Heavyweight Rockaz Releases Debut Album: Listen
Jamaican Drum ‘n’ Bass duo HeavyWeight Rockaz, which comprises of Wayne “Unga Barunga” Thompson and Jason “Welsh Bass” Welsh, released their long-awaited debut album of the same name on Friday, October 8. Featuring 10 tracks, the album has been in the works for the past seven years, and embodies the duo at their most creative showing their vast expertise and experience as musicians and producers, and now recording artists.
“Making the transition from musicians to producers to recording artistes is comparable to watching a caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly. Very slow, exciting at times, painful, but throughout, comes strength and even wings, allowing us to transcend beyond defined boundaries,” HWR explained.
The album was released through Notis Records, and made its debut on the iTunes Reggae Album Chart at #5. Accompanying the album’s release is a Lyric Video of the single, “Dancehall Style”, which features former TOK member, Bay-C.
A sonically pleasing, feel-good compendium, ‘Heavyweight Rockaz’ is infused with sprinklings of other genres and boasts several featured acts, including dancing maestro Ding Dong, the aforementioned Bay-C, Jesse Royal, Vanessa Bongo, Imeru Tafari, Big Ras, and Riff Raff.
When asked about their collaborators, the Rastafarian crooners say they were very meticulous in the selection process, citing energy and sound compatibility as major factors in their decisions.
To avoid being relegated to a particular genre, the duo disclosed that they don’t subscribe to labels, instead, exercising genre fluidity. “We stay clear of labels as it relates to our style of music, but in truth, our representation could be considered a blend of dub, dubstep, dancehall, rootz, rock and reggae, tightly knit into a single presentation.”
Alluding to their creative genius and this latest body of work, the multi-hyphenated duo is no stranger to the music scene. They have worked with some of the industry’s most noted luminaries, including Jimmy Cliff, Beres Hammond, Stephen Marley, Mavado, Tanya Stephens, Jesse Royal, Jah Cure, Bounty Killer, and Iba Mahr among others, on their globe-trotting exploits.
Heavyweight Rockaz expresses optimism regarding fan reception, “This album is something fresh and we maintain a positive outlook that the fans and music lovers worldwide will appreciate the effort in this latest offering”.
The album is accompanied by several visuals with distribution courtesy of Zojak Worldwide.
Tune in to the “Heavyweight Rockaz” album below.