VETERAN singer Junior Reid last week kicked off a busy production year with the release of the mixtape Kingston.

The 18-track compilation is produced by the singer’s JR Productions and features collaborations with his sons Andrew and Wada Blood, Young JR and Juju Blood.

REID… for me, a mixtape is really to test the market and see what people like

According to Reid, the mixtape is a teaser for Junior Reid: The Legend, his next album which is due in August.

“For me, a mixtape is really to test the market and see what people like, and fans will get an idea of what the album will be like,” Reid told the Sunday Observer.

In addition to Kingston and ‘The Legend’, the 48 year-old Reid has plans to release Undeniable, a hip-hop mixtape, in the last quarter of the year.

That 15-track project will include Champion which features American rapper Jadakiss, Lloyd Banks and French Montano.

Working with hip-hop and pop acts have paid off for Reid, whose career started in the late 1970s.

He scored with several hits during the 1980s including Original Foreign Mind. In 1990, Reid released One Blood, anthem that topped reggae charts worldwide.

One Blood has appealed to many hip-hop acts who have approached Reid to appear on their songs.

Among his most successful collaborations have been with Alicia Keys on the No One remix; This is Why I’m Hot remix with Mims, and Died In Your Arms remix with T-Pain and Rick Ross.