Early in his career, Freddie McGregor made a name with hard-hitting underground songs like Bobby Babylon and Natural Collie. He wanted a similar sound for True To My Roots, his latest album.

Co-produced by brothers Dalton and Cleveland Browne, the set was officially released on Monday (McGregor’s 60th birthday) with a listening party at Stone Love headquarters in Kingston.

McGregor said fans are calling for more edgy music out of Jamaica.

“There are not a lot of hardcore, roots Jamaican reggae albums out there and with Dalton and Clevie that’s what we went for,” he told Splash.

True To My Roots includes the hit song,

What You Gonna Do, and the title track which is one of two songs done on the Entertainment ‘riddim’. The other is a cover of Dennis Brown’s

Love’s Got A Hold On Me.

Another cover is Falling In Love With You, a minor hit for soul group Little Anthony And The Imperials in the mid-1970s.

“That’s a song I earmark as a number one. People love the original an’ if you cover a song people love properly they’ll appreciate it just the same,” said McGregor.

Produced for his Big Ship Music label, True To My Roots is distributed by VP Records affiliate VPAL.

A number of prominent entertainment industry personalities were at the listening party including McGregor’s sons Chino and Stephen, Beenie Man, Nadine Sutherland, Warrior King and Stone Love principal Winston ‘Wee Pow’ Powell.

Freddie McGregor performs on Startime at The Verandah in Clarendon tomorrow. He is scheduled to start a European festival tour on July 14 followed by dates in Japan.

— Howard Campbell