Reggae singer Junior Reid says for any song to have longevity, it must resonate with its listeners and have a global appeal.

“Many of the youths dem feel that what they are singing about is the right road, but is jus’ round here it happening. The youth dem affi sing song where overseas people can relate to it and know weh a gwaan. Yuh no want sing some song about your problem around here so,” Junior Reid told the Jamaica Observer.

“The song must have a global message weh everybody in the world can understand… Yuh nuh want use some slang and later on dat slang deh gone, or sing ’bout some car and material thing and later on it nuh relevant,” he continued.

He believes the current music released by local acts have lost its value in the global market.

“The music pon ah whole, right now, is not where it’s supposed to be. Reggae music was a competition to rock and roll, and R&B inna America. So Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Black Uhuru and all dem long time man deh did ah ram out the stadium and mek foreign artiste wonder, ‘How dis likkle music from di island come inna di stadium and ah lock down di place? And if you check it, ah Bob Marley kinda reggae — roots, rock, reggae — ah it still deh pon the Billboard chart. So dat ah di music weh di real big people ah listen to. Ah dem music deh we present to the world. So once we present the music to the world and dem accept it dat way, we haffi water the tree and keep it growing. And show the youth dem the direction and mek dem know say ah deh so it deh,” he said.

Junior Reid is currently promoting his latest single, No Ice Cream Love, which features his son Wadda Blood. It was released three weeks ago on JR Production imprint with accompanying video.

“The song is about real love because when a person — whether man or woman — give you fake love, it’s ice cream love. If yuh have a woman and she nuh real and jus’ a dwell pon the material thing dem, ah ice cream love dat. And if a woman have a man out deh and him jus’ a gwaan [go on] like him a use har [her] and nah deal wid har pon di right level ah ice cream love — it nah go last long, it jus’ a guh melt away,” he said.

“Wadda Blood is my artiste and some time mi affi listen to wah mi artiste say. Like Wadda Blood say, ‘Daddy, mi need fi hear you pon some One Drop’. Certain kind of songs; ah no jus’ kick up style alone… And we jus’ tek it from there so…And the reason for doing this song is [singer] Johnny Osbourne weh mi rate. Mi haffi show the world seh mi nah jus’ sing over foreign people song alone. Mi affi sing over some a we local people song so dem can achieve from it — spread di love more.

He plans on performing it tonight at Reggae Music Live in the City slated for the Junior Reid Entertainment Centre located at 39B Eastwood Park Road in St Andrew across from Twin Gate Plaza.

Junior Cat, Jigsy King, Little John and Predator are also slated to perform.

“Mi expect big things. What dis going do is change back the thing inna the right direction ’cause mi out there as a foundation artiste and still active, mi have a duty fi play, me have a role fi play. Mi haffi tek di music pon the level and the direction ah weh it supposed to deh,” said Junior Reid.

Junior Reid (given name Delroy Reid) hails from Waterhouse in Kingston. He is a former lead singer of Black Uhuru. He is best known for songs including One Blood, and Foreign Mind. In 2007, Reid and rapper MIMS went number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with This Is Why I’m Hot. It’s Okay (One Blood) was a sizable hit for The Game and Reid.