Rise Up is a 2007 documentary film by director and cinematographer Luciano Blotta. [1] The film documents the world of underground music in Jamaica following the efforts of three musicians (Turbulence, Kemoy, and Ice Anastasia) to break into the mainstream, and vicariously exploring a variety of socio-cultural issues relating to poverty, violence, and post-colonial corruption.
Rise Up has screened at numerous film festivals including IDFA and Hot Docs, and it won the Best Music Documentary category at the AFI/Discovery Channel Silverdocs Festival. [2] The film also aired on the BBC and enjoyed a well received theatrical debut in Jamaica, where it was reviewed by the Jamaican Observer as the "Rise of a new Classic". [3]
Turbulence was featured as one of three main acts in Rise Up. [2] The film, documents Turbulence’s rise to prominence as an internationally recognized and nationally celebrated reggae artist, and highlights the political and socially active nature of his music. [2]
The breakout single, "Notorious", brought Turbulence and T.H.C. Muzik international acclaim. First released in 2004 on the Scallawah riddim, "Notorious" rose to Number 1 on local and international Reggae/Dancehall charts in Jamaica, New York City, London, Toronto and Japan in 2005, bolstered by the supporting music video by Rise Up director and cinematographer Luciano Blotta. The track was re-released as the feature track of the Notorious album in 2006. [2]
Rise Up was adapted into an educational program, which was featured by the "Docs for Schools" initiative sponsored by HotDocs. [4] [5] The film also received an endorsement from Kino-Eye Center for Visual Innovation, a visual cultural research institute, and has been adapted by Kino-Eye Center president, Cesare Wright, as part of the film and media studies curriculum at the Univ. of Rochester and Rice University. According to Wright, Rise Up is "particularly interesting as an example of creative ethnography" and "stands in stark contrast to a reductive filmic tradition of exoticism, Orientalism, and tropicalization." [6]
Lee "Scratch" Perry was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music with his early adoption of remixing and studio effects to create new instrumental or vocal versions of existing reggae tracks. He worked with and produced for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Junior Murvin, The Congos, Max Romeo, Adrian Sherwood, Beastie Boys, Ari Up, The Clash, The Orb, and many others.
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dancehall becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms. Key elements of dancehall music include its extensive use of Jamaican Patois rather than Jamaican standard English and a focus on the track instrumentals.
Miguel Orlando Collins, known by his stage name Sizzla Kalonji or Sizzla, is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is noted for his high number of releases. As of 2018 he has released 56 solo albums.
Diana King is a Jamaican singer-songwriter who performs a mixture and fusion of reggae, reggae fusion and dancehall. They are best known for their hit 1995 single "Shy Guy" and their remake of "I Say a Little Prayer" which was featured on the soundtrack to My Best Friend's Wedding.
Keith Blair, better known by the stage name Anthony B, is a Jamaican DJ and member of the Rastafari movement.
Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he performed for six decades and helped establish some of the fundamentals of reggae music. Hibbert's 1968 song "Do the Reggay" is widely credited as the genesis of the genre name reggae. His band's album True Love won a Grammy Award in 2005.
Nerlynn Taitt was a guitarist born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, who later moved to Jamaica and became a pioneer of rocksteady music.
VP Records is an independent Caribbean-owned record label in Queens, New York. The label is known for releasing music by notable artists in reggae, dancehall and soca. VP Records has offices in New York City, Miami, London, Kingston, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro. Additionally, the label has established a presence in Toronto, Australia and New Zealand.
Cesare Wright is an American documentary filmmaker.
Orville Richard Burrell, better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae deejay who scored hits with the songs "It Wasn't Me", "Boombastic", "In the Summertime", "Oh Carolina", and "Angel". He has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, winning twice for Best Reggae Album with Boombastic in 1996 and 44/876 with Sting in 2019, and has won the Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist in 2002.
Andrew Bradford, known by the stage name Buccaneer is a Jamaican dancehall artist He first emerged in 1994 and has released three albums. He later went into production.
Hanna Polak is a Polish director, cinematographer and producer. For her short documentary film, The Children of Leningradsky, about a community of homeless children living in the Leningradsky railway station in Moscow, she was nominated for an Academy Award and an Emmy Award. In 2003, she was awarded Best Producer of Documentary Movies at the Kraków Film Festival for Railway Station Ballad.
Omar "Tarrus" Riley is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and member of the Rastafari movement.
Turbulence is a Jamaican reggae artist. He is a self-proclaimed member of the Rastafari movement. He was discovered in 1999 by Philip "Fatis" Burrell. He has released a number of albums including I Believe, United, Notorious - The Album, Songs of Solomon, Triumphantly, Join Us and Hail The King and was featured in an episode of the BBC documentary series Storyville. He is also known for his song "Blood dem out" which was featured on a highly profiled freestyle ski movie called "Show and Prove".
Kemar McGregor, also known by his nicknames, DJ Flava and Flava McGregor, is a Jamaican-American pop reggae producer. He has recorded and produced music for the most renowned artists in the music industry, including Sinéad O'Connor, Musiq Soulchild, Syleena Johnson, Snoop Dogg/Snoop Lion, Jon Secada, Maxi Priest, Sizzla, Marcia Griffiths, Beenie Man, Wayne Wonder, Buju Banton, Capleton, Sanchez, Freddie McGregor, Luciano, Sugar Minott, Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, Morgan Heritage, Half Pint, Tanya Stephens, Gyptian, Cas Haley, Beres Hammond, Glen Washington, Etana and Cocoa Tea, among many others. McGregor is the owner and chief executive officer of FM Records.
Ryan Mullins is a Canadian film director, cinematographer and editor. He is part of the Montreal-based Canadian film production company, EyeSteelFilm. His directing credits include the documentary short Volta, and the feature documentary The Frog Princes. The film won a Golden Sheaf at the 2012 Yorkton Film Festival, and was also awarded the NFB Kathleen Shannon Award for a documentary film that "allows people outside the dominant culture to speak for themselves". At the 2015 Hot Docs film festival in Toronto, Mullins won the Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award for Chameleon.
Winston Hubert McIntosh, professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963–1976), after which he established himself as a successful solo artist and a promoter of Rastafari. He was murdered in 1987 during a home invasion.
Grace Latoya Hamilton, known professionally as Spice, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay, singer, and songwriter. Known as the "Queen of Dancehall", Spice is recognised as one of the most prominent dancehall artists in the world. She is known for her aggressive flow, musical versatility and outspoken lyrics. Spice first gained recognition after performing at the annual dancehall festival Sting in 2000. She released her first single "Complain" for record producer Dave Kelly's Madhouse Records in 2003. She continued to release the singles "Right There" and "Hype", even being featured on songs with Jimmy Cliff and Beenie Man in 2004 and 2006, respectively.
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World is a 2017 Canadian documentary film directed by Catherine Bainbridge and co-directed by Alfonso Maiorana. The film profiles the impact of Indigenous musicians in Canada and the US on the development of rock music. Artists profiled include Charley Patton, Mildred Bailey, Link Wray, Jesse Ed Davis, Stevie Salas, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Robbie Robertson, Randy Castillo, Jimi Hendrix, Taboo and others. The title of the film is a reference to the pioneering instrumental "Rumble", released in 1958 by the American group Link Wray & His Ray Men. The instrumental piece was very influential on many artists.
Theo Anthony is an American film director, editor, and cinematographer from Baltimore, Maryland known for his documentary films, including 2016's Rat Film. Anthony's work draws inspiration from the experimental film essays of directors such as Harun Farocki and Chris Marker.