Yaksta moves album launch downtown

Recording artiste Yaksta is reminding persons of the change of venue for his album launch party from Mandela Park in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, to Festival Market Place in downtown Kingston.

Yaksta told THE STAR that he was elated to have received the support of JaRIA, JAMMS, and JACAP and to be recognised among the new generation of artistes doing positive music.

"I do music for the people. My music aims to entertain and to educate, so I wanted to host a launch that would place me closer to my fans. My only expectations are to interact with the fans themselves, and show them the work that has gone into my album. It comes at a significant time of the year, in Reggae Month, and the plan is to let persons see how there is consciousness in dancehall ... ," he shared.

The long-awaited debut album, Yaksta 22, will officially be released on Friday, but persons who attend the event today will be treated to a preview of the project which he has spent the past year working on. The free album launch party will see performances from some of the top dancehall acts like Chronic Law and Beenie Man. Yaksta also confirmed that Nation Boss, 10Tik and Shane-O have been added to the bill. The artistes will be backed by the Kurfew and the Skalawagz Band.

Always one to think through his investment thoroughly, the Ambition artiste-songwriter shared that merchandise will be on sale at the event including a visualiser, produced along with the album.

"The visualiser is a special part of the merchandise; it includes never-before-seen content, and cannot be found nowhere else. Of course it will be available at a cost during the launch," Yaksta explained.

The launch kick-starts a series of live shows to begin in May, under the ' Yaksta 22' title, which will feature a stellar list of performers including Tarrus Riley, Capleton, and Govana. The first show will be at Boston Beach in Portland on May 6. The other locations will be announced soon.

Yaksta said, "I decided to call the album, Yaksta 22, because 22 in numerology is a soul number. It is perceived as the most powerful and creative number of all. This means you can overcome all kinds of obstacles and are not easily knocked back by failure. The project along with the events are meant to provide positive equilibrium."

"There are some persons who have started to box me into the category of a dancehall artiste and are of the view that dancehall is not conscious. I'm not here to change their views but doing what I'm meant to. Artistes have a whole part to play in this arena to supply good music. I'm doing that, though the system continues to not give those tracks any justice," Yaksta said.

Gates at the Festival Market Place are scheduled to open at 6 p.m. with showtime set to begin at 8 p.m.