Caribbean Blogger Spotlight: Shimmy Shimmy

Shimmy Shimmy, the name alone makes you want to dance, but if you spend some time on the site you’ll dance and get to know more about the dancehall music and culture. They are bringing the heart of Caribbean culture to the U.K. mass and beyond. Based in the U.K., Shimmy Shimmy started off as a caribbean culture blog highlighting reggae, dancehall, bashment and soca. Established in 2007 by Jim Bones & The Large, a DJ collective, with a clothing label and publish No Ice Cream Sound. The site become a dancehall culture site that includes new music, videos, mixes, exclusive features and an e-commerce shop selling dancehall inspired tees. Producing authentic content like their interview with Swedish producer Adde Instrumentals (producer of the Summertime Riddim), they truly highlight the greatness of dancehall culture with an international perspective.

Photo Credit: Ian Tillotson

Tell me a little about yourself and how you got started in Caribbean entertainment coverage? When did you start writing and why?

I started Shimmy Shimmy as a blog back when I was in university and wanted a way to share the music I was into, which was then not specifically Caribbean – it also included hip hop (hence the name) – but it just evolved into that because of my growing dedication to dancehall really.

If you could describe your site in one sentence, what would it be?

New music, new writing and new design.

What do you hope to accomplish through your site?

To spread things that deserve to be seen by everyone…

What is the most challenging part of being a blogger?

It’s not so challenging really – just making sure you’re up on your game.

How do you keep content on your site fresh and interesting?

Being selective is important to us, we don’t blog every press release we get, we try and do interviews and features on things that other people aren’t covering so much. We’re not trying to compete with anyone else, we’re just doing what we believe in, what looks and sounds nice on the daily.

How do you pick through content that is worthy to post on your site?

That’s not too hard because I’m constantly listening to music and looking at fresh designs and all that.

You blog a lot about music artists, do you think Caribbean artists are catching on to the digital movement and how do you think they can use it to their advantage?

I think Caribbean artists and their promoters still have a long way to go on that front, they could use it to their advantage a lot better probably.

What are some key ways that you use to promote your site?

We have our digital content but we’re also into producing nice physical items too, so we have a T-shirt line, a print zine that you can buy in shops around the place and I’ve got some other projects lined up for this year that means that Shimmy Shimmy is in ‘real life’ too and not just floating in cyberspace. If the internet broke, we’d still exist haha.

Who are you Vibin’ to right now (Musically Caribbean or non-Caribbean)?

People filling up my iPod right now are Popcaan, Assassin, Stylo G as artists, Ballaz & Equiknoxxx for JA producers, Murlo, Dubbel Dutch & Schlachthofbronx for young producers with a Caribbean edge.

What fashion designers (or trends) are you stylin’ on right now?

I’m big on pretty straightforward street wear that looks real good so brands like Only, Anything. I’m into illustrators like Rockwell and Ted’s Draws.

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