Lawgiver The Kingson Readies New Album After Reggae Sumfest Performance

After a brilliant performance at the just-concluded Reggae Sumfest, Lawgiver The Kingson is eyeing the October release of his album, Audio Check.

“It is a really great body of work, a lot of audio that is appropriate for the ears so this is an Audio Check, this is the type of check we need, proper music to get the proper cheque,” the artiste whose real name is Oneil Phoenix, said.

The 14-track album will be released on the Imperishable Uprising label. Two songs on the album, ‘We No Worry’ and ‘Creation’, are produced by Cleveland ‘Clevie’ Browne and Owen Reynolds. Legendary producers Sly and Robbie produced songs such as ‘Big Sound’ and ‘Oneness’. European producers like Another 1 Productions from Austria and Kjah Sound from Poland round out the rest of the album tracks.

The album features collaborations with Chiney Ki Ki, Treesha from Kenya, and reggae legend Half Pint. The song with Half Pint is called ‘Alive and Kicking’.

“The album is about 95 percent complete. It’s a statement album about love, songs highlighting the struggles that people are going through, dubwise songs and songs giving praises to the Almighty,” he said.

Over the weekend, he celebrated his 47th birthday in style on the stage at Reggae Sumfest where he was billed to perform on the second and final night of the music festival.

Styled by his wife of 13 years, Dawn Phoenix, he looked regal in a white-and-gold outfit that mirrored as a King’s son from Kingston

Lawgiver The Kingson dazzled the audience with songs such as The Ruler, Big Sound, Hustler and Roadside, the latter of which got a major forward and he earned an encore. When he returned to the stage, he performed Roadside again and left to enthusiastic cheers.

The Lawgiver, whose real name is Oneil Phoenix, emerged on the scene in the mid ’90s. In 1997, Bounty Killer produced his first hit titled Bad Smell.

The artist previously released the critically admired ‘Kingson from Kingston’ EP which was a mix of Afrobeat, Afro-dancehall and roots-reggae. The project featured seven tracks, all co-penned by him under his Imperishable Uprising label, and features several Jamaican reggae music stalwarts.