For most of his career, Anthony Malvo has toasted fans of lovers’ rock with songs like Come Back to Me (with Tiger) and Can’t You Stop The Rain. He has no time for niceties on Corruption, his latest song.

Released in May, the single is produced by Reggae Vibes Productions out of New York. The veteran singer takes shady individuals to task, whether they are politicians, corporate bigwigs or music industry figures.

“Di song is about people on a whole, di people who pretend…gatekeepers. Yuh si these corrupt people in front of yuh everyday,” Malvo told Observer Online.

He said the idea for Corruption came while discussing current affairs with a friend, who mentioned the high level of dishonesty among people. That behaviour, they agreed, is not limited to politicians or the banking sector.

“They’re in political institutions, government institutions, music producers. They’re everywhere,” Malvo stated.

While most of his songs are in the lovers’ rock vein, Malvo has called out delinquents on previous singles like False Preacher and Bad Minded People. One of his recent songs, Mental Health Awareness, is a collaboration with Hopeton Lindo that looks at people suffering from psychological disorders.

Malvo is from the Kintyre community of St Andrew. He got his start there in the music business during the mid-1980s performing on sound systems, then launched his recording career late that decade.

His breakthrough came in 1988 with Come Back to Me, a dancehall take on The Deele’s Two Occasions.

— Howard Campbell