Members of the Uprising Roots Band. – File
By Shereita Grizzle—-
In June 2011, roots reggae group, the Uprising Roots Band, suffered major loss as fire gutted its headquarters on Fairbourne Road in Kingston.
The headquarters housed the group’s recording studio and was the main reason behind the band’s relative absence from the music scene. Despite this setback, however, the band continued to work and is now set to release its latest studio album titled Black To I Roots in January 2015.
The album will serve as the group’s second in three years and is geared at showing the growth and maturity of the members of the group and what they have been through since the 2011 fire. “The fire, which destroyed our studio in 2011, is really the reason why we are just putting this album out,” said Rashaun ‘Kush’ McAnuff, lead singer and drummer. “We lost everything and had to start over, but we never gave up hope and just kept putting in the work, and you will see that on the album.”
Uprising Roots Band
The album, which was recorded at Tuff Gong International Studios, will be all about the group as there are no collaborations, just “heart-felt roots reggae music”, according to McAnuff. Though there are no collaborations to look forward to, the album is still expected to be one to look out for as some of Jamaica’s best musicians have been listed as persons who have worked on the initiative, among them, veteran guitarist Winston ‘Bo Pee’ Bowen and Ronald ‘Nambo’ Robinson. “They (musicians) really did a great job and made the effort even more worthwhile,” said McAnuff. The title track, Black To I Roots, and Time are two singles from the album already in rotation on local airwaves.
EMBRACING OUR HERITAGE
The group’s debut album, Skyfiya, was released in March 2011, and though the second project is different, the general message remains the same. “We are a roots band and spreading the Jamaican culture is always important to us, so this album will continue to bring forward the heritage of our ancestors and show off our roots as a people,” McAnuff said.
shereita.grizzle@gleanerjm.com
