Rubi Dubman - Balance And Respect EP (Self-published)

That being said, 'Balance And Respect' isn't quite Ruben's musical debut. Silva already started taking drum and percussion classes at the Davide de Sousa Conservatory age 8. As a teenager he becomes involved in the local hip-hop scene, but after obtaining a degree in music production in 2011, Ruben becomes a member of reggae band Bong Belly Pickney, his first encounter with the Rastafarian philosophy. But it's ultimately 'True King', a song by Midnite (from 'Ainshant Maps', Afrikan Roots Lab, 2004) that will convince him to steer his musical career in a different direction.

The style of Midnite can surely be recognized in songs like 'Infinity' or 'M.A.N.', but the rest of the tracks on 'Balance And Respect', with Rubi Dubman alternating between English and Portuguese ('Nuvem', 'Milionario'), are stylistically very diverse: opener 'Easy Rockin' starts out as an acoustic singer-songwriter tune, but suddenly switches into ragga vibe/mood and back again, track like 'One Ras' or 'Be Original' fall into the new roots category, and for 'RassApp', a combination with Lawrence Chadrick, Rubi even goes dancehall.