Words by Jesse Serwer—
We’ve always got an open ear to lend new music from Mykal Rose. Anyone who tells you Rose isn’t one of reggae’s greatest vocalists is buggin’, and his voice hasn’t lost any of its power since his peak with Black Uhuru 30 years ago. Rose’s new LP, Show Down Inna Bloody Town, was recorded in California’s Bay Area, and along with the new surroundings have come some new sounds for Mr. Tutu Tweng, specifically splashes of Ethiopian jazz and Afrobeat.
Aesthetically, the album, produced by Siahvash Dowlatshahi for Foreign Key Records, taps the Western showdown imagery long prominent in reggae, a vibe that’s musically manifested in tracks like “Bloody Town.”
“Dutty Road,” meanwhile, brings the Ethio-jazz flavors to the forefront with a sound that’s more Mulatu Astatke than “Satta Massagana.” Stream both here, and cop the LP here.