While dancehall has risen to become the most popular lane in Jamaican music, infiltrating clubs and parties around the world, a new generation of roots reggae artists carries the torch for the likes of Bob Marley and the Wailers, making music promoting socially conscious messages and the Rastafari faith. Jesse Royal, mentored by the late Fatis Burrell, took his singing talents from church to the recording studio after befriending Ziggy Marley’s son Daniel; his hit “Always Be Around” anointed him as one of Jamaica’s rising stars, and his latest LP, Lily of Da Valley, hit #1 on US Reggae charts. Rapper/singer/producer Kabaka Pyramid returns to SummerStage after a sold out 5-week European tour. Kabaka Pyramid is seen as a leader in reggae revival, whose debut album Kontraband, executively produced by Damian Marley, blends hip-hop’s lyricism with dancehall’s energy and reggae’s soul. The Federation Sound’s Max Glazer, a Brooklyn dancehall mainstay who once served as Rihanna’s touring DJ, will man the turntables.
