With the rise in deaths due to mental health, Hopeton Lindo thought it was appropriate to write and record a song to shed light on a disease that has no generational or gender bias. The result is ‘Mental Health Awareness’, a collaboration with Anthony Malvo.
Lindo produced the song for his Irie Pen Records. It is scheduled for release on November 7 by Zojak Worldwide.
After composing the song, Lindo called on Malvo, his longtime friend, to help spread its message.
“I selected Anthony Malvo as he’s a great singer and a good bredrin of mine, who I knew would do justice to the song and he delivered as anticipated,” he said. “I sent the song to him, and he said he loved the message that was needed, especially at this time.”
Malvo is best known for the 1987 hit song, ‘Come Back to Me’ (with Tiger). He and Lindo — who has written or co-written hit songs for Maxi Priest, Buju Banton and J C Lodge — have known each other since the 1980s when they performed on sound systems in Jamaica.
‘Mental Health Awareness’ also features multi-instrumentalist Paul Gauntlett; and harmony singer Shauna “ShaunaDazzle” Dixon. Engineer for the recording session was Syl Gordon, while it was mixed and mastered by the Heavybeat Crew.
The Canadian Mental Health Association reports that one in five persons in Canada have a mental issue. This has resulted in 4,500 suicides in the country annually.