Wadda (left) and Andrew Blood

FOLLOWING in their father's footsteps, 18 year-old Wadda, and 17 year-old Andrew Blood have just released their new single Step Up Inna Life. And by year's end, the two teenage sons of Junior "One Blood" Reid, another single, Stay In School, will be released.

The One Blood duo just recently returned from Trinidad and Tobago and will shortly travel to Ghana for a series of performances.

Speaking of their music, which like that of their father' is steeped in conscious lyrics, Andrew explained that even though they are assisted by their father, they primarily write their own songs.

"We've been writing our own lyrics ever since we knew ourselves," Andrew said. This was corroborated by Wadda.

"From me know myself, we've been singing together. The next projects we're working on," Wadda continued, "include the new singles, Stay In School and One Blood Nuh Feel Sufferation, featuring Jah David." The brothers are quick to point out that "we don't have any album as yet. But we're putting the finishing touches to it and it should be out early next year."

Before leaving on their African tour, Wadda and Andrew Blood, who toured the world performing with their father, including a recent stint in Europe, will be doing a number of local gigs including Set Away (Saturday, December 13), G T Extravaganza (Christmas Eve), and Sting on Boxing Day.

The Blood brothers, former students of Mona and Camperdown High Schools respectively, have so far made three appearances at Sting; twice in tandem with their father, and once in their own right as a duo.

Naturally, both Wadda and Andrew Blood admitted that they have been influenced by their father's musical works.

"My ideas and my inspirations come natural. It's a part of me, it comes from my father. I'm always around him, watching him building a rhythm and things like that," Wadda said.

"Just like normal day-to-day living, yuh know weh ah mean. Just like seeing things that are happening. The whole environment, ah soh wi get wi ideas", Andrew chimed in.

And what kind of music do they listen to?

The dreadlocked brothers who, like their dad, have embraced the Rastafarian faith, list hip-hop music as one of their favourite forms of music. They are admirers of late rapper, Tupac Shakur.

"You have to embrace hip-hop too, because ah outta dancehall hip-hop come from, yuh see mi, soh wi cyaan too beat it down", Wadda explained.

Interestingly, Andrew told Splash, that usually after listening to his father's music he turns to classical music.

"I listen to my father, not because he is my father, but because he is the real man. Like most of the time I woulda siddown and listen to mi father and after mi listen to mi father album, mi go to classical music". Even though he didn't name a favourite classical artiste, Andrew hinted that he intends to do a remix of one of his father's songs, fusing it with some classical music, but he was unwilling to elaborate.

To date, Junior Reid has recorded one tune, Movie Star, with the duo comprising his teenage sons (with separate mothers), on his JR label. But he also did a combination with Wadda alone on the Bozrock label, titled Misidentification.

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