We Speak Reggae

Prezident Brown Delivers Roots and Range on New Album Hook, Line and Sinker

Published

2 hours ago

November 1, 2026

Prezident Brown. Photo via @prezidentbrown.

Prezident Brown is back with a record rooted in the tradition he helped carry. The Jamaican chanter released his latest album Hook, Line and Sinker on October 30 through AXX Records. He produced the album together with Devon Bradshaw, who also played bass across the ten song set.

The album is dominated by roots numbers, led by the title song, and it projects the uplifting messages that have defined his work since the roots revival of the nineteen nineties. There is also On The Wire, a ska selection that recalls the early sound system days when artists toasted over horn led beats. Brown says this album is different from his previous set, Roots Hop Reggae In Your Box, which arrived in 2024. This one, he explains, features a broader range of music, from roots reggae to dancehall to ska.

The sessions carry history of their own. The songs were recorded between 2006 and 2009 in Portland parish in eastern Jamaica. Brown worked with The Jahpostles, the band Bradshaw founded with his late brother Anthony, a group whose nucleus backed Burning Spear during the nineteen eighties and served as the band of Garnet Silk at the time of his death in 1994. Guitarist Ian Coleman, drummers Donovan Miller and Courtney Diedrick, keyboardist Ackeen Johnson and a full horn section also played on the record.

Brown, born Fitz Albert Cotterell in Clarendon parish, began his career in the nineteen eighties on a sound system in the Ocho Rios area owned by Jack Ruby. His nineteen nineties albums for Runn Records introduced him to audiences in Europe and on the United States West Coast, where he retains a loyal following.

Hook, Line and Sinker is available now, and Brown is actively promoting the album as his latest statement of positive reggae music.

We Speak Reggae

Miriam Simone Lifts a Conscious Message on New Rise Up EP

Published

2 hours ago

November 1, 2026

We Speak Media

Miriam Simone. Photo via @empressmiriamsimone.

Empress Miriam Simone is bringing conscious reggae to a wider audience. The reggae artist released her seven track EP Rise Up on October 23, 2026. The project was produced by Sound System Club Ltd and distributed by VPAL Music, the distribution arm of VP Records, and it is the second EP of her solo career.

Rise Up blends roots reggae, dub influences and sound system culture while exploring themes of spiritual strength, Black womanhood, cultural identity, gratitude and social consciousness. The EP opens with her rendition of Satta Massagana, the popular Rastafarian song, followed by Satta On Ya, a dub interpretation of the same piece. Black Woman celebrates and pays tribute to Black women, recognizing their strength, value and contributions.

The title track delivers an encouraging message to young people, particularly young men, urging them to find inspiration, take action and become actively involved in shaping their future. Stop the Shooting addresses gun violence and its devastating effects, and its dub companion Ceasefire follows. Simone closes the EP with So Thankful, a song expressing gratitude for life and all that comes with it.

The project has already found recognition in the international reggae community. The EP premiered on Reggaeville, and three of its songs placed on the ReggaeVIP Top 100 Reggae playlist for the fourth week of October 2026, with Stop the Shooting at number five, Satta Massagana at number sixteen and So Thankful at number fifty seven. A dedicated music video for Rise Up was filmed with the Sound System Club team for release alongside the EP.

Rise Up is also her first major project since her installation and crowning as Amammerehemaa of Adukrom in the Akuapem Traditional Area of Ghana. The EP is available now on major streaming platforms.