BRITISH singer Zacheous Jackson says his family ensured he was aware of his Jamaican heritage. From an early age, he soaked up the sounds of roots-reggae.

Jackson is a roots singer who lives in London, but keeps in touch with Jamaica and its music scene through frequent trips, especially to Westmoreland where his family has strong ties.

He is looking to break his latest songs, My Woman and Give Thanks, in reggae land.

“I do want to have a presence in Jamaica. The thing is, I haven’t released my songs here because I don’t know who or where to go to in order to do that, so at present my songs have and are released via Itunes,” he said in an interview with the Sunday Observer.

Jackson has been recording since 1985, but only released his debut album, The Truth Shall Be Told, in 2010. A number of singles have earned him slots on shows in the United Kingdom Poland, Spain and Turkey.

Yet, he yearns to be heard in Jamaica where first-generation Britons like Maxi Priest, Smiley Culture and Steel Pulse thrived during the 1980s. Jackson admits that things have changed since then.

“Nothing different, new and original has come out of the UK since that time when acts like Maxi Priest, Papa Levi, Steel Pulse and Smiley Culture introduced a different sound to Jamaica,” he said. “I offer something different as I also do dub poetry on my songs along with my own backing vocals.”

Like many black youth who grew up in racially-polarised Britain during the 1970s and 1980s, Zacheous Jackson was weaned on the conscious tones of acts like Horace Andy, Jacob Miller, Hugh Mundell and Barry Brown.

Typical of the independent British reggae artiste, he has focused on singles rather than albums to build a following. Levitical, his second album, is scheduled to be released this year.

He hopes along with My Woman and Give Thanks, it will give him a strong introduction to the Jamaican market.

— Howard Campbell