Kēvens makes comeback with “Legal Dreamers”
The chaos with mainly undocumented migrants from Latin America at the United States Southern Border, has been one of the polarizing issues in that country for the past six years.
Singer/songwriter Kēvens has followed the controversial developments at the Texas crossing, as well as in Florida where he lived for many years. He addresses them in ‘Legal Dreamers’, his first song since 2020.
The Southern California-based artiste empathises with the dilemma of undocumented migrants, some of whom are from Haiti where he has roots.
On ‘Legal Dreamers’, Kēvens calls for politicians and immigration officials to be their brother’s keeper.
“Let’s help, let’s empower instead of taking power from your neighbour. Because at the end of the day we are all related; we may not look alike but we are all related, some way, somehow,” he reasoned.
Kēvens describes the self-produced ‘Legal Dreamers’ as “a mixture of reggae and EDM”. It is a sound he has perfected since launching his recording career in the late 1990s with ‘We Play Music’, considered a forerunner to EDM.
While ‘Legal Dreamers’ calls for humane treatment for people in need, Kēvens says it also shows the impact reggae has on contemporary genres such as Dubstep and drum and bass. He notes that purveyors of those sounds rarely acknowledge their Jamaican influences.
“I wanted to show people from the drum and bass world where it’s coming from — reggae music. Dubstep and all of those modern sounds… I see where people don’t give credit where credit is due to reggae,” he said.
While living in Miami, Kēvens listened to what is considered classic dancehall music from the 1980s. His personal playlist included Yellowman, Brigadier Jerry, Josey Wales, Sugar Minott and Jah Thomas. He also favoured the music of Bob Dylan, The Jacksons, and Whitney Houston.
For eight years, he was a member of Le Coup, a reggae fusion band that included Anthony and Richard Booker, brothers of Bob Marley.
‘Legal Dreamers’ is a comeback of sorts for Kēvens who took a break from recording and performing due to Covid-19. The song was released on May 25 and will be available on all platforms come June 23.
(Photo courtesy of Kēvens)
