Kashief Lindo returns to the mic
US-based reggae crooner Kashief Lindo is generating a buzz with his latest single Baby I’m A Want You, produced by his father Willie for their Heavybeat Records in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The single was released three months ago, with a video for the project out one month later.
“The song is being rotated by disc jock Waggy T on 99 Jams, David Rodigan from the UK has been playing it, and Tanto Irie from HOT 105 FM has been spinning it, so it’s getting great feedback in the reggae community,” the crooner’s father, successful producer and guitarist Willie Lindo said.
“The success of this song shows that lover’s rock still has an audience out there,” the elder Lindo continued.
Kashief Lindo was once touted as an artiste to watch. Hit songs like First Cut and Hard Times in 1993, based on the Satta Massagana rhythm, built up a loyal following for the youngster. In 2012, he released the album A Reggae Tribute To Michael Jackson, featuring 18 reggae cover versions of Jackson’s songs, with contributions from Robbie Shakespeare and Robbie Lyn.
In recent years, the diminutive Lindo has become a senior member of his father’s Heavybeat Records, working on albums and songs by rocksteady greats The Melodians, among others.
Heavybeat Records is a independent label that has carved out a reputation for punching above its weight, producing solid reggae gems such as Beres Hammond’s What One Dance Can Do, classics such as Dennis Brown’s Inseparable and timeless anthems like I Wanna Wake Up With You by Boris Gardiner.
Now, Kashief Lindo is feeling the urge to release new material, especially as rising social tensions in the US have inflamed his passions. He is now in the studios applying the finishing touches to a new EP with several conscious reggae songs, one of which will be Till Dem Bun Down the House, a song criticising the spate of controversial police shootings involving blacks.
“Tension between the police and the black community is nothing new, but there is an ugly feel to this new wave of killing. We must unite against the scourge of racism and the murder and victimisation of black people in the US society,” he declared.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Kashief moved with his family to Miami as a child. His first recording was produced by his father in 1992.