Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Reggae Artists Offer Up Tribute to Dylan
There's a new CD out that, at first glance, looks like a re-issue of the old Bob Dylan album, Bringing it All Back Home. A closer look at the cover reveals some differences: The woman in red seated behind Dylan is posed the same way, smoking a cigarette, but she's Jamaican with dreadlocks. And the Time magazine cover at her elbow doesn't display Lyndon Johnson; it's a November 1930 cover of the emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie.
The music inside is all Dylan, but it's performed by reggae artists. It's a tribute CD to Dylan, called Is It Rolling Bob? The CD is the brainchild of record producer Gary Himmelfarb, a.k.a. Doctor Dread.
"I'd always wanted to marry Bob Dylan lyrics with reggae music," he says. "Bob Dylan was a protest singer and reggae is protest music." NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Doctor Dread about the CD and his work with the reggae artists who helped create it.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
First aspiring spectators must register online, then later in 2026 there will be a series of drawings.
-
It's thanks to Tropical Storm Mario, so also be ready for heat and humidity, and possibly thunder and lightning.
-
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a state law allowing duplexes, calling more housing unsafe. But in Altadena, L.A. County leaders say these projects could be key for rebuilding.
-
L.A. County investigators have launched a probe into allegations about Va Lecia Adams Kellum and people she hired at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority.
-
This measure on the Nov. 4, 2025, California ballot is part of a larger battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
-
After rising for years, the number of residential installations in the city of Los Angeles began to drop in 2023. The city isn’t subject to recent changes in state incentives, but other factors may be contributing to the decline.