Tarrus Riley salutes foundation music on new track

Tarrus Riley will be looking to take music lovers back to their roots with his latest single, 'Guess Who'.

The song samples Mykal Rose's 1979 hit, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, and according the artiste, it connects the past and present in a unique way.

"I was on my bredren ends and the song came on and I said: 'Yow, a long time we nuh hear dem kinda vibes yah inna the music'; and so me say, 'Mek mi see how me can deal wid it'," he said. "Mi never wah do like me a take weh nobody style or nothing, and me did wah give it a modern style, because sometimes me feel like the roots music need likkle pep-up."

He noted that R&B hip-hop artistes research their music and make it relevant every day, introducing youngsters to original classics. So he wanted to do the same.

Riley said as one of the artistes carrying the reggae torch in today's industry, he believes in paying homage to foundation artistes, pointing out that putting a fresh spin on a classic helps to preserve its legacy.

"A lot of people never born inna di time when this song make, so it's all about preservation and history and legacy. Paying homage is a thing that goes with your personality. A lot of people think that a lot of things start and stop with them, and that's foolish," he said. "Yuh have to know what yuh dealing with so you can know how to take it a little further. Every other profession have people weh study the roots of it and how it go ... and music is no different. Knowing where the music is coming from and having some information of what yuh see is good for any artiste."

The entertainer said he has received Rose's stamp of approval and that the veteran would make an appearance in the music video to be released shortly.

"The music video is just the raw vibes, Jamaican vibes, a roots video wid likkle pepper. And we have Mykal Rose inna the video, so it's just high energy and good vibes," he said.