that it’s intimidating. And, I think that’s what I’m trying to capture there!

BLAST: What was your first reaction when you finished making the EP?

MB: Um, I was just glad [that I] had it done. I had 6 songs that I can perform and I can go out and start, maybe tour a little bit, do shows and get some recognition but more than anything, it was just relief to get that done because I felt like that the first couple of songs needed to be deeply personal. And now I can go in to start making some more music, maybe collaborate with other people and [it could be] more experimental [to do] electronic album or live music album. So, relief, pretty much!

BLAST: For your song “UNITE,” what kind of unity are you talking about?

MB: Um, I think, the first level of unity is something that hits close to home, which is just being from the Bronx and having lived a lot of different neighborhoods that people would consider [as] bad neighborhoods, um, just, warning all those people to realize [that] we are all kind of being pushed down but if we really unite, if we stand up, then there is, um, we have a voice that can be heard. There is a movement that can take place and really starts with us and our own self determination. And, that’s pretty much what I’m talking about there on a personal level, but I tried to make it as broad and approachable as possible. So whether you are in Egypt or Wisconsin, what happened with the teachers and the unions, or whether you are in, um, you know, Jamaica or anywhere like all oppressed people can be united. In fact, the more oppressed people that are united, the stronger those people would be!

BLAST: How do you think unity will affect the society?

MB: Oh! I mean, unity makes like, an ideal society, so I don’t think unity would ever really happen but unity would make life great. I mean, you would see no crime. You would see people helping all people cross the street and you would see everyone have food, equal amounts of food on their plates. Um, I mean, I guess unity is somewhere, it’s for,,, to some people would become, I don’t know!! Um, but, I think, unity could make society go further than where we are going right now.

BLAST: What’s your main music influence?

MB: Main music influence? Um, older hip hop. Hip hop that I grew up with. Um, Jay-Z, a little bit of Eminem, and then also just alternative itself, I feel like I have a lot of friends and groups right now, and bands here in Brooklyn that are really pushing the limit musically. Maybe they are not doing rap but they are doing different stuff, Twin Shadow, Das Racist. Um, then some of the newer guys, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, I feel like I really respect their grind. I mean, you see them everywhere. So, I respect a lot of those dudes. Those are the guys that push me to get back into this and say, “Alright, I really can compete, regardless of age, regardless of, if it’s my time now or later, I can compete with them.”

BLAST: When did you start making music?

MB: I mean, I’ve been writing rhymes my whole life.

BLAST: How old are you?

MB: 25. So I’m from the Bronx and an 80’s baby, and the first genre I ever really remember listening to is hip hop, so hip hop has always been there. I definitely am one of the first generations of people [saying,] “No no, other genre than hip hop!” And, it took me a long time for me to expand my horizons and get into stuff like Led Zeppelin, Johnny Cash, and you know, Daft Punk, and all those crazy shit but I’d say, in earnest I started making music, maybe, in October. I went on a trip. I was in the Middle East and I was supposed to go there to do some business stuff and I realized, “I don’t wanna be that kind of corporate business slave” and I had a flight, took the flight back, had been over to London, um, got off the plane in London and I said, “I’m not going back to New York right now. I wanna take a break.” Once in Paris, [I] hang out with beautiful waitresses, ate amazing food, smoked a lot of weed, and, I needed it to make music creating arts, so that’s it. So, [it was] October last year when I said, “That’s it. I’m gonna make an album. I’m gonna call it ‘#Waiting.’” And, I’m gonna start finding producers now.

BLAST: Your slogan is “Oreos for breakfast!” What’s the meaning behind this phrase?

MB: “Oreos for breakfast,” it’s like, you know, when you are a kid and your parents are gone, or you have a substitute teacher, or, you only have a babysitter, and you are so unruly and crazy that it’s just like, do whatever the fuck you want. Have Oreos for breakfast. It’s like, I got a feeling like, you grow up in this regiment society, and it’s like, you need to wake up, you shave, you wash your face, take a shower, you have a bowl of cereal with lots of grains of oats, and then, you have to go to school, you learn, you plug away at your desk job, and then, you come home and you eat your, you know, steamed vegetables and all that. And, it’s like, “No! Fuck it. Have Oreos for breakfast!” So, that’s kind of one meaning and the other meaning is just like, in a lot of ways, “I’m an Oreo,” that was the phrase that a lot of people said for a long time and a lot of different, and, you know, it has so many other connotations but, on the surface, it just means you are mixed-race, it’s kind of like, “I’m an Oreo. Have me for breakfast.” What’s the most important meal of the day? Breakfast. Why not having Max Burgundy when you wake up?

BLAST: You state on Facebook that you “hate fucking celebrities and twitter beefs.” Can you explain further?

MB: Um, “hate fucking celebrities and twitter beefs,” that’s pretty much what I do, I think. I saw a lot of people getting into those beefs on Twitter. Twitter almost all of a sudden just exploded. You have people like Fab (Fabolous) and Soulja Boy going on at each other and it’s kind of ridiculous so I was like, “Man, where does it come from?” I felt like, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, hip hop was so real and people were dying, you know, it’s crazy, now people are on Twitter having beefs, not even having real-life beefs. I mean, a lot of people forget [something like] that Jay-Z stabbed someone. It’s not even what my anger is going for but, it’s so silly but it’s what you have to do, you have to exist on Facebook or Twitter so that’s kind of more me just mocking it and saying, you know, “Fuck Twitter. Fuck Twitter beefs.” And, in terms of “hate fucking celebrities,” um, yeah, I just think the ideas of celebrities are kind of ridiculous. And, whatever your art is, you should be recognized just for your art. But right now, you have someone who puts out a great song and it’s not even about the song anymore. It’s like, what picture do you have of them? Do you have something of them that compromises their position? Do you have videos of them? Weird shit of them, you know, getting out of a taxi. But it’s like, what about the song? Is this song good? Is this song good at all? So, it’s kind of like, if you are a celebrity, I’m gonna get close to you because obviously, it’s gonna get my name out but then, I just, you know, fucking leave.

BLAST: Is there something people should know about you?

MB: I’m Max Burgundy and I’m them. I’m just trying to be a vehicle for a voice for what I think and I think a lot of people think like me. So, never be shy. Always salute if you see me in the street. Let me know where you are headed [and] we can share a cab together. I’ll give you a swipe on the subway [or] whatever you need because I’m here for my people and my fans, you know, my movement.

BLAST: You will have a show in New York City on May 12. What kind of show can we expect to see there?

MB: A lot of, you know, medley work, a lot of new shit that you haven’t heard, some old stuff that I have done. Um, obviously records off of “#Waiting” and maybe a couple of new things off of a project that I’m assembling with Kay Kay On The Beatz, coming out in June. You should hear a little bit of both? But, in terms of my show, what I will bring is gonna be me and my DJ Jeff Haze, and we are just gonna go in and go crazy. The beats are gonna be very loud. I’m probably gonna scream at people [and I] may even bring a megaphone. I might take my clothes off and people would be dancing onstage!

Max Burgundy will do a show at the Arlene’s Grocery in NYC on May 12.

Can We Kill Choreographed Line Dancing at Weddings?

At my cousin’s wedding, I got up to get my brother and myself another round of drinks. It was late in the reception, and because of the change in music half the crowd on the dance floor had returned to their seats. Maria Griffith’s “Electric Boogie” began to blast from the speakers, meaning that those who remained on the dance floor started to perform the Electric Slide. To get to the bar, I had to skirt the outside of the dance floor. As I was hoping to avoid the small group of loosely synchronized line dancers, one of them grabbed my arm and pulled me into the Electric Sliders. As I was no longer in eighth grade, I thought my time of being forced to awkwardly perform the Electric Slide had passed. But there I was at 26, with 10 other people on the dance floor being forced to sashay back and forth and do that awkward clap that no one does at the right time, when Maria Griffith’s lyrics reach “it’s electric, boogie woogie woogie woogie.” Most of the Electric Sliders were not sure of the proper moves and we ended up taking our queues from the one single spinster aunt who was happy to show off that she knew the entire dance and gave a harsh stare to those of us who stepped out of line. Ric Silver would probably sue us all.

Really, are we still doing the Electric Slide? Maybe there is a place for it at retro-disco dance clubs, but not at weddings. I am not against any song which has an accompanying dance, just songs that force everyone on the dance floor to do that dance correctly, or be booted off the floor. Placing the awkwardness of disco line dances on wedding guests is cruel. Line dancing should not be a part of any wedding ceremony. This includes newer hip hop echoes of the Electric Slide: DJ Casper’s “Cha Cha Slide” and Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat.” Not only do they force a room full of people to do the same choreographed dance, but these songs replace much better music that could be playing.

Luckily, some of these line dances are dying out. Of the six weddings I’ve been to in the past year, not once has the “Chicken Dance” been played, nor have I heard the “Macarena,” though I shudder when I declare the “Macarena” dead fearing I will jinx myself. But while the “Macarena” and “Chicken Dance” made people look like fools and forced them to listen two of the worst songs ever created, they still let people look foolish as individuals. They did not force everyone else from the dance floor who chose not to perform them. And if they were performing them incorrectly no one had to endure the spinster Aunt’s stink eye.

During the same wedding where I was forced to Electric Side, the Isley Brothers’ “Shout” blasted from the speakers. People, young and old, rushed the dance floor. Even my father and Uncle Mike danced to “Shout.” “Shout” had the complete opposite effect from the Electric Slide. It brought people to the dance floor, mainly because dancing to “Shout” is fun. We crouched down, we jumped up, we sang along. Yes, there is a way to dance to “Shout”—think Animal House and Otis Day and the Knights. But part of the fun to dancing to “Shout” is messing up. Even falling during the “a little bit softer now” is acceptable. It’s not hard to remember all the words. It requires no coordination, just maybe a few drinks in your system.

As for more songs with existing dances in weddings, I more than welcome anything by Michel Jackson. And every one of his songs has a dance to it, but no one is going to think less of anyone on the dance floor if they don’t spin around and grab their crotch to “Billy Jean.” Most weddings I have been to every Lady Gaga song that is played also has a favorable reception, but everyone knows that trying to do the “Poker Face” dance is a make-a-fool-out-of-yourself-on-your-own endeavor, and by no means drag other people into it.

So, it is time to eliminate the Electric Slide and all forced line dancing from weddings. No one is going to do the Hokey Pokey. Well, unless it is a 1970s roller-disco-themed wedding. In that case, every song should be a line dance. Just make sure someone is there to hold grandma’s hand when she does the “Hustle.”

Northeastern University’s newest dance organization, No Limits Dance Crew, is preparing for their first performance, which will be held at the Tower Auditorium Theatre at The Massachusetts School of Art and Design on April 3 at 7:30 p.m.

The one-time only show is free to the public and is expected to fill up fast. This student-run dance group has more than 120 dancers and will be showcasing 16 dance pieces in various styles, including Jazz, Hip Hop, Belly dancing and Lyrical genres to name a few. The all-inclusive No Limits Dance Crew is open to the entire Northeastern Community, and in addition to holding its own performances, the group is dedicated to collaborating with other NU creative arts groups and to being involved in the community.

The group also offers classes in all genres for $2 each for non-members. Classes are free for members. The classes are member-taught and the performance pieces are member-choreographed and this organization is truly a labor of love, and that love is for dance.

The Tower Auditorium is located directly in front of the Green Line E Branch’s Longwood Avenue stop at 621 Huntington Avenue.

Looking for something inspirational and a bit international? Check out Iyeoka Okoawo. This woman is an artist of an up and coming genre, known only as “poetry slam.”

It’s a genre where poetry is read in a rhythmic conduct along with a soulful motif. It can be very inspiring, and it touches the soul. Iyeoka Okoawo is a poetry slammer of Nigerian decent who plans to make a difference with her words.

In 2006, Okoawo won a New England Urban Music Award for the Best Female Spoken Word Poet, and in 2007 she received a Massachusetts Industry Committee Hip-Hop Award for Spoken Word Artist of the year.

Iyeoka is also known world-wide. She was sought out by the president of Rwanda to perform a poem for a dinner he was hosting. Her art is like a rap song with more soul and more relevance to a larger audience. Though her medium is unusual where she does not sing her rhythmic words, they are piercing with poignancy.

She was recently at Boston University, where Blast had the chance to see her in action. She will be performing three more times in Massachusetts — Wednesday in Wellesley College at 7 p.m.; at Harper’s Ferry Friday in Allston; and March 13 at Alchemist Lounge in Jamaica Plain.

Do not miss out. Check out her website at http://www.iyeoka.com.

Writing about music and new artists to watch for tends to be challenging at times. As a reporter you want to sound interesting so that “this artist is great” doesn’t become your tag line. But how do you write about a “new” artist who has spent years in the music industry, already forged his own fame in a group and has worked with the movers and shakers of the Latin music world?

I first heard of Notch by word of mouth after he did a performance in New England. “This guy is hot,” is what I heard, and apparently I should have heard it sooner. When researching for a press contact for the singer, who mixes Jamaican, hip-hop and Latin beats, I was greeted by Fan sites, YouTube videos, MTV profiles and an artist album pre-sale website.

The question: How did I miss out on this? Thankfully, here are the answers so you don’t have to.

The former lead vocalist for the hip-hop/reggae duo Born Jamericans, Notch joined the music scene in the 90s. The Hartford native’s racial background is a combination of African American, Cuban and Jamaican.‚ 

Always interested in music, he grew up listening to Bob Marley in a largely Latino community. As a boy, he learned the Jamaican dialect Patois, was immersed in Spanish and created his own little dialect (Spatoinglish) as a result.‚ 

“I got influenced by all the dancing, the dialects, the people. I just expressed myself by mimicking what I saw and sharing when it was needed the most, to entertain or to liven the day,” he said in a recent interview. “I learned to appreciate the beauty of a melody or the pain, and I created fusion words.’

His early success with Born Jamericans allowed him to fuse words with the passion of music to create a tool to connect to people.

Known then as Mr. Notch, Born Jamericans singles like “Boom Shak-a-Tak” and “Send My Love” introduced the artist as sultry, smooth-singing counterpart to his partner, Edley Shine, and his rugged rhymes.

For five years the duo grew popular and achieved international notoriety by offering dancehall music to American urban radio.

But with fame came commercialization. With more use of hip-hop and R&B, dancehall diehards began to turn on the duo as they became more mainstream and the group dismantled in 1998.

Notch decided to go solo, tap more into his Latin roots and make unique music.

In 2000 he jetted to Jamaica to record authentic dancehall and reggae. By listening to other bilingual artists, he experimented with his dialect and recorded Hay Que Bueno, a hip-hop/reggaeton song that is perfect for dancing. The multilingual hit became popular on both Latin-based and reggae mediums. With the success the singer moved to Puerto Rico and started to work with reggaeton producers.

The single started playing on Latin radio stations too and found its place on the Billboard Latin charts.

Shortly after, Notch was featured in the albums of Daddy Yankee, Luny Tunes, Beenie Man and even ska rockers Sublime and Thievery Corporation. The success lingered.‚ 

“A lot of Hispanics love reggae music and they sing along to it many times not understanding the words well or they decipher what is being said, but it gives them a chance to poke into their curiosity and learn about the reggae language and maybe their own language.” Notch explained. “I’ve come along and offered more of a window for people to procure their curiosity.”

Curiosity that can form bonds amongst people.‚ 

“We all got dropped in the western hemisphere and got shuffled as dominoes, but anyway I can find words that are close to the roots of our native people and use them I try to do just to show our historical commonality,” Notch said.‚ ”It puts more soul to the melody … and it’s helping Jamaicans learn Spanish too,” he added with a laugh.

In 2007 Notch released his first solo album, Raised by the People, making it on Billboard’s 14th Best Selling Reggae albums and 9th Top‚ Reggae Artist of 2007. The single “Dale “ËœPa Tra” (Back It Up) made Top 100 in Latin charts and Top 5 in Reggae charts as well. The production is a mix of merengue, cumbia and bachata in addition to urban-pop and hip-hop to his interchanging medley of reggaeton and dancehall. Songs like “Que Te Pica” and “Rosalinda” are as playable as the single and although not easily understandable to English speakers, still addictive.

“I’m making headway now, but it’s been really hard doing what I’m doing and I’m not playing clean or fair. I am able to cheat by bringing out the karate side of me and show all the things I can offer, but at end of day I believe music is the universal language,” he said. “I know melody is internal and can cross any lines. Anyone needs a song to pump up with in the shower, on the way to work or just to bring back the spirit in their lives.”

The road has been somewhat long and less than perfect after he left Born Jamericans. As the singer says, though, the ability to record music he is proud of is worth crossing any red tape.

“With the group there was a lot of pressure from the label to make R&B present to get more airplay, to be more amicable instead of cultural and ethnic which was harder to sell. We were a group and we packaged the product so I strayed away from what the label wanted and showed them my art can be different and that as an artist I can show other pallets,” recalled the singer. “When I was going back [to Jamaica] and learned about war and drugs, teenage pregnancy and school dropouts I came out with songs like Rosalinda and other songs that had social commentary that I felt needed to express the message and show things form my cultural bag of tricks.”

As he continues to remake his image and grow as a solo artist, Notch has the advantage of knowing what is like to be at the top. He can survive in the music industry jungle and take it one day at a time as well. He says that all these years he’s been dropping hints of his return and now the pieces are connecting through the Internet, through his album, through his music connections and through fan support.‚ 

“I have more optimism and look forward to taking this industry by storm and getting people to sing my songs; but I have to take it day by day because I may be the most popular person now and later you may see me at the post office working!” he said. “The most important thing I aspire to is getting people to mumble my name, keep me in their minds, and its like getting a portrait of me in everyone’s house.”

Notch is debuting a new official website, where fans can order his album, preview new tracks and vote for their favorite songs.

The clean shaven and attractive, 30-something, also established his own music label. As he puts it, he has to deal with paying taxes and hiring personnel so he does not see the need to have his nose, “up in the air.”

“When people make a big deal about the dialect or the music or my business and ask me what I am like, one thing people keep forgetting is that I eat Italian food and French fries; I get my hair cut by Dominicans, play baseball with my Black friends and chill out with my Asian friends,” he said. “I’m like everyone, but I take time unwrapping my gift of mimicking the beauty of the people around me.”

Whether he continues being an underground sensation or becomes the next Daddy Yankee, one thing is clear. Notch is an artist who made it to the top and back and is still able to stay human. His music, like his personality, is energetic and magnetic.

Ignition Entertainment launched an online demo for the upcoming puzzle-strategy title Red Bull BC One for Nintendo DS.

“Red Bull BC One is one of the most important B-Boy competitions in the world. The legendary battle hosts 16 of the world’s best B-Boys in a one-on-one, knock-out-battle to determine who is The One,” Ignition said in a statement Wednesday.

B-Boys and B-Girls are hip hop terms. The term originated as a way to refer to any follower of hip hop, identifiable by clothing habits, listening tastes or lifestyle. It has since more specifically been used to refer to the hip hop dancing.

There are a ton of Red Bull BC One videos, screens, wallpapers and info on the game’s website.

GAME FEATURES:

• Officially licensed game, featuring the world of Red Bull BC One competitions
• 36 battles throughout 8 stages in story mode, plus training mode
• 70+ different dance animations
• Many un-lockable mini games and items
• 35 unique music tracks
• 3D backgrounds (basketball court, urban street, beach and more)
• Multiple customization options (outfits, hair, shoes and more)
• Battle against a friend in wireless multiplayer mode

Red Bull BC One hits shelves September 16.