At the beginning of October, reggae singer Anthony Cruz – in collaboration with Tad’s Record – shared his rendition of Silk Sonic‘s mega hit song: Leave The Door Open. Since its release, the lover’s-rock tune has taken off considerably with ongoing spins on both traditional and digital radio.

Shortly after the holidays I reached out to Cruz to get his feedback on the success of the record, and to learn what drove him to do it. See below our full conversation.

What made you want to remake “Leave the door open”?
Hey Maria what’s up? Yes man well basically when I first heard the song it just brought me right back to where the music is suppose to be as far as like R&B, the soulful music that we use to listen to back in the 80s… dem time deh when you had like soul train and the big singers a sing the big love songs and man and woman a meet and greet and a go pan dates and a fall in love. 

So when I heard it I just knew I had to sing that song over. I just fell in love with the song. I listen that song over and over and over; it’s a song that just win me. You know Jamaicans right across the world, Caribbean people love a good cover version so I had to lick dat one in reggae.

Here in Jamaica the song is always on radio. How do you feel about all the support it’s getting?
It’s doing really good, people loving it and it’s just soaring. We have a video for it out now that’s right across social media getting a lot of love and support; Hype TV; yu know, all over the world man, beautiful song – it’s well done.

The riddim was made by Kashief Lindo, HeavyBeat up in Florida. The background was Lymie Murray and you know me deh pan di lead so it was a beautiful combination as far as putting that track together and we have a few more like that we looking forward to release to also.

I know you have been working with Tad’s Record for some time now but can you talk about the initial link up regardless of how far back it goes? and Is there any future collaboration with Tad’s Record in the works?
Ye man we have a whole lot of… a matter of fact I have two albums weh me do aready with Tad’s enno. One is a tribute to Daddy U-Roy where I got the opportunity to sing over a lot of the songs he chanted back in the days for example I’m a Rebel, Queen Majesty; yu know dem song deh weh me grow up pan. So me get a chance fi sing dem song deh and den mi put some dj pan all a dem and collab dem and do a tribute album to him.

And we also have a album, a solo album that’s finish… we don’t have a name for it yet; we just a watch di vibes and ting; it soon release man yu know. We have a whole lot of work doing with Tad’s man. Very good to work with; very easy and dem know good quality music so makes it fun yu know.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD “LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN” REGGAE REMIX

On Saturday, February 12, longtime reggae musician, singer, engineer and producer, Pluto Shervington, will share the stage with several legendary artists and bands at an event dubbed Pluto & Friends.

In addition to Shervington, the live reggae show will also feature performances from JC Lodge, Boris Gardiner, Ernie Smith, Third World and Chalice; with Code Red Band supporting the aforementioned individual acts.

Pluto & Friends will take place at the Sport of Kings Theatre in Gulfstream Park, which is located at 901 S Federal Hwy in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Showtime is 8pm! Get tickets here.

Although it’s been a ruff couple of years for music creators and performers, 2022 may actually turn out to be a good one for music users. That is because of all the new albums that should be coming out over the next twelve month period.

That said, another long time reggae veteran has join the list of artists that are promising new albums this year. Anthony Malvo, via his social media platform, hinted that he’s working on a brand new LP. The post was made with the hashtag “Mature,” which may be the name of the upcoming project.

Jamaican-Venezuelan vocalist Joanna Marie kicked off 2022 by taking on John Holt‘s classic, Be Close To You (My Best Girl). Although the record has been remixed in the past by various artists, Marie is the first woman to provide a female’s take on it, which explains her title: My Best Boy (Close To You).

Her version is produced by personal and business partner Ed Robinson, who is also a recording artist in his own right. Released on January 7th, 2022, My Best Boy (Close To You), is on the Reggae Global Entertainment imprint, a label that is owned and operated by the couple. 

When asked what she would like listeners to take away from her rendition of the song, Joanna Marie said: “My twist on the song,,,, This classic sung by a woman.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD “MY BEST BOY (CLOSE TO YOU)”

A couple days ago, veteran reggae artist Luciano and his team announced that they will be postponing his UK tour, which was to commence this month. Although no new dates were given, it was made clear that the deferment is due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the covid-19.

The previously announced roots single, Back Again by Ghanaian reggae artist Tradition Man Wolo, is now available on all streaming platforms. This is the first song from his upcoming album, which is currently being mastered. Back Again was officially released on January 3, 2022.

The timely track was inspired by recent events in the United States of America. Specifically, racial injustice and the real possibility that the reinstatement of Jim Crow laws are likely if the people do not consciously reject segregational politics. “Slavery days have come back again like a gun shot, in a different style,” is just one of the powerful lines in the song.

Back Again was produced and mixed by Bobby Roy in Stockholm, Sweden. That said, Tradition Man‘s vocals were recorded at Undercaste Studios in Shoreline, Washington (America); while the mastering was done by Mike Caplan at Lion and Fox Studios, in Washington DC.

CLICK HERE TO STREAM & DOWNLOAD “BACK AGAIN”