Reggae superstar tunes in to NZ

The man who produced one of the biggest hits in reggae history is set to perform in New Zealand for the first time, writes Jeff Neems.

AS per usual, the phone line to Jamaica is not the best.

There's the normal crackle, hiss and sonic drop-outs the kind of thing reggae fans expect from crusty old 7" singles produced by pressing machines which have stamped millions of records. It's a real struggle to hear anything.

But Delroy "Junior" Reid owner of One Blood, one of the biggest tunes in reggae history is struggling with some completely different.

My accent. I have to repeat every question I ask.

"I expect my fans to be happy," says the 42-year-old in his thick Jamaican patois when I inquire as to what he's expecting when he performs in New Zealand this month.

"I expect just good vibes. I don't know much about the scene, I've never been there before," he says.

"You gotta lotta reggae artists come down there?" he asks.

Luckily, I can confirm that yes, we've had a few down here among them legendary drum/bass duo Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, with whom Reid worked during his period as lead singer for Black Uhuru in the early 1980s. He replaced Michael Rose and provided vocals on the classic Brutal album. He's also worked closely with Sugar Minott which led to his album Foreign Mind, one of his most successful and has added vocals to rhythms produced by dub master Lloyd "King Jammy" James. So it's no surprise Reid, born in the impoverished Kingston suburb of Waterhouse, exudes the confidence and bravado many Jamaicans possess.

"The producer me work with, we make hits together, y'know? Sly and Robbie, Sugar Minott, King Jammy..."

It's fair to say One Blood has overshadowed all his other work, and it's been reworked several times. The original album was issued in 1990, then re-released two years later due to its popularity and to meet demand.

"The original One Blood, that's the foundation," he says. "And as long as you have the foundation you can expect a lot of things a lot of remixes, it resurfaces. That's why it reach out now with The Game (the American rapper has sampled it for one of his tunes). A lot of people in the world know about it."

Reid says he knows he's making hits when he's working in the studio: "Whenever I record any song at all, I know it will be a hit if it's not big today, it will be a big hit tomorrow."

His recent material has seen him collaborate with American rap acts, and he's "got a remix with Alicia Keys and it's tearin' up the airwaves in Jamaica, y'know" he boasts. Working with the American acts is something of a two-way street, says Reid: "They approach me, and if they don't approach me, the producer for the track approach that's how I end up on their albums. And if I approach them, it's for my album."

He describes the link-up between the Jamaican reggae acts and their American rap counterparts as "a special connection, which is not normal".

Like many reggae superstars, Reid kicked off his musical career at an early age. He released his first recording as a 14-year-old: "It was a good experience. If you have the talent from when you are young, and the people know that, they give you more love. If it wasn't for my music, I don't know what I would be doing."

And Reid says the singers entering Jamaican studios in 2007 are even younger. "They starting even earlier, aged of five, six or seven. My son started even earlier than me Andrew Blood (his son) and me, One Blood."

Reid has a new album set for release in January Junior "One Blood" Reid: The Living Legend and his visit to New Zealand coincides with the release of a new single from that album, More Money.

You'd have to think he's expecting that to be a big hit as well.

Like many big-name reggae musicians Reid is based in the US but returns to Jamaica for two weeks a year to take care of business, check in with his family and "service the dancehalls, feed the streets with new stuff, new music, and then out again".

Junior Reid, backed by DJ Power, performs at Auckland venue Galatos on December 13. Tickets are available from Ticketek.

- © Fairfax NZ News