Bugle Held Back A Beenie Man Collab To Avoid Capitalizing On Krystal Tomlinson Split
Dancehall/Reggae recording artist Bugle says Life Still Well despite the global chaos, and is gearing up to drop his fourth LP, plus a Beenie Man collab soon.
Bugle, whose real name is Roy Thompson, revealed that fans can look out for a music video for his new collab with Beenie Man, titled Infatuation. The track should have been released weeks ago, but Bugle read the room during Beenie and Krystal Tomlinson’s high profile split in mid-January and decided to hold off. The song tackles relationship realities, and he felt the timing would have eclipsed the effect of the song.
“Mi mix and master di song an seh mi ah go drop it dat same week when Beenie Man and Krystal have dem relationship problem,” he began. “The moment me see dat mi decide seh mi nah go put out di song inna di midst of dat because di song ah talk bout everyting waah gwaan an yuh nuh want it look like yu ah capitalise pon a man personal life neither.”
Luckily, the delay gave them time to prepare the visuals, and Bugle is confident in his decision to avoid dropping a short-lived banger. “Mi juss draw back di song an seh mi ah go wait pon dis fi pass coz yuh nuh waah have a good song an it dead after nine days because ah likkle mix up. Me personally nuh waah be part of dat,” he added. “For me it was the wrong time.”
For now, check out the Natural Bond Ent production below for a dose of Monday motivation. In Bugle’s own words, “Life Still Well because yuh have life and dat ah di greatest ting. Jus di mere fact seh yuh have life then tings can and will get better coz dis ah nuh di end.”
Bugle’s conscious, motivational material has made him a genre mainstay since 2007’s What I’m Gonna Do (Execise), and his creed has kept him afloat throughout the pandemic. It served as inspiration for Life Still Well, released back in December, and is sure to guide his yet-untitled fourth studio album which he says is due in August.
Bugle made his name channeling life’s adversities into confessionals, and Life Still Well is especially resonant in the context of a pandemic. “Bend mi mind to mi condition, yes a my ting dat/ If life is a battle, mi win dat”, he sings in his gravelly rumble, putting the usual tuneful spin on sound life advice.
Speaking on the song’s influences, Bugle said, “we ah guh tru some serious crisis but it nuh mean seh ah di end, it nuh mean seh because yuh see some tings pon di news yuh fi jus lockdown yuhself.”
He noted what he sees as evidence that ‘life still well’, in spite of the crippling consequences faced by many. “Dis whole ting bring family and friends together, mek people start look inna demself, people start hol’ back a vibes, so at di end ah di day yuh haffi always try yuh best develop a negative picture into a positive.”
The follow up to his 2019 album Picture Perfect is due around August, but the Journeys crooner is mum on the details for now. He did divulge that he’s currently in the mid-stages of production, promising a solid body of work for his patient fans without overstating ideas, concepts, or a title just yet.