BY SADE GARDNER
Observer writer—

ISM , Mr Vegas’s second album since his conversion to Christianity two years ago, will be released on July 31.

The singjay is credited as executive producer for the 14-track set, which explores themes like Catholicism and racism.

He said current affairs influenced some of the tracks.

“The songs on the album were inspired by events from both the past and present, while looking to the future,” he told the Jamaica Observer. “It is speaking to us as Africans; we were indoctrinated to the point where we don’t know ourselves. The greatest thing is when you find yourself. We are all searching. if you are not searching, you are dead —not physically, mentally.”

He said ISM will clear up any misconceptions listeners have about his religious stance.

“You will know where I stand with the Church when you listen to the album,” he said. “Of course, when it comes to the church it’s a building…the amount of things that happen in that building. Look at what happened in St Elizabeth with the Moravian pastor. Everybody says it’s the house of the Lord — if it was the house of the Lord these things couldn’t happen. There are many other references we can mention too.”

Church, his recent single, is a precursor to ISM and features Macka Diamond. The single, co-produced by Vegas and Nile Brown, highlights the hypocrisy he believes exists in that institution.

 

“This song is pointing out some of the fallacies in the Church based on my own experiences and personal research. I choose Macka because she is one of the ‘out of the church, inna di church’ people and she has a comedic sound. People may look at it from one angle — one minute I’m in the church the other minute I’m out. That happens to a lot of us, in Jamaica … we call that backsliding. But is not backslide dem backslide, is forward dem moving forward and others keep pulling us back. Yuh cyaan backslide when yuh never born in it.”

The singles Wakanda Jam and Colorism will also be on the album.

Vegas released his debut gospel album Soul Therapy last year, a few months after dropping the secular This is Dancehall album.