New Artist of The Month: Meet Naptali!

Naptali

Meet Naptali! Remember who first told you about (and is STILL running his mouth about) Lion D, the sensational talent from out of Italy by way of the UK who brought you last year’s stunning best album release, The Burnin’ Melody. Remember who did that because that same person (ME!), is now going to tell you about another artist perhaps poised to do the same surprising thing for 2010, Naptali. I have to say that more so than any other release currently on the schedule (that I know of) I have March 12th circled on the caelendar as a day that I am very much looking forward to because the WICKED artist from out of Clarendon via Kingston is set to release what I’m predicting to be a SURE candidate for album of the year come December, Long Journey from the very solid German based imprint Oneness Records.

Naptali has this very COOL and SWEET style of vocals and I’m steadily trying to say whom he sounds like and I can’t quite put a finger on it, so it’s very original and he uses said style to create some wonderful and sprawling social anthems which, just in the brief time I’ve been listening, have definitely made an impact on me. Check one of the selections from the forthcoming album, the BIG ‘Redeemer’.

I had actually heard of the artist previously as his was a name which had popped up ‘here and there’ over the course of a few releases within the last couple of years, but I don’t recall any of them really taking a hold of me such as the material I’m hearing on the album. But he’s certainly been active over the last few years and unbeknownst to me, had even already had a video for an earlier tune through Gambling House, ‘Equal Rights’.

The album also features combinations with the likes of apparent good friend of Naptali’s Arafat (who guests more than once), the always interesting Sara Lugo and most notably LUCIANO (who apparently named Naptali) on the HUGE tune ‘Seven Miles’ and of course, the inescapable Lutan Fyah. Naptali himself, also strikes me as being very much so grounded and humble in pursuing his art form and in doing so has apparently cut no corners and taken no shortcuts because if what I’m hearing pans out to be so, the man is the FINISHED PRODUCT and again, I’m WELL looking forward to this release, even more so than some of the other big named releases due around the same time.

So definitely keep an eye out for Naptali and Long Journey, which releases on March 12 and is certain to be one of the best albums of the year and hopefully it kicks into top flight an artist who seems destined to do some HUGE HUGE things potentially.

Check 'The Great Naptali' @ Myspace for full length versions of some of the fantastic material from the album.