Roots, rock, reggae singer Prince Judah is embracing opportunities.

“I am just focused on living in the now, and whatever it does,” says the rising vocalist, who is all set to release a genre-shift album, ‘Inna Dancehall Style‘, before Reggae Month wraps on February 28.

Produced by Wadadah II and Black Sabbath Sound System, Prince Judah explains that while the new album marks a departure from his usual sonic palette, he was motivated to make  “an original dancehall project paying tributes to the foundational greats and legends from King Jammys, to Jackie Mitto, to Sly and Robbie.”

The Kingston-born, Florida-resident rising star is back home on the island, primarily to utilise the platform that the in-progress celebratory music month provides. “I have shows lined up here and there like 22 Jerk, Inna De Yard, and Dub Club, where I will be at,” he divulges of upcoming appearances.

“Inna Dancehall Style‘ is for my people of Jamaica who inspire I & I. I made this one for the streets, really and truly.  It feels just raw, I wanted the music to sound like it was cut in someone’s basement and played the same night. History repeats itself so I might as well just start it.”

As to the beats the new album’s producers have laid tracks down for, the singer — who experimented with a freestyle deejay flow on performance dates in North America and the Caribbean for a recent lounge tour — shares what listeners can expect.

“You will be hearing things like the Joy Ride riddim, the Zungu Zen riddim, and Sleng Teng riddim in those original styles with a mix of my modern rock vibe, but not too much,” Prince Judah points out. “It’s just a hint to give them a little taste of the entire course of the album that is going to be coming out after that.”

Finding inspiration in 1980s-era dancehall, Judah tells Our Today, “while the gunman music [of today] is cool and ting, the Jamaican sound of original dancehall is much different. If you play a Shabba Ranks or a Super Cat, their songs still get mad respect and love.”  He points out that his fresh output was mostly curated from the solo mini-tour he embarked on without his usual supporting The Prince Judah Experience band members, which include director and bass player Jassiah ‘Thundering Lion’ Boswell, lead guitarist Jovan ‘Electric Lightning’ Norman, Brady ‘Earthquake Bradez’  Robinson and rhythm guitarist Selah ‘Shockwave’ Solomon.

“I made new songs for the PR tour, because my songs typically are more stadium anthem-like. It’s kind of difficult to transmute that energy in an intimate club setting where the dancehall vibe crowd just want to jump up and dance. My music is more revolutionary,” he says.

“My selector on the tour, Tzaddi Wadadah II, was showing me these songs. After we ran through them together, he said, ‘Bro, there is no more music like this, and I think you should do a project like this. People in London where I am based and across Europe and Japan, they still love original dancehall, lovers rock and ska‘.”

He encouraged Prince Judah to consider recording a collaborative project. The singer recalled, “he [Wadadah] said, ‘bro, this would be amazing, if the songs were cleaned up and produced’. He looked at me and I just see teeth and he said’ ‘natty you know if you do this, a trouble’. I told him ‘let’s bring the trouble’.

Further to the dancehall-leaning music project, Prince Judah is also exploring fresh creative endeavours in the world of fashion.

To this end, the Jamaican is partnering with Colombian-American fashion designer Esteban Cortazar on a collaboration project for the latter’s Donde Esteban line. The Miami-raised designer tells Our Today that the singer’s “style and energy”  and “the authenticity” of their separate nationalities, piqued his interest in wanting to activate a joint venture. 

 A highly regarded designer in his field, Cortazar name-checks a slate of celebs he has styled and dressed. “[I have worked] with Rihanna, J Balvin, Beyonce, Paris Hilton and Lenny Kravitz,” he shares.

Judah remembers his initial encounter with Cortazar last year at The Standard in Miami.

“My first interaction I had with Esteban, he was with his team, and he was like, ‘You are an edgier Bob Marley mixed with Lenny Kravitz.’ He showed me a picture and told me he used to work with Lenny a lot back in the day. And I was like, ‘mad, mad‘. He told me he would like if I modelled some of his pieces. I was like, ‘it’s not really my thing, I am not a model.”

Cortazar extended an invitation for Judah to visit a December pop-up he was hosting at Art Basel in town a few days later, which was accepted.

“He came in and insisted that I try on the clothes, and everyone cleared out the store. I was like, ‘You know what, bro? You have a genuine energy, and I respect your confidence and approach in I & I, and you are transparent in yourself‘,” Prince Judah recounts of that Art Basel meeting.

The singer offered a proposal to “bring our minds together to make the Donde Esteban and Prince Judah Experience collaboration line, a fuse of I and I roots and your vision and we bring something together instead of a monetary gain and make an impact on the people.”

Currently, the two are in the design process, which, according to Prince Juda,h involves mockups and the details, colours and textiles. What I like about the clothes he designs is that it tells a story, it’s an experience.”