Hawkeye to drop debut reggae album

Deejay Hawkeye has returned to his roots in the music business with the release of his upcoming debut reggae album 'Hawk Extra'.

Born Christopher Smith, the deejay rose to popularity a few years back with songs such as Wine And Bubble, but has since been mainly quiet in the dancehall world.

Many wondered what the deejay had been up to, but he says he has been busy in the studio.

"I've been up to a whole heap of things, but is not everythingthat happen mi a go make everybody know. I've been doing music and Ijust came back from Trinidad and Guadeloupe," he said.

switched

Now the deejay is set to return with his new album telling The STARthat he hasn't switched from reggae music, nor has it turned him into aRastafarian roots singer, but his focus is now on socially prevalentissues.

Hawk Extra will feature tracks produced by some of thebest in the reggae industry such as Grammy-winning Sly and Robbie,Shane Brown, Stone Love's Winston 'Wee Pow' Powell, Richard Browne andErnie Wilks, just to name a few. Current affairs, matters of the heartand Hawkeye dealing with different topics is what fans can expect fromthe album.

The artiste has previously released his debut album, the dancehall-oriented Wine And Bubble independently, but Hawk Eye will be his first solely reggae album.

He said, "I've done so many one-drop songs over the years, it'show I started out. I can sing on a one drop better than doing adancehall rhythm. I came into music with music from the likes of Bobby Digitaland Danny Browne, that's my foundation and what I know best, so mymanagement team saw that and pushed me into it. Most of the tracks onit (the album) are tracks I had already done and have been doing that Ijust put together for an album."

a cultural vibe

The album's title track is the Shane Brown produced Damn onthe 'Indiscretion Rhythm'. The concept for the album, according toHawkeye, is to produce a more mature album with a cultural vibe,uplifting people and addressing social issues as well as denouncingviolence. The artiste is putting the finishing touches on his albumwhich will be made available at the beginning of next year.

While the album is done in collaboration with his managementteam Swing Sang Productions, Hawkeye explained that they are currentlynegotiating a distribution deal with Soundquake in Europe for thealbum.

For Hawkeye, his expectations are high, knowing that his musicis strong and appealing and says he will continue to do more songs inthe future as well as a possible video for the single Damn.