Reggae group To-Isis has been a household name in Jamaica for several years. However, the outfit has dropped that name.

Group member Renardo Lewis said the name change was a “necessity”.

“There are several reasons why we had to change it… However, the main one is that the name was an international obstacle. We had performances turned down because of it. There was one instance where the promoter said ‘the only way we would be able to perform is using another name’,” Lewis told the Jamaica Observer.

“We’re now Kingston Rock,” he continued.

Clad in black, Kingston Rock had its official launch at the Alibi Restaurant on Waterloo Road in Kingston on Wednesday.

In addition to Lewis brothers Richard and Robert Morgan and Kevin Webb. The latter was unavoidably absent from the event.

Kingston Rock also added two female background vocalists to give them a different sound.

Lewis recounted that the name Kingston Rock came by “mistake”.

“Robert [Morgan] was singing Bob Marley’s Trench Town Rock while strolling down the street in New York… and for some strange reason kept singing Kingston Rock. He contacted the group members and we all agreed that would be the new name of the group,” said Lewis.

At the launch, the group gave the capacity crowd a well-delivered set, including songs like Tiad An Mi Hungry, Ghetto Pain, Just Like The Sun, Rebellion, and Tonight.

They also performed an ode to Morgan’s mom, entitled Merna.

“We’re releasing that single, Merna, at the end of October. It will be on the Nebula Entertainment label,” Lewis added.

The evening’s celebration was complete with a surprise guest appearance by former Digicel Rising Star winner Dalton Harris, who gave a brief a capella performance.

— Hugh Stone