Photos courtesy of www.creativeboom.com and www.depositphotos.com

With the invasion of the Ukraine this week and the potential implications of what this means for the future of the world, I’ve struggled a bit with the weight of the news.  This situation feels like yet another domino falling in the wrong direction for our world.   

Perhaps it’s not healthy to follow the news in a moment like this because frankly it's pretty depressing, but at the same time I’m not one to bury my head in the sand and ignore important events going on in the world.  I think we owe it to ourselves to be conscious and aware of the world around us, for better or worse.   

Without spelling out what the Ukraine invasion might mean for global economies or the delicate balance of world power, it’s hard not to look at the course of our planet and feel down.  When you add this to issues like Covid, climate change, spiraling debt, inflationary pressures, extremism and whatever other personal problems you and I may be going through, the big question is how to do you balance all this and still maintain a positive point of view about life in an effort to be productive, to be happy and to have hope about the future?  I’ll be the first to admit, it’s not easy. 

If you look at most people's social media accounts, you’d think the world has never been better.  I get people don’t want to project bad vibes on social media but there is also a lack of honesty in projecting an image of one’s life being something better or more charmed than it really is.  Because the second you actually spend time with people who are real and honest and going through the struggles that most of us go through, a very different story comes to light.  Why is this treated like such a 3rd rail on social media platforms?  For myself, I prefer honesty. 

So how do you balance the realities of today’s world and the pressures of life with the importance of maintaining a positive and productive mindset?  Well, if you have the resources and want to insulate yourself from the problems of the world, you can try that.  For me, empathy with others is an invaluable quality and if you’re creating too much of a barrier between yourself and the suffering of others, it’s hard to truly be empathetic or find connections with people from differing backgrounds.  

For many of us, we don’t have the ability to really insulate our lives in that way.  This is both a blessing and a curse.  For many of us, we’re trying to get to a better place, to elevate our lives, to accomplish goals and dreams.  The key is how to do that without turning a blind eye to the circumstances or suffering of others and the realities of the world we’re living in.  We all have different personalities and temperaments and some of us are more introspective and others more carefree when it comes to dealing with life’s challenges.  

I tend to be more introspective so I fight with myself a lot in terms of my state of mind.  Situations like the invasion of Ukraine or Global Warming or frankly whether or not circumstances in my own life are going well affect me.  Why?  I care.  I care about other people.  I care about our world.  I care about justice and righteousness.  I don’t want the strong to oppress the weak.  I don’t want us to destroy the world we live in.  I want to circumstances in my life to go well.  I want to win more than I lose in life.   

To win the battle against one’s own mind, against the daily struggles of life, it is imperative to maintain faith and hope.  Faith for me has to do with my belief in a righteous Creator who loves and cares for us and in whom we have a willing ear and a shoulder to lean on.  Faith is believing that there is more for us than what we get in this life.  There is eternal life.  This does not mean I don’t live my life to the fullest and do all within my power to maximize this life I’ve been given, quite the opposite.  I am in constant forward movement, always looking to squeeze the life out of every day, to keep learning, growing, pushing my limits.  My faith gives this greater purpose.   

Hope is the belief that with faith, planning and consistent effort things will improve, goals will be reached and progress will be made.  Without hope, the world becomes bleak.   

There is much neuroscience to support the argument that the subconscious mind is largely responsible for the way that we think.  And the way we think colors our outlook on life, our reality and our ability to maintain faith and hope in light of world events outside our control or the challenges we may be facing in our personal lives.  So the real question becomes how to change the patterns of the subconscious mind to transform the way we see our lives, others and the world around us.   

What I do personally, or at least try my best to do, is to constantly feed myself information, knowledge and even mantras that repeat positive messages to overwhelm the mindset of fear and negativity with one of belief, empowerment and self-determination.  In doing this, I am able to better redirect my thoughts and keep them on a positive and productive track rather than allowing my mind to control me with thoughts that are self-defeating or despairing.  Doing this on a consistent basis, in time, results in a reprogramming of the subconscious mind to the point that it begins to transform our view of the world from a place of difficulty and obstacles to a place of hope and possibility.  Notice I said “in time”.  This is a process and it doesn’t happen overnight nor is the transformation ever necessarily complete. 

I don’t believe that anyone wants to live in a dark place where they don’t see hope or potential for a better future, but I do think that people either do not know how to get there or are not willing to put in the effort to make the change.  Some I’m sure fear putting in the effort and not getting the result they want.  What then?  For this reason many do not follow their dreams—for if they chase their dreams and fail they fear will be more discouraged and unhappy than had they never chased them at all.  Perhaps, but I don’t see it that way.  

So how to start?  One must work on the mind, body and spirit consistently. The things I have been doing and cannot ever stop doing lest I allow myself to fall back into a place that I don’t want to be, is to live a structured and disciplined life.  I read books that feed my mind empowering messages–mostly non-fiction but some fiction.  These are books on personal development, mindset, successful habit building and the like.  There are countless out there and one need only look a bit online to find the best jewels.  (If you need help, please email me).  

Meditation is another core ingredient.  There are plenty of guided meditations to be found on YouTube and there are many apps that can be purchased that are very useful in devoting 10-20 minutes per day to centering oneself before launching into manic activity. We need to slow down the mind, breathe deeply, allow ourselves to focus on one thing at a time, not allowing the mind to constantly wander off into unfruitful territory.  Honest prayer, in whatever faith you follow, is also extremely healthy and will help keep your mind and spirit centered.   

Exercise and health is another key component.  Science has ample proof that regular exercise is extremely helpful in creating a positive state of mind, not to mention the obvious health benefits.  If time is an issue for you as it is for me, find workouts that are more intensive such as HIIT (high intensity interval training) that work the entire body and get your heart rate high enough in a short amount of time to get killer results without taking an hour or two out of your day.  I promise you that exercising vigorously 2 or more times per week will improve your state of mind and the way you feel physically. 

Diet and nutrition are key.  I love food, but there is a balance that should be struck between the foods we may want to eat (i.e. junk foods, sugary foods, fried foods, heavy starches) and like and what we should be feeding our body.  When eating things that you know are not great for you the key is moderation. Eating healthy is an acquired taste and the healthier you eat the less you will desire unhealthy foods.  Learn to cook if you have to.  The reality is that healthier food can taste as good if not better than unhealthy foods and will make you feel MUCH better.   

Finally, we need to be taking action on a daily basis to work hard towards raising our standards and reaching our goals, whether they be professional or personal.  Procrastinating, burying problems and hoping they go away, treating ourselves and others poorly and maintaining bad habits is a certain recipe for low self-esteem and hopelessness. If there’s work you know needs to be done, go do it now and see how this improves your self-belief and motivation to do more.  If you have to wake up early, if you have to turn down plans with friends, if you have to deny yourself a drink, a dessert, that extra hour of TV, whatever it is, then do it. Don’t look at it as punishment but as a step in the direction of a better life for yourself.  We all know deep down what it is that is holding us back from feeling better about ourselves and our lives.  Be strong and fight the urge to repeat self-defeating tendencies that make us fall backwards every day.  Using the tools listed above, if you use them, will absolutely make a difference.  I know this from personal experience both as a procrastinator and a doer.   

We need to be clear on the things we can control and what we cannot.  We cannot keep Russia from invading Ukraine.  We cannot stop a Category 5 typhoon or hurricane from taking innocent lives.  We cannot stop a genocide in a country across the world or racism in our local police force.  We cannot even keep people in our own country from voting for politicians that make their own lives more difficult and the world a less secure place.  What we can do however is gain control of our own thoughts, our own actions, our own spirits and work diligently on making our lives better everyday.   

There is trouble enough in this world.  It does not help ours or anyone else’s cause for us to make our troubles greater with self-defeating thoughts and actions.  Let’s pick ourselves and those around us up with hope, great faith and a belief that we can make our lives better everyday.  If we give our all and it doesn’t happen, we will have grown and can still be joyful in our hearts knowing we lived, we tried, we stepped up to life’s challenges.  I’ll take that over failure for lack of trying any day. 

Reggae music is an art form that was created barely 50 years ago out of a little island in the Caribbean.  Today, reggae permeates the entire globe.  What is it about reggae that gives it such a universal appeal?  Aside from the emergence of a guy named Bob Marley, reggae has some things going for it that other music genres just can't capture.  Clearly, the superstardom of Bob Marley was transcendent in making reggae an internationally recognized musical genre.  But in 1981 when Bob Marley passed on reggae was still little more than a niche genre of music that had a minor following. 

It has been in the past 20-30 years that reggae has really taken off and splintered into a host of sub-genres being created by various countries around the world that has taken its popularity and appeal to the next level.  So what is it, at its root, that makes reggae so appealing?  Well, you could probably get a thousand answers from a thousand people but what makes reggae such an appealing music for me lies in 3 key areas: the message, the groove and the culture.  

The message of reggae music is one of the sufferer.  It is a struggle for human and civil rights, for a basic standard of living, and one that speaks to the brotherhood of humanity.  Reggae is rooted in themes of solidarity, righteousness and justice.  And it is one with worship, honor and respect for Jah---the God of the Bible.  These themes are honest, real and speak to the hearts of people all over the world who are familiar with suffering and injustice---or anyone who truly cares about their brothers and sisters of humanity and the sanctity of life.  These themes are by their very nature uplifting, righteous and pure.  Listening to reggae speaks to the better part of our nature and uplifts us to a higher plane of thought and morality.  

As many are familiar, reggae was derived from Ska and Rock Steady, their precursors in the Jamaican music scene.  Reggae is simply a twist on the "bang" or the emphasis on the 2nd and 4th beats of the measure, but the reggae "bang" has a cooler, more easy going vibe than its predecessors. This reggae groove is meditative, soulful and hypnotic in a way that Ska and Rock Steady never were.  The tempo of reggae is not too fast, not too slow--it's just right.  Listening to a great reggae groove is something that feels like you could rock to it forever and not lose the feeling.  At the heart of the reggae groove though is the drum and bassline patterns which also have a bouncy, soulful but swaying, circular feeling that syncopates with the human heartbeat and can put the listener in an almost trance-like state.  There is really nothing like reggae and the appeal of the reggae groove has been able to truly cross racial lines, borders, continents and touch the hearts of all walks of life.  

Finally the culture of reggae is so unique--much like the island that invented the genre.  Jamaican culture and the personalities of many Jamaicans are so unique, so bold, so full of life that there is really no other way to explain the huge impact the small island of Jamaica has made on the world.  There is a brash rebelliousness and self-confidence about Jamaican culture that penetrates the music and carries a coolness that is hard to ignore.  This has been evident in the personas of so many major reggae artists over the years--namely characters like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Big Youth, Shabba Ranks, Yellowman, Eek-A-Mouse, Gregory Isaacs and many others.  The impact of Rastafarianism and the look of long, swinging dreadlocks hanging down the backs of some of the greatest singers and musicians is a look that commands attention, interest and respect.  There is a spiritual and charismatic power to Rasta and Jamaican culture that has been exemplified by reggae music, its culture and the many characters and great artists it has produced. 

One other powerful aspect of the culture of reggae is its connection to and celebration of the African roots of the Black Diaspora.  Reggae was a front runner in boldly proclaiming its pride in being a music by black people rooted in African history--and tying that pride to an acknowledgment of and solidarity with the African homeland of its creators, with the central figure in Rasta, Haile I Selassie being from the birthplace of civilization, Ethiopia.  A big part of the reggae theme and brand revolves around the Red, Gold, Black and Green that are ubiquitous throughout the African continent and the primary colors of many African nations flags.   

Finally, reggae is the one music of the world that, through Rastafarianism, has attached itself to and legitimized marijuana consumption as not only ok, but a royal and honorable activity.  The universal mass appeal of "herb" and reggae's inherent connection to it, has only fueled the impact and popularity of reggae over the years. It's not hard to sell people on the idea of smoking herb, and reggae was the first art form to come out and publicly embrace marijuana consumption as a part of its identity. 

Today reggae is so much more than its Jamaican roots.  It has become a worldwide phenomenon with subgenres that attract completely different audiences from Jamaican reggae.  But this is what happens when an art form explodes in popularity and touches the human experience--it gives birth to new ideas, new creators and expands into something much broader and more complex than what it is was when it began.  Still, it is amazing to see something that started out in a small corner of the world with the creative ideas of a small group of men turn into an art form that has impacted the lives of literally billions of people.  What a great time to be a reggae fan and what an exciting time to be a reggae artist.  

Now...it's time to make some good reggae music!!!

Photo Credit: Alty Benjamin shot at Augustus Pablo's Rockers Int'l Record Shop--Kingston, JA

People have asked me this question many times in interviews.  It's an obvious question.  How does a white guy from San Francisco end up becoming a reggae artist?  It's hard to answer in an interview so I give the abbreviated version but I'll spell it out in more detail here.  

To answer this properly I have to go back to the beginning of my experiences with music.  I named my publishing company Mooky Eddy.  My father tells me this is what I would say to him as a young child when I wanted to hear him play me music.  Mooky Eddy = "music Daddy!".  My parents aren't musicians, far from it.  They're not even really music buffs, but there was definitely music in the home.  What I remember from when I was little was classical music, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, some other folk music and apparently the soundtrack to Hair which was one of the things I'd request to hear.  There wasn't a lot of what you'd consider "black" music being played in the house.  I do remember my Dad buying "Songs In The Key Of Life" by Stevie Wonder and that blowing my mind though.  To this day, I consider this album the single greatest masterpiece of modern music. My connection to music was a strong gravitational pull.  Who knows how or why we are drawn to the things we are but I have to credit God for making me this way.  

I got very deep into Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 when I was little from seeing them on TV.  This led to discovering groups like Earth, Wind & Fire (Spirit was one of the 1st albums I owned) and The Commodores.  My childhood was pretty much marked by what was then called "Soul Music" and what I was playing ranged from Heatwave to Parliament/Funkadelic,Teddy Pendergrass, Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, The Whispers, Marvin Gaye, Shalamar and everything else in that category.  That was my shit as they say...

So I knew I could sing but I grew up Jewish, not in the church, and there were no performers in my family or inner circle so I wasn't really getting any opportunity to sing publicly and I was shy about it too.  I took piano lessons when I was young for a couple years, and then learned trumpet in Middle School but none of this, unfortunately, stuck with me and I wasn't disciplined to continue studying them.  I wanted to be out in the streets playing basketball. 

When I reached high school the British Ska revival was super popular and I got introduced to a lot of music that I hadn't been exposed to before then.  These would be groups like The English Beat, Madness and The Specials.  I learned of and became a big fan of other British crossover artists such as Elvis Costello, The Police, The Clash and a bunch of other acts that bridged the gap between Rock, R&B, Punk and Reggae.  This began to expand my horizons and got me acclimated to the sounds of reggae.  

Reggae was a thing back then, but none of my peers were really listening to it.  One of my best friends parents would play reggae at their house when we were younger but we just didn't get it.  So my Dad worked with a guy from Jamaica named Scotty.  Scotty and I became friendly from my visits and some after school work I was doing at my Dad's office.  Scotty knew I was a big music fan so one day he brought me a couple of cassettes.  One was a Black Uhuru album, I believe it was the "Chill Out" album and then a Bob Marley & The Wailers album which may have been "Natty Dread".  I was around 15 or 16 at the time and when I heard those I just about lost my mind.  I was in LOVE.  So after playing them out I returned them to Scotty.  His work was done. :-) 

I started really discovering Reggae at that point.  Steel Pulse and Third World were big names and along with Black Uhuru, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Burning Spear, I was on my way.  Later in high school, one afternoon one of the coolest looking dreads shows up next door to our home.  He's outside on the street and it turns out he's our next door neighbor's nephew.  I introduced myself with much curiosity as a reggae fan and this started a long friendship.  D.A., as was his nickname, was one of the coolest dudes I've ever met to this day.  He was from L.A. and had spent a lot of time in Jamaica had known Bob Marley well and was, at one point, one of Peter Tosh's closest friends.  

D.A. was a major influence on me like a big brother and also introduced me to reggae artists I'd never known about like Yellowman and Aswad.  The one artist he told me about who really stands out in my memory the most though is Sugar Minott, who became one of my favorite artists and greatest influences when I started writing songs.  D.A. and I remained friends for over 20 years.  We lost touch at one point and after a couple years I made an effort to reconnect with him only to find out he'd passed away from cancer the year before.  I was heartbroken.  What a great guy...I look forward to reconnecting with my man on the other side.

Having grown up in San Francisco in the Haight-Ashbury district famous for it's musical history during the 60's and the Summer of Love, I of course began to discover some psychadelic and more rock oriented music from groups like The Doors, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and Santana.  When I began college I started to begin appreciating Jazz and learned about Coltrane, Miles, Sarah Vaughan, Thelonius Monk and others.  Hip-Hop was also now a big deal and we were mainlining Hip-Hop when I started college with groups like Whodini, Eric B. & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions, NWA, Ice-T and the like. But the thing that, at this point, I was gravitating to the most was my Reggae.  

So by this time I had been exposed to a lot of musical styles and my musical influences were really varied.  To this day, I feel I've learned more about songwriting, production and arrangements from listening to great music over and over again than anything else.  From the stuff I was listening to the bar was very high. So towards the end of college I really started hearing melodies and lyrics begin to run through my head.  I had been buying 7" records from Jamaica with the "versions" on the B-side, which were instrumentals and dub style versions of the backing tracks from the A-side.  This gave me the standard "riddims" of that time to begin writing songs to.  So I started.  My natural vibe was what you call "Lover's Rock", Sugar Minott being the perfect example.  It was very much R&B influenced, soulful vocal stylings with lover's lyrics over these reggae riddims.  This allowed me to leverage my early love of Soul/R&B and mix it with Reggae naturally.  

At the same time I started to go out to sing at some clubs in L.A. where I had finished college and was living at the time.  This led to my meeting some producers and I had gotten linked up with a guy named Field (we remain friends to this day) who was a hustler and really into Reggae music.  He saw my potential and was able to get me connected to some young producers who gave me tracks to write to.  These tracks fell somewhere in between Hip-Hop, Reggae and R&B and whatever they were I would fuse the other elements into it to make a Reggae Fusion with my own style.  The more I wrote, the better I got and the more I was able to define my own style and approach to Reggae.  I was becoming a real "international" or "crossover" type Reggae artist.  As my writing got better and a couple of the demos I cut had real vibes, I was able to land a record deal with Paul Stewart and PMP/Loud Records under the RCA label.  

The story continues but that gives a pretty good background.  I guess the answer to the question as to how I became a Reggae artist is that I got so attached to the music that it became an integral part of who I am and the more I lived it the more it became who I am.  I've never felt I was manufacturing something that wasn't authentic or real cause the songs just flowed through me like water.  I just do it the way I do it.  I've never been the guy to try to talk Patois or spend years in Jamaica to act and talk more Jamaican--but I do love the culture and Jamaican people and they have embraced me for what I do which I appreciate deeply. The years since have been a constant flow of songs that I have written and recorded, most Reggae or Reggae Fusion and some not Reggae at all.  I hope one day to be able to either release them all or allow other artists to record them.  

Am I an International Reggae Artist, a Reggae Fusion artist or just a Reggae artist?  I don't know, but I love what I do and I make music to resonate with real people with real hearts that love music.  So whatever that may be I'm cool with that. 

There are so many great reggae artists of yesterday and today but who will be the reggae artists to watch in 2022?  I believe that, like myself, we all start out as reggae fans before we begin making our own reggae music.  2021 was another great year in reggae and 2022 promises to be the same.  As artists we all look forward to the day that we can put the worst of Covid-19 behind us and not worry about cancelled club dates or concerns with shows at indoor venues.  

However 2022 pans out artists will be artists and great music will be released.  Reggae has become such an international phenomenon and reggae as a genre is truly beloved all over the world.  There is reggae being made on every continent and the variety of reggae out there is astounding.  

Jamaica always produces so much and to make it in Jamaica as a new reggae artist you have to give the Jamaican audience something that feels authentic to reggae or bumps in the clubs.  It's never easy for a foreign reggae artist to make in Jamaica unless you come raw and show a real authenticity and understanding of real Jamaican reggae.  Jamaican artists that are bringing the noise these days include Chronixx, Tarrus Riley, Romain Virgo, Protege, Jesse Royal, Jah 9, Popcaan, Yaksta, Koffee, Christopher Martin and many more and these artists carry on one of the richest legacies in the history of modern music.

At the same time, there is great reggae coming out of South America from artists like Natiruts (Brazil) and Los Cafres (Argentina) and other outstanding Latin reggae acts like Cultura Profetica who bring fantastic songwriting and great musicality from Latin musics to reggae.  Europe boasts big names like Maxi Priest, SEEED, Alborosie and Gentleman.   

Out of North America you have so much variety as well. There is the Hawaiian/Pacific Islander vibe of reggae that is very Lovers Rock/R&B influenced and features really some of the best singers in reggae such as Common Kings, Sammy Johnson, J.Boog and Spawnbreezie.  In fact, Hawaii is one of the hottest reggae markets in the entire world and there a number of super hot reggae acts to watch from that little state alone!  Then you have the Cali style of reggae with more of what I'd consider a beach/surf reggae vibe from acts like Pepper, SOJA, Tribal Seed, Iration and Slightly Stoopid.

Then you have Dancehall, Reggaeton, Roots and so many styles of reggae to appeal to some many demographics and audiences.  Japan produces reggae, Africa has long produced great reggae and of course Afrobeat which is running the world today and has a heavy dancehall influence. All over the Caribbean you'll get reggae that blends Souk, Calypso, Soca and other genres.

So who will be the reggae artists to watch in 2022?  We'll have to wait and see who drops what but I definitely hope to be in the conversation with my first LP "Shades of Blue", a collection of songs from a handful of producers I've worked with over the past few years that offer a range of reggae styles including Lovers Rock Reggae, Pop/Hip-Hop Reggae, Afrobeat inspired Reggae, traditional singers Reggae, and one Roots Reggae type tune that is a re-release of a recent single of mine entitled "Push Forward" that features the great Peetah Morgan of Morgan Heritage.

Shout out to all the producers, engineers, singers and players involved in the project including the 2-time Grammy Award winning J-Vibe Productions, HEDDROKK Productions, Dean Fishback, Mantra, Sergio Cavalieri, Marlon Easy, Debra German, Shauna Dazzle, Drew Keys, Kevo Gitz, Casely and many more.  I also have to give a special shout out to my good friend and confidant DJGQ for helping to guide me through so much of the project and keep my head on straight.  

So while there are going to be many great reggae artists to watch in 2022...you better not sleep on your boy Tenor Blue! :-)

"Shades of Blue" The Best Reggae Album of 2022?  :-)  We'll see...but I do believe I have something good ready.

2021 has been a real ride for most of us--it has definitely been one for me.   We were all hopeful to see Covid-19 fade away and it has done the opposite.  At this moment, and right during the holidays, the virus is at its absolute peak.  This is a metaphor for life.  The Bible says, "The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord".  Though we plan, we hope, we tell ourselves things will happen a certain way, so often things don't unfold how we foresee them.  

The good news is that this is not a reason to stop believing, hoping or planning.  It is just a fact that we do not always get what we want.  In the face of adversity, defeat and suffering we must Push Forward (little plug for my 2019 single with Peetah Morgan of Morgan Heritage)--which is a perfect segue.  

What did I do successfully this year?  Well, I have, after years of dreaming of doing so, bought a real house, fixed up and sold my condo in South Florida, moved to a beautiful setting outside Atlanta with a legit change of seasons and am finishing up the final touches on the build out of my home studio--which I'm crazy excited about. I saw my beautiful son Maverick off to his first year of college at Florida State University. And, I have just gotten back the masters to my first album project that has been a work in progress now for several years.  So I am about to release an album entitled "Shades of Blue" in early 2022 that I hope to be considered one of the best reggae albums of 2022.  Some things have been accomplished.  

What struggles did I face in 2021?  I had personal and financial struggles.  I was betrayed by two people who I thought were friends, one of whom I treated like a brother and the other a guy I'd worked hard for for over 4 years who completely went back on his word to me and has dishonored our agreement.  Both of these situations are, at their core, about money.  This is not the first time in my life I've been betrayed over money and my life financial situation isn't good in large part because of "friends" having betrayed or taken advantage of my kindness and generosity.  There is a reason it is said money is the root of all evil.  On the other hand, I'm learning very painful and difficult lessons about trust, the importance of contracts and not loaning money to or helping friends with money.  It kills friendships.  

There are many things I could have done more of, done better, including upping my social media game and doing a better job of promoting my music.  I'm not young but I'm still learning, always a student of life and a work in progress.  I've made a million mistakes in my life but I keep chugging forward.  This is my mission, this is my life.

So what does all this have to do with reggae?  Reggae is a music that is about overcoming adversity, oppression, setbacks, suffering and moving forward to glory in spite of everything.  This is the message, the heartbeat, the spirit of reggae that has resonated so deeply with people all over the world for over 50 years.  Reggae is about hope, possibility and not allowing the darkness of this world to kill your faith or your joy.  There is always the promise of a better future, of a deeper connection with Jah and of liberation from wickedness and oppression. Jah know!

My upcoming release "Shades of Blue" is a 2022 reggae album that touches on so much of these themes.  There are songs about love of course, both the beauty and excitement of falling in love ("Always On My Mind"), the heartbreak of not being loved back ("You Don't Love Like I Do"), both produced by J-Vibe Productions and a playful love tune with an R&B/Hip-Hop vibe called "Give It To You" (produced by Mantra).  There is a song called "Rub A Dub Stylee" (produced by Dean Fishback) about making my mark in the business and overcoming doubters with music that is too good to ignore.  There's a song about having a heart of good intentions ("For The Right Reasons") which is my 3rd song with producers Heddrock Productions (David Simmons and Stephen Lashley) and I'm re-releasing "Push Forward" featuring Peetah Morgan of Morgan Heritage (also produced by J-Vibe Productions) on the project which is a sufferer's tune about everything discussed above--overcoming adversity and pushing forward in the face of great pain and adversity. Finally there's a bonus track called "Rub A Dub Dub", a dub version of producer Dean Fishback's "Rub A Dub Stylee" riddim that was engineering by the late, great Drew Keys, producer and former keyboardist in Common Kings, who sadly passed suddenly in late 2020.  

So keep your head up, there's always hope for brighter days and greater victories!  Here's hoping to a bountiful 2022 of great happiness, health and success for all of you and may "Shades of Blue" accomplish my goal of hitting Top 10 on the Billboard Reggae Charts and receiving consideration for best reggae album of 2022!  Bless up!