It is a special person that can find within its soul the capacity to forgive those who would take the life of one they hold dear. It is an even more remarkable spirit that is able to channel such feelings of loss and pain into a moving anthem of forgiveness. Meet Droop Lion — a man with a mission and an appointment with destiny, an artiste possessed of a voice teeming with sincerity and a mind suffused with curiosity.

It is not difficult to conclude after being exposed to a few bars of that distinctive sound which defines Droop Lion that one is in the presence of an extraordinary gift. He seems divinely inspired and truly at peace with himself.

Such is the tenacity of one of reggae’s fresher acts: Andrew Adrian Brown, who goes by the moniker Droop Lion with songs like Mama Soon Come Back, Gun Powder and Shadow of Darkness.

These material are due in no small measure to the fact that his mother was a victim of the murderous mayhem which characterised life in the gritty shanties of Kingston. An eternal optimist, Droop Lion who was only nine months old when he lost his mother, is using his musical talent to turn the negatives in his life into positive gains. And is doing well so far. His latest release Freeway makes the point. It is getting a whole lot of love in the street and on the air waves.

“It’s a social thing y’know. Because we’re talking about the whole oppression right now. And it’s just the way I could get it across. It’s saying don’t get ourselves tangled inspite of all weh a gwaan, we have fi just take the free way and free ourselves,” explained the artiste from St Mary.

In explaining his stage name the artistes notes, “to tell you the truth, Elise Kelly is the one who first said Droop Lion. For you know growing up as an orphan still, I kinda grow humble a way. And because of my whole transformation into Rastafari, I did have to come to Lion. But when I brought the music to her she was so amazed. So is just from there.”

He would join forces with Chiney K Production. The collaboration would prove remarkably fruitful spawning the haunting Mama Soon Come — the story of the loss of his mother rendered with a sense of sorrow and longing, but bereft of any feeling of rancour or recrimination.

Droop Lion has demonstrated that special gift of addressing social commentary in a manner that is poignant without being inflammatory, treating his subjects seriously yet entertainingly.

He is now signed to the Florida-based Mixit Production and his career has now assumed added dimensions. Under the direction of Mixit, he joined forces with ace Jamaican musician and producer Ervin ‘Allah’ Lloyd. The results have been magical.

The heavily rotated Freeway is an outcome of this incredible synergy. Lockdown, a song of protest against police brutality, delivered with a sense of justice and social responsibility, is another product of this fertile collaboration.

Droop Lion has pledged to deliver his debut album with the Mixit imprint in 2011.