ROOTS ARTIST KABAKA PYRAMID IS SIZZLING THIS SUMMER!

BY RICHARD JOHNSON—
Observer senior reporter—

Kabaka Pyramid —

Reggae artiste Kabaka Pyramid is having his best summer ever.

The artiste, who is named among the artistes who formed part of the reggae revival, is currently in the United Kingdom where he is set to perform at the Parklife Festival in Manchester, England, on Saturday, the fourth stop on his summer tour which will see him criss-crossing the Atlantic a number of times to fulfil obligations in both North America and Europe.

For the artiste known for songs such as Kontraband, Well Done, Can’t Breathe, Never Gonna Be A Slave, and Mi Alright, these are exciting times with scores of stops across the globe including uncharted territory.

“I’m doing Summerjam in Germany. I’m working the same night as Protoje and Buju, so I’m looking forward to that. I’m going to Hawaii for the first time with Damian Marley and Third World where we will have two shows. Then there’s Reggae on the River over in California. It’s definitely getting easier. A lot of the festival that we listed from early out we check them off already, and we have done them and now going back for a second or third time. We’re doing more new festivals now, even festivals outside the reggae genre which is something we want to do to open new doors for the music. But it’s definitely easier now , but there is always more… it’s a wide world so there’s always more work to do. I did a summer where I was in Europe for two and a half months, but the fact that I’m going from the US to Europe and back and forth and I’m going to places like Japan in September and October. So I’m doing Japan and Hawaii for the first time. This is definitely the most diverse tour and the longest, as I don’t think I will see Jamaica again until October,” he shared.

On the recording scene, Kabaka Pyramid is never too far away from the studio. He told the Jamaica Observer that he has already began work on the follow-up to his 2018 release Kontraband. In the interim he is working on singles to keep himself current and ‘in the streets’. He just completed one of these singles with producer DJ Frass and that is set for release shortly. That track is called Mr Gunman and he explained that it was in reaction to the increased levels of crime specifically murders. He shared that it is a conversation in which he tells his point of view to a gunman.

He is also donning his producer’s hat for the first time with a rhythm, Victory Rock, which is also set for release shortly.

“It’s a one-drop rhythm. I haven’t recorded on it myself, but I am more in production and working on the mixing right now to get it out during the summer. It’s more of a singer’s rhythm and I have nine songs on it so far, and I am definitely looking to pushing it out. The name Victory Rock is based on a song that Alaine did on the rhythm. Other artistes who have recorded on it are Romain Virgo, Chris Martin, Bugle, Pressure Buss Pipe. I have some younger talent like Irie Souljah, Tamo J… Gentleman, and Chris Martin also have a song on it. This is definitely something I’ve always wanted to do. I’m a community sort of person, always wanting to bring people together and bridge the gap dem, so the producing side is one way of doing that. Even members of my band, The Bebble Rockers, played on this rhythm so there is that live music aspect to it, and we just want to keep the thing unified,” Kabaka Pyramid said.