Badda General, ZJ Liquid give commentaries
DANCEHALL artistes Badda General and ZJ Liquid are on a mission to produce social commentary songs during these unprecedented times.
The two recently released three tracks titled Barrel, State of the Union, and Curfew .
“We hope to connect with listeners and entertain them, especially during such hard times. Naturally, the social commentary angle is there for a reason. Like Barrel, the newest songs have received great feedback from fans, DJs and media. There has been immense national and international support,” Badda General told the Jamaica Observer.
“I think timing is everything. With the amount of violence that has plagued our music for some time now, I believe our music needs some humour and I’m here to fulfill that space in our music and culture. I believe my type of vibe can and will create the buzz,” the deejay continued.
All songs were produced by Gold Up Music. Barrel was released on February 19, State of the Union (March 5), and Curfew (March 25).
Gold Up Music is based in Kingston and led by Raph (of Sativa Sound) and popular dancehall composer Zack Ariyah. They have worked with other artistes including Shenseea, Shatta Wale, Iba Mahr, Mr Lexx, Chronixx, Konshens, and Chronic Law.
Badda General has collaborated with both ZJ Liquid and Gold Up Music on past music projects.
Badda General (give name Omari Lawrence) said he fell in love with music at age seven. By age 14, he formed a fan base in St James as a selector using the moniker “Froggy”.
He is also known for singles like Karma, Gallis Flow, and Moving On.
Meanwhile, ZJ Liquid (given name Michael Brrissett) dropped his fourth album, Point Of View , last year.
He got into music by ‘spinning’ on hometown sound systems, first as a DJ at Pier One (in Montego Bay) alongside Jason Russell on a sound system called In Excess.
He got his first break in radio when he joined Hot 102 FM as DJ Lippo from 1999–2000. In 2002, he joined ZIP FM. Two years later, he founded H2O Records and became a producer.
In 2018, he released his first EP titled MoBay Son on the H2O Records/Johnny Wonder 21st imprints.
