jimmy cliff

How ska paved the way for punk... and took over the world along the way

“We’re the Interrupters! We’re from Los Angeles, California!” the young guitarist announces over a fanfare, as the camera pulls back and reveals a four-piece band, plus a singer, and a crush of throbbing humanity in a tiny space. “And this first song is a protest song, but it’s also a unity song. Because there’s no […]

QUIZ: Can you pass this ultimate ska music trivia quiz?

Ska may be one of the most polarizing words in the English language. Many of its superfans have lived and died by the genre from the second they heard their first guitar upstroke, whereas some casual fans dug into it as a flavor of the week for a short amount of time and parted ways […]

AP's 10 Essential albums of 2012

Originally printed in AP 294, you can subscribe to our 10 Essential Albums of 2012 playlist on Rdio. Another year has drawn to a close, and despite the Mayans’ best efforts, the world didn’t end. (Granted, this issue is on sale for a few weeks before Dec. 21, so maybe we’re wrong…) The AP editorial […]

Jimmy Cliff - Rebirth

Jimmy Cliff Rebirth Jimmy Cliff is not a likely candidate for the American Recordings-style, late-career comeback. Since his 1970s heyday—most notably with the game-changing soundtrack of The Harder They Come—the singer has maintained his status as one of reggae’s most dependable artists. But there’s been a slick sheen and bloodless professionalism with much of his […]

Jimmy Cliff - Sacred Fire EP

Jimmy Cliff Sacred Fire EP To the outside observer, the news of Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong working with reggae legend Jimmy Cliff might be cause for alarm. But if you've dug into the work that Armstrong has done outside the Rancid fold—particularly his 2007 solo effort, A Poet’s Life—you'd know that Cliff is in very […]