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The seven track EP features as many female artists revisiting songs written or previously covered by Simone, with exquisitely crafted one-drop reggae rhythms further embellishing Simone’s category-defying sonics” Billboard

“Nina Simone is a great black woman who have made significant contributions, she inspired many through her song and story. I certainly think it’s important to note her and contribution and her role in the civil rights movement. When teaching about Dr Martin Luther King, it’s important to note that music played a big role in influencing black people to join and fight for equality.” Etana

“This project is significant because it’s a reminder to the Black Woman of the role she plays in self-identity. It was my absolute pleasure working with Stephen on this one.” Queen Ifrica

Multi-GRAMMY Award-winner Stephen Marley has released his new EP ‘Celebrating Nina: Reggae Tribute To Nina Simone’ via Ghetto Youths Intl, available now everywhere.Co-produced by Paul Fakhourie, mix and mastered by legendary Errol Brown, who was also Bob Marley’s engineer, this EP the biggest Reggae Blues collaboration of 2022 has arrived, as Stephen Marley celebrates Nina Simone, in a Reggae style. This new EP has seven tracks as an ode to some of Nina’s greatest hits. Stephen has been building anticipation for this release for some time. Riding on the high of single releases like Queen Ifrica’s Four Women in April of 2021, and Etana’s Young Gifted And Black in February of this year. Stephen himself has described the EP as a “tribute to the legendary American jazz singer, composer, pianist and arranger Nina Simone.” These tracks have given the audience a mere taste of what the EP has to offer but now it’s finally here.

Nina Simone, legally known as Eunice Kathleen Waymon is one of America’s most legendary singer, songwriter, and musical arranger. Outside of her music, she is most known for her role as a civil rights activist during the separatist and racist 60 & 70s. Stephen Marley has never shied away from his musical appreciation for Nina. Producing songs for himself such as Father of The Man featuring Wyclef Jean and a classic Nina sample from her iconic Keeper Of The Flame hit. “I’m such a huge fan of her work” Mentions Stephen Marley during a Musicme interview in 2017.

Now, many years later, this appreciation has blossomed into an entire EP, paying tribute to Nina’s musical genius. “This project is about preserving Nina Simone’s legacy, passing it on to younger generations, including my children, because you don’t often find music this substantial. When we started this project, we reached out to Nina’s daughter (Lisa Simone Kelly) and to the Nina Simone Foundation to establish a connection; we want to donate a portion of proceeds to the things that she was all about.”

As we celebrate International Women’s month, Celebrating Nina: Reggae Tribute to Nina Simone highlights the strength, power, and resilience of women. With tracks from artists like Terri Walker who does a beautiful rendition of Nina’s 1961s No Good Man. Maya Azucena makes an appearance with her take on 1971s Mr. Bojangles. Joss Stone chimes in with Here Comes The Sun, Melanie Fiona inspires with her version of Don’t Explain and Cedella Marley honors the well-known 1964 hit Misunderstood. Speaking to Billboard Magazine, Patricia Meschino, Marley shared that he chose to work exclusively with female artists on this project because “our queens deserve recognition as the mothers of creation. These are beautiful, strong women and their voices do Nina’s work and reggae solid.”

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On March 9, Cumbancha releases the single “The Human Chain” featuring Clinton Fearon, one Jamaican music’s greatest living legends. “The Human Chain” is from the upcoming album Havana Meets Kingston Part 2, which will be released in on June 3, 2022 by Baco Records in Europe, ABC Music in Australia and New Zealand and Cumbancha in the US, Canada, Latin America and the rest of the world.

Backed by an all-star band that includes Cuban trumpeter Julito Padrón (Irakere) along with Jamaican legends Sly Dunbar on drums, the late Robbie Shakespeare on bass and the late Winston “Bopee” Bowen on guitar, “The Human Chain” is a powerful and uplifting rocksteady roots anthem about the looming threats to humanity.

Fearon, an icon of Jamaican music who was the lead singer for the legendary band The Gladiators, sings in his trademark gravel-toned and soulful voice, “A chain is only as strong / As its weakest link / Greed and poverty / Weaken the chain / Now is the time to reflect / On what’s gone wrong / With the human chain.”

The single is accompanied by an epic music video filmed on the rooftop of a skyscraper in Fearon’s current home in Seattle interspersed with stirring clips of protest and conflict drawn straight from the headlines. The sixth single to be released so far from the upcoming Havana Meets Kingston Part 2 album, “The Human Chain” offers a stark warning and an uplifting message of hope that we can come together to strengthen the ties that bind us all.

While connected by common African roots and colonial histories, the music of Cuba and Jamaica have traveled largely in separate lanes. Their influence on the music of the world has been immeasurable, but their influence on each other has been less evident. It took an Australian to bring these two rich musical cultures together. Melbourne-based producer and musician Jake Savona had already fallen in love with the music of Jamaica, having released a string of successful reggae and dub albums under his stage name Mista Savona. Eventually, Savona discovered Cuban music, and in 2015, he received a grant from the Australian Council that funded the ambitious and groundbreaking Havana Meets Kingston project. Savona traveled to Havana with a group of top Jamaican musicians, including the legendary Sly & Robbie (drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare), and they began recording in the iconic EGREM Studio where Buena Vista Social Club and countless other legendary records have been produced. More sessions followed, other guests were invited, and after years of painstaking effort, the first volume of Mista Savona Presents Havana Meets Kingston was released in 2017 to worldwide acclaim.

Havana Meets Kingston Part 2 also features a lineup of incredible Jamaican and Cuban talent. including Jamaican stars Clinton Fearon, Randy Valentine, Prince Alla and Micah Shemaiah, Cuban talents Barbarito Torres, Changuito, Brenda Navarette, Solis, Beatriz Marquez, and many more.