Jah9 is a revelation from last decade’s reggae scene, an atypical singer whose particular ‘jazz on dub’ style she has promoted with covers of Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Augustus Pablo and Sizzla since her beginnings singing in the Kingston bars.
Now a stalwart of the scene thanks to the success of her first two albums, New Name (2013) and 9 (2016) and a collaboration with master of dub Mad Professor (In the Midst of the Storm), she has invited a few featured artists on this new album Note To Self to boost her spiritual and soulful universe, like Chronixx on the title track or Tarrus Riley on the languid Ready to Play.
Jah9 ft. Chronixx - Note To Self (Okay) | Official Music Video
Jah9The rising reggae star from the Virgin Islands, Pressure, features on You and I (a more orthodox kind of reggae), whereas London rapper Akala appears on the hybrid beat of New Race (A Way). But Jah9 is at her most powerful when she is solo, waltzing her flow between spoken word, soul, ragga and dub poetry, like the album’s hit song Ma’at (Each Man).
