Whenever Clatta Bumboo writes a song, the objective is to make a statement. ‘The Purge’, his latest effort, salutes his Rastafarian faith and roots-reggae.
The song is written by American Jefferson A. Ramos, who produced it with Clatta Bumboo. ‘The Purge’ is scheduled for release on February 13.
“The overarching message is to underscore Clatta Bumboo’s commitment to upholding the roots-reggae sound and reassert Rastafari principles as a vehicle for meaningful cultural change,” said the Rhode Island-based singer. “The title was chosen to convey the importance of changing minds in order to change lives.”
To help push that message, Clatta Bumboo went for the militant ‘Steppa’ sound, made popular during the late 1970s in Jamaica. Ramos, a multi-instrumentalist, played bass and keyboards on ‘The Purge’, which is accompanied by a dub version called ‘Rapid Response’.
Clatta Bumboo is from Westmoreland, a rural parish in western Jamaica. Like most artists from that region, he cut his teeth performing in tourist hotels and began recording songs in 2017, nine years after settling in the United States. He found a receptive market for his music in New England where there has been a vibrant roots-reggae colony since the 1970s.
In 2019, Clatta Bumboo released ‘Future Water’, his first EP. Four years later came ‘Make Way Rasta’, his debut album which featured American and Jamaican musicians. He explained the concept behind ‘The Purge’.
“This project also serves to identify Clatta Bumboo as a culture builder with the prescription for mitigation, a purge, a retooling, a reinvestment in what made us (black people) culturally strong in the first place,” said Clatta Bumboo.