Sizzla Kalonji Is Working On A New Album ‘Africa 54’
The King of Melodies Sizzla Kalonji is gearing up to release another album, this time, he says, dedicated fully to the 54 countries which make up the African continent and titled Africa 54.
On Thursday, the Solid As A Rock artist teased the first song from the album, on his Instagram page, to the delight of his African fans.
“Botswana, by sizzla kalonji. First song from the africa 54, an album in progress for all the 54 states of Africa 🌍. Ethiopia Africa we are now united,” the Reggae/Dancehall artiste captioned the post.
“Botswana, Africa, the world I love/The children are so healthy and the women are so beautiful,” Sizzla is heard chanting in the song’s chorus.
This upcoming album takes the August Town native closer to the 100-album mark and comes nine years after the Bobo Ashanti Rastafarian released his 70th album The Messiah, which copped a Grammy nomination.
Sizzla’s last album was On A High, a 12-track production that was released on Independence Day last year. He is by far one of the most prolific songwriters in Reggae and Dancehall, that Jamaica has ever produced, with a catalog of more than 80 albums.
Over the years, Sizzla has spent a lot of time touring the African continent performing in countries such as Ghana, The Gambia Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa,
He released his first album Burning Up in 1996 at the age of 20 on the RAS Records label. That album consisted of 12 tracks including How Much, Can’t Hurt The Mind, The Poor, Gun Ting Don’t Pay, We Want Love among others.
The Grammy-nominated Roots Reggae album The Messiah was self executive-produced by Sizzla, and was released in May 2013. The Messiah included songs such as Psalms 121, Look How Many Years, Center Of Attraction, No Wicked Man, the title track The Messiah, Chant Dem Down, Dem Nuh Business as well as Suffer So Much.
The 15-track album also included tracks such as Good Love, One Life, Children Bless, May Di Powerz, Need You Right Now, What A Joy and Better Come.
His second album Black Woman and Child and Da Real Thing have been acclaimed internationally as his best.
Released in September 1997, Black Woman and Child was produced by Bobby Digital. The title track still remains as one of the August Town native’s biggest hits and is regarded as a classic.
Consisting of 15 tracks, Black Woman and Child consists of a slew of classics namely Guide Over Us, Hard Ground, Give Them the Ride, Love Is Divine, Make It Secure , One Away, Oh What a Joy, Babylon a Use Dem Brain” (which featured his friend Capleton), Princess Black, No Time to Gaze, More Guidance, Mi Lord” (featuring Spectacular), Give Them the Ride Remix and Too Much to Bear.
Da Real Thing, also comprises 15 tracks and was released in 2002. That album contained a mix of Dancehall and Reggae songs all of which are considered classics. They were: Mash Dem Down, Simplicity, Solid as a Rock, Rejoice, Thank You Mamma, Woman I Need You, Bless Up, Why Should I, Got It Right Here, Just One of Those Days, Trod Mt. Zion, Its Amazing, She’s Loving, Boom & Go Through and Touch Me (featuring Rochelle).
Sizzla in 1998, was awarded the Best International Reggae Artist of the Year by the MOBO Awards and in 2019 the Government of Jamaica bestowed on him the Reggae Icon Award for his contribution to the development of the music industry.
Sizzla is well-loved in especially in The Gambia, where, on his first visit in 2008, the President of the country invited him and his delegation to his Juramba Farm in Kanilai, where both men spent the day, among other things, harvesting rice and discussing issues regarding repatriations, reparations and education.
Sizzla had, back then, also expressed his desire to become an honorary citizen of Gambia and made a commitment to be a musical ambassador for Gambia as well as serve as a bridge between Gambia and the Diaspora. He had also advocated that the President establish a Gambian Embassy in Jamaica.
Sizzla Kalonji was also invited to be guest of honour at the wedding of Minister of Information and Communication, Honorable Fatim Badjie and was presented with an award by the Major General of The Gambian Army during an official meeting.
Sizzla had later released an album titled The Gambia in 2012, under his Kalonji Records imprint. That 12-track album comprised tracks such as Gambian Girls, Welcome To Africa, Make A Visit, Blackman Rise, Feed The Children, Woman Of Creation, Planet in Peril and Where is The Love.
In May 2014, Sizzla Kalonji was again honoured by the Gambian government, when he performed at a series of events there and served as cultural ambassador for the 11th staging of the Gambia Roots International Festival in Banjul.