Raging Fyah - Everlasting (VP Records)

With the title of the album, the band members wanted to underline the durability of their music, but it's also a reference to their cooperation with Llamar: "We had the choice to work with any producer we wanted, locally or internationally and we chose Llamar. We have learned so much from him; the way he helped to shape our sound is an everlasting lesson.". The past few years, Raging Fyah toured the world and therefor, on 'Everlasting' the band sounds a lot more mature. In their homeland Jamaica they're now also getting the necessary recognition and on 'Everlasting' this results in combinations with artists like Jesse Royal and, on two tracks, Busy Signal. The only non-Jamaican in the track list is Californian Samoan J Boog, who claims to be a big fan of the band and makes an appearance in 'Live Your Life'. Top tunes: opener and title track 'Everlasting', the solid 'Raggamuffin', the intimate 'Get Up' and especially 'Wondering', a song in which Kumar Bent (rightly) ponders on the world's current state (sure to bring a tear to your eyes). Should we still add 'Everlasting' comes highly recommend? Raging Fyah will present 'Everlasting' live at the upcoming Couleur Café festival on Sunday July 3rd.