writing

Burna Boy shines with star power on ​‘African Giant’

The Face Magazine

“When Coachella released their festival line-up back in January, Nigerian Afro-fusion artist Burna Boy was not pleased with the size of his name on the poster. “@coachella I really appreciate you. But I don’t appreciate the way my name is written so small in your bill,” he wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post. ​“I am an AFRICAN GIANT and will not be reduced to whatever that tiny writing means. Fix things quick please.” Fast forward seven months to the release of his fourth album named in reference to the situation, and it feels like Burna’s font size has a good chance of increasing…”

Jamaica’s brave LGBTQ+ scene is nudging dancehall in a new direction

The Face Magazine

“When rising dancehall star Shenseea dropped the visuals for her summerbop Blessed earlier this year, it had all the ingredients of a classic music video set in Jamaica: the shot of a pristine beach, the man chopping a coconut, the rasta with a fat spliff chanting.

But around 13 seconds in, the camera focuses on Shenseea undressed in bed with another woman….”

Beam steps out on to his own

The Face Magazine

BEAM is sitting beside me, idly aiming a laser gun at an onscreen alien. ​“Tell you the truth, I’m nervous,” he tells me recently at the Chinatown Fair Family Fun Center in downtown New York. The Jamaican born, Miami raised producer-turned-rapper is not talking about fending off an extraterrestrial species. His first EP, 95 – a ​’90s inspired collection of dancehall-infused Miami trap anthems – will be dropping in just 12 hours…