Roots singer Jahman from St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) called on some heavy hitters for ‘A Purpose’, his sixth album, which is being released today (October 6) by VPAL Music.
On ‘West Indies (Far from The Norm’), he teams-up with Junior Reid and Sizzla, while for ‘One Time’, he is accompanied by his countryman, Pressure.
The Rastafarian artist spoke about his reasons for working with those three acts. “When it come on to artist like Junior Reid and Sizzla, dem is artist I admire from when I was young. In Pressure case, he is from where I’m from, the Virgin Islands, and I came out before him,” said Jahman.
‘A Purpose’ is released five years after ‘Altitude’, his previous album, which was produced by JonFX, a Jamaican based in South Florida. That effort entered the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart, reaching as far as number seven.
JonFX is one of the producers Jahman worked with on ‘A Purpose’. Others are Delroy “Phatta” Pottinger, Christopher Meredith, Massi Harris, Eric Tavin and Dean Pond. Sly and Robbie, drummer Kirk Bennett, saxophonist Dean Fraser and guitarist Mitchum “Khan” Chin are some of the musicians who played on the album.
Jahman grew up in St. Thomas on the music of roots-reggae icons like Bob Marley, Steel Pulse and Third World. Reid and Sizzla are also major influences for the artist who has been recording music for over 25 years.
The USVI has been a hotbed of reggae activity for the past 15 years. During that period, acts like Midnite and Pressure, as well as the I-Grade Records label, have collaborated with top Jamaican artists.