Reggae singer Ras I debuts 13-track Heart of Love album on streaming after six-year wait

Reggae vocalist Ras I has released Heart of Love, a 13-song album that took six years to finish and reached streaming services on 15 May 2026. He builds the project with the Coaster Kings unit and broader Compound family that hold Tuesday Service, alongside producers Kim Jones and JL, Jevon Jones, Alpha Unit, the Dope Squad, Dub Squad, Revelations and other studio allies, shaping a sequence he describes as one road from the title cut through closer “Love Someone.”

He says the writing covers self-worth, spirituality, community and healing through music—angles he reads as love that reaches past romance alone. Kabaka Pyramid, Khalia, Govana and Nesta sit among the featured voices.

On the sound, he underlined roots reggae and lovers rock with other styles woven in so the set still carries a classic backbone yet feels new. He lifts “Play On,” also called “Dear Music,” as a ska-tinged salute to music itself, and sees the full record as a lift amid heavy world news. He clocks it near 50 minutes long and, in humour, likened that span to the north-coast drive he was heading to make.

A private preview planned for some 20 guests ballooned to roughly 60 or 70 people in the room, and a launch the evening before drew another full house. He ties the buzz to everyday life at the compound, where Tuesday Service runs and musicians cook, play domino, reason and record together.

On personal growth, he said the stretch taught him added patience with himself and others, and courage to revisit memories he once ducked, turning them into tunes others might recognise. He still champions full albums over a singles-only culture and asks fans to play Heart of Love straight through because the team rearranged the order for near a week until the narrative locked. He finds the sonics shine strongest beside river or seaside.

On heritage he named St. Elizabeth and Coke. To find him online, spell the name I A S-I with the hyphen, try “Natty Ras I” when the hyphen drops away, or look for Ras I MUSIQUE on platforms, with videos still to come.

Getting the body of work finished and posted online already spells success for him, he argued, while honours such as Grammy recognition or Billboard movement stay on the radar because they can raise an artist’s stock and open stronger stages. On Sunrise the presenter repeated “Take me somewhere wonderful. Yeah, make we go to the river right away,” reminding viewers how past singles already score the national mood.