BBC 1Xtra, the urban channel of the venerable BBC, has just wrapped up a week devoted to dancehall, entitled Dancehall After Dark. On the programme: five long interviews by emblematic presenter Robbo Ranx with reggae heavyweights: Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Shaggy, Sean Paul, King Jammy's and Sizzla.
Of them all, it is Beenie Man who makes the mark, not mincing his words in a long one-hour conversation: his opinion of Bounty Killer, his childhood among 24 brothers and sisters, what the Immigration service allowed and forbade him to say on British soil, and his "story" with an R&B star.
Elephant Man looks back on signing with Bad Boy Records, his run-ins with OutRage, the gay rights defence association, and on a request from an R&B star (him too!) to join him on tour to feed him "vibes". We also learn who Sean Paul sees as the next reggae star if he changes his name, why Shaggy doesn't like working with music stars and how the English papers tried to trap him. Fascinating.
More details: www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/dancehallafterdark