Mikey General – Tewahedo

Release Info

Mikey General – Tewahedo

Label:  Irie Sounds International | Format: DR | Street date: March 2, 2018 | Facebook Artist | Facebook Label

Mikey General

England-born Jamaican Michael Taylor aka Mikey General recorded his first song “Roots Mi Roots” in Jamaica for sound system owner Ruddy Silence’s Sounds of Silence imprint in 1980. After his return to England he recorded for Levi Roots, Blacka Dread, Fashion Records and Sugar Minott’s Black Roots label and in 1985 he was voted best new artist by UK’s Echoes magazine.

Phillip ‘Fatis’ Burrell

In 1992, after ten years in and out of London, he returned to Jamaica again and started to record for Phillip “Fatis” Burrell’s Exterminator label. At that time a significant shift in Jamaica’s popular music started to take place as a new generation of singers with cultural perspectives emerged. Mikey General, along with artists like Garnet Silk, Luciano, Everton Blender and Daweh Congo, was part of that new roots & culture movement. Phillip “Fatis” Burrell produced Mikey General’s first two album releases – “Sinners” aka “Stronger Rastaman” in 1995 and “Just A Rastaman” in 1997 – which established his name among reggae fans worldwide.

Tewahedo

Almost three years after the release of his “”Royal Hail EP”, veteran reggae artist Mikey General, widely known and respected for his unique voice and uplifting lyrics, is back with a full length studio album entitled “Tewahedo”, a collection of 13 tracks plus an “Intro” and “Outro” released by Irie Sounds International. For this project, producer James “Dr. Suess” Lord assembled a cast of musicians from around the world including Computer Paul, Kirk Bennett, Wadi Gad, Everton Pryce RasCricket and Aaron Thompson. The bulk of the album was recorded at WASP Studio in Kingston, Jamaica and features guest appearances from Binghi Ghost, Spectacular, and the late great Sugar Minott.

Songs

As already known from his previous album releases, most of Mikey General’s lyrics reflect commitment and deep faith in Jah, and this collection is no exception. First tune that fully showcases this is the wonderful “Glory To Jah” and furthermore spiritually uplifting songs like “Praise Jah (Not Man)” and “Zion Gate”. Besides that the album also includes reality songs such as the lead single “No Easy Pushover” featuring cultural deejay Spectacular, “Real Friend”, and “Nah Compromise” and a nice lovers piece (a cover of Alton Ellis’ “Can I Change My Mind”). The album is solid throughout with a few gems that instantly capture the listener’s attention. These include “Glory To Jah”, “The Youth Dem”, the huge “Militancy”, the nyahbinghi flavoured roots anthem “West Haffi Perish”, and “Zion Gate”.