Jah Cure marches on
With three weeks before his latest album drops,
Jah Cure is doing the obilgatory media rounds promoting that set, Royal Soldier. it is scheduled for release on August 30 by VP Records, the independent company that also distributed The Cure, his previous album.
The Cure was released in 2015, quite a gulf between albums in contemporary music. Jah Cure, who recently turned 40, said that the extended break was deliberate.
“I dont want to over-saturate di market like is a hustling thing. Wi tek time an’ space an’ give di fans time to absorb...it gi mi time to grow,” he said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.
Despite the time between albums, Jah Cure has not been short on hit songs. His cover of John Legend’s All of Me, Rasta and Life wi Live
Jamaica, North America and Europe.
Royal Soldier, he stressed, is different in direction from its predecessor.
“The Cure was jus’ me, dis album is me an’ a set of royal soldiers,” the singer explained.
Those soldiers include Junior Reid, Capleton, and Yami Bolo with whom he does the song Street Kings. There are also collaborations with Damian “Junior Gong” Marley on Marijuana, Canadian rapper Tory
Lanez (Magic), Popcaan and Padrino (That’s Life) and Mya (Only You).
Marijuana and Pretty Face, on which Jah Cure flies solo have already been released.
Interestingly, Royal Soldier has a strong Bahamian influence. Several of the songs, including Marijuana and That’s Life, were co-written or produced by musicians from The Bahamas where
Jah Cure performs regularly.
“Is a place where I have property an’ di people are like family. I get to interact wid dem so I meet some some nice beats an’ wi write some songs for dem,” he explained.
Released to much fanfare, The Cure also featured songs produced by Bahamians. While not a massive seller, it stayed on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart for 34 weeks and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album.
Because he was imprisoned for seven years, Jah Cure is unable to perform in the United States and United Kingdom, which he says are his biggest markets. Live show promotion for Royal Soldier will take place in Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.
The club feel of songs like Marijuana and Pretty
Face help make Royal
Soldier a more commercial venture than The Cure. Jah Cure is confident it will surpass that set in sales and accomplishments.
“I hope di album stays more than 34 weeks (on Billboard) an’ win a Grammy. Either one would be a great achievement,” he said.