Ras-I to prepare debut album

Roots-reggae singer Ras-I is no stranger to music. His mother, Lorna Wainwright, has had a longstanding relationship with the Marley family, being the road manager for Rita Marley and The I-Threes.

He decided to pursue his own musical interests as a teenager under his Ras-I Musique label, and started recording himself in 2012.

Years later, with a solid catalogue, the crooner is working on his debut album, dubbed Tsojourna.

"It means the journey. it's chapter one, and it a go show the root to the fruit and back to the root," Ras-I told THE STAR. "Everybody knows me as a roots artiste, so we start there at first, then we branch off into different styles, the jazz sounds, a few hip-hop sounds, and then we go back to some roots. So it's the journey as me seh, everything haffi come full circle again."

The set is set to premiere sometime this year and will feature tracks like Bad Boy Bully, produced by Majah Label Music Group; Dread Inna Babylon, produced by New World Sounds; and Crazy Over You, a collaboration with Runkus and Royal Blu, co-produced by Ras-I and Abidon Campbell.

The album will also feature other collaborations with Jesse Royal and No-Maddz.

He is confident that the project will leave an indelible mark on listeners worldwide.

"Me a look fi mek a big mark with it, fi really set the tone for years to come," he said. "This one is really to introduce the sound on a larger scale and give a full body of work, where everybody can have a song that dem love. There's no way somebody will not love at least two, three songs on this album. For me, it's just to make an impact on the ears."

He added that the productivity of the creative process has even provided material for a second album.

Ras-I's first release was Feel Alright, and his repertoire has since expanded to include the freestyle Know Weed and Keep My Faith.