Stone Love Movement, commonly referred to as simply Stone Love, is one of the major

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

sound systems In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

History

Based in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, Winston "Wee Pow" Powell built the Stone Love sound system in 1972, using locally-built amplifiers.Morgan, Simone (2012)
The Movement continues
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 9 November 2012, retrieved 10 November 2012Stone Love
, ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'', April 1998, pp. 106-113 These were soon upgraded, and the equipment has been kept up to date over Stone Love's four decade history, with long-time engineer Winston Samuels in charge of technical aspects of the sound system.Cooke, Mel (2010)
Winston Samuels - The Man Behind Stone Love's 'Clean' Sound
, ''

Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'', 24 December 2010, retrieved 10 November 2012 It became Jamaica's most popular sound system, known for its superior sound quality, and maintained this position into the 21st century.Cooke, Mel (2008)
Sound quality separates Stone Love from the pack
, ''Jamaica Star'', 15 December 2008, retrieved 10 November 2012Seed, Michael et al (2003) ''Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Volume 2 - Production and Performance'', Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd., , p. 264 It has also played overseas in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Stone Love is renowned for its exclusive

dubplate A dubplate is an acetate disc usually of 10 inches diameter, traditionally used by studios to test recordings prior to mastering for the subsequent pressing of a vinyl record, but pioneered by reggae sound systems as a way to play exclusive music ...

s, which have included sides by many of the artists which it helped to establish, including

Buju Banton Mark Anthony Myrie (born 15 July 1973),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, professionally known by his stage name Buju Banton, is a Jamaican reggae dancehall musician. He is considered to be one of the most ...

and

Wayne Wonder Von Wayne Charles (born 26 July 1972), better known by his stage name Wayne Wonder, is a Jamaican reggae artist. While his early recordings were dancehall and reggae, he later moved towards hip hop and rap. His most popular single is the 2003 ...

, and

Johnny Osbourne Johnny Osbourne (born Errol Osbourne, 1948) is one of the most popular Jamaican reggae and dancehall singers of all time, who rose to success in the late 1970s and mid-1980s. His album '' Truths and Rights'' was a roots reggae success, and featu ...

and

Shabba Ranks Shabba Ranks (born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon; 17 January 1966) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home cou ...

, Sanchez, and

Beenie Man Anthony Moses Davis (born 22 August 1973), better known by his stage name Beenie Man, is a Jamaican Dancehall deejay. Biography Davis was born in the Waterhouse district of Kingston in 1973.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Mus ...

.Stone Love, The Special anniversary
, ''Jamaica Star'', 2 November 2012, retrieved 10 November 2012 In the 1990s, rivalry with the

Killamanjaro Founded in the summer of 1969, Killamanjaro is a Jamaican reggae sound system, sound system best known for their sound clash, clashes and large amount of classic reggae dubplates. It is owned by Noel "Papa Jaro" Harper and named after Mount Ki ...

sound system led to a series of '

sound clash A sound clash is a musical competition where crew members from opposing sound systems pit their skills against each other. Sound clashes take place in a variety of venues, both indoors and outdoors, and primarily feature reggae and dancehall music. ...

es' being staged.Stanley Niaah, Sonia (2010) ''DanceHall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto'', University of Ottawa Press, , p. 103 In 2003 Powell started a second sound system, Purple Love, which concentrates on vintage Jamaican music.Henry, Krista (2006)
Purple Love goes back to Stone Love's roots
, ''

'', 8 December 2006, retrieved 10 November 2012 A live album featuring a recording of the sound system performing, ''Stone Love Live'', was released in 2005 on November Records. The sound system hosts the 'Weddy Weddy Wednesday' party every Wednesday at its base in Burlington Avenue, Kingston. Apart from Wee Pow, the selectors have included Rory, Geefus, Billy Slaughter, Diamond, Fire Ras, Ice Burg, Scary Gary, Dwayne Pow The sound system spawned the Stone Love and Father Pow record labels that have released hits by the likes of

Bounty Killer Rodney Basil Price (born 12 June 1972), known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant flair ...

Jigsy King Errol "Jigsy" King (born c.1970) is a Jamaican dancehall artist who released several albums on VP Records in the 1990s. Biography King emerged in the early 1990s, performing on sound systems, with a gruff vocal style similar to Buju Banton's.La ...

and

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

Capleton Clifton George Bailey III (born 13 April 1967),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 67–69 better known by his stage name Capleton, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician. He is also referred to as Kin ...

Tanya Stephens Vivienne Tanya Stephenson (born 2 July 1973),Lim, Ann-Margaret (2004)All Woman: Tanya Stephens", ''Jamaica Observer'', 3 May 2004. Retrieved 31 October 2010

, and

Daddy Screw Michael Alexander Johnson (born 29 March 1968), better known as Daddy Screw, is a Jamaican dancehall Deejay (Jamaican), deejay best known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s. Biography Johnson was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, and first ...

.Kenner, Rob (1995)
Boom Shots
, ''

'', August 1995, p. 124, retrieved 10 November 2012 In August 2014 it was announced that Powell would receive the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') i ...

in October that year. On 30 October 2014, the movement appeared at the

Red Bull Culture Clash Red Bull Culture Clash is an indoor sound clash event hosted by Red Bull. Four crews compete in four or five rounds of genre-bending musical competition, with the winner decided by volume of crowd response. Founded in 2010, with a hiatus in 2015, ...

, clashing against

Boy Better Know Boy Better Know, often abbreviated as BBK, is a British grime collective and record label. The collective was founded in North London in 2005 as an independent record label by brothers Jamie and Joseph Adenuga, better known as Jme, and Skepta ...

, A$AP Mob and eventual winners Rebel Sound (

David Rodigan David Michael "Ram Jam" Rodigan MBE OD (born 24 June 1951) is a British radio DJ who also performs as a disc jockey. Known for his selections of reggae and dancehall music, he has played on stations including Radio London, Capital 95.8, Kiss ...

Shy FX Andre Williams, better known as Shy FX, is a British DJ and producer from London. He specialises in drum and bass and jungle music. Biography Shy FX's debut record was "Jungle Love", released in 1992 on the Permission to Dance label. Soon after ...

Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in Ju ...

and

MC Rage Ronnie Lee (born July 21, 1967) is an American musician and former hardcore producer and emcee, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lee has performed under the stage names "MC Rage" and "Ronny Money". Career Lee known while living in Italy stationed a ...

). To celebrate Stone Love's 42nd anniversary, the sound system toured the US in a series of performances ending on 27 December 2014 at the

Red Stripe Oval Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

in Kingston.Stone Love celebrates 42 years
, ''

'', 12 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014

Discography

Albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone Love Movement Jamaican sound systems