There was no talk of a mystery virus in late 2019 when Junior Brown began production on the 'riddim' that became the "Redemption Project". In a matter of weeks, Covid-19 was a terrifying buzz word.
Inevitably, the virus that has killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world, had an impact on the Jamaican producer's Nyabinghi beat.
"The concept of the project came from seeing and also feeling the struggles of the pandemic and immediately it brought me back to the real, authentic reggae music that we used to listen to and feel encouraged and empowered," said Brown.
Released in October by his Nuh Rush Records, the "Redemption Project" has 11 songs including "Never Get Tired" by Busy Signal, "Say A Prayer" (Nature Ellis), "Stronger" (Kananga), "Jah Never Leave" by Don G and Queen Ifrica's "Predator's Paradise".
Eager for the songs to complement the rhythm's natural feel, Brown selected mainly roots acts.
"The artists for the project were carefully picked because I really had the entire project in my mind and wanted to bring life to what I saw and heard from a spiritual to a natural level," he said.
The last artist Brown approached was Queen Ifrica whose song is a passionate look at male sexual delinquency in Jamaica.
"Predator's Paradise" has become the de facto lead single for "Redemption Project".
"I wouldn’t really say that it was deliberate to have Queen Ifrica as leader of the project but her song has been chosen by the Most High to be at the forefront at this time," Brown explained. "She was also the last artist to record her song as it took me a while to get in touch with her and I purposely wanted her to be a part of the project."
Brown has been a music producer for six years. His previous productions include songs like "Margarita" by Busy Signal and "I'm so Blessed" by Kananga.
Written By Howard Campbell