Capleton ends 16-year album drought with Heights of Fire

Capleton’s latest full-length, Heights of Fire, may not rewrite the story of a career already more than three decades long, yet it still earns a place in that record. The 16-song collection closes a stretch of 16 years without a new album, even though the artist kept issuing singles across those years.

Evidence Music put Heights of Fire out on June 26. Local press and industry figures first heard it at a packed listening session at Janga’s Soundbar and Grill in St Andrew. There, The Fireman sat in a large chair on stage in a businesslike setup, barely shifting as he took in the music with quiet intensity. He told those gathered that “everything happens in its own time and in its own space”.

“People ask why the long hiatus, but this album tek a whole lot of dedication … some of the songs were voiced over a decade ago. I’m not one of them artiste who going to drop album behind each other and then yuh nuh get what you’re supposed to get out of the album,” Capleton explained.

He also sketched what he wants from Heights of Fire. “We want this album to be a timeless album and also a global anthem. We want whenever time we drop an album it’s appealing right across the globe. Remember, a we know the value of the music. A we go through the struggle. We a come from sound box days when yuh lift up sound box and travel inna di truckback guh country and all over just fi get an opportunity fi display we talent. So, for we it’s not about the money or the hype, it’s not the popularity or the fame, it’s not about clout or validation, it’s about love, authentic love,“ the rapid-fire toasting star said, stirring the room.

Speaking with THE STAR, he said a Grammy nod — and even a win for Best Reggae Album — sits among the outcomes he would welcome, yet that honour is “not a priority”.

“We always seh that we don’t work for awards, and that will always be true. Remember a we seh music is a mission not a competition,” Capleton said. “But it is a good feeling to know that your work mek an impact across the globe. When yuh songs climb the charts and yuh see dem on various playlists, yuh have million and billions of streams, that is confirmation that the message of truth and rights and upliftment is crossing borders and inspiring the people who need to hear it.”

Twenty-three years earlier he earned a Best Reggae Album Grammy nomination for Still Blazin. He also appeared on Damian Marley’s Half-Way Tree, the 2002 Grammy winner in that category.

His camp reported that Heights of Fire drew close to 20 million Spotify streams in its first weekend and landed on reggae charts in France, Switzerland, Germany, Kenya and Italy. Tracks drawing notice include Red Again; Behave Yourself; Deh Pon Mi Mind, with young Rastafarian Eesah; and Babylon So Evil, a heavy team-up with Stephen and Damian Marley that also samples Dennis Brown’s voice from Love and Hate.

Beyond streaming and downloads, the set will appear on CD, vinyl and cassette.

Manager Cabel Stephenson, engineer-producer Michael ‘Mixing Finga’ Stewart, and Clyde McKenzie were among those praising Capleton. McKenzie pointed to the artiste’s bravery, firm beliefs and staying power, which he tied to a gift for starting trends. “When you set your own trends you do not go out of style,” McKenzie said, adding that “Capleton is is one of the most powerful voices we have had in the history of this music.”