Signatures. I'm currently working on the latest installment of our running series, 'Signatures', which is a feature we started to highlight some of my personal favourite songs from various artists. It's gotten a pretty solid response thus far and, after a break, we will continue it with the legendary Cocoa Tea, probably sometime later this month. I bring it up (because I absolutely love it) to lead into the fact that you can definitely take that same concept and apply it not only to a particular, individual artist but an entire label as well. It can be a little bit more difficult (and interesting to write) because you may not normally associate a certain piece of work with a label in terms of release and the choices you have to choose from may be incredibly vast but it can also be a very fruitful and satisfying experience as well. I'll bring up an example of a label that not only fits the concept of what we're doing today (they've worked with some of these artists) but one which has done PRECISELY what I think we're looking at here as well. Of course, I'm referring to I Grade Records and, by extension, the Zion I Kings. What're the signature releases of I Grade Records??? Were you to put together a list, surely it would be full of pieces from Akae Beka -- having the biggest Virgin Islands artist alongside the biggest VI label -- but I'd also include, off the top of my head, a pair of albums from Lutan Fyah and you might also come across works from the likes of Dezarie, Tuff Lion ["Ten Strings"], Pressure Busspipe and maybe even one or two others as well. Another set that I think would HAVE to be included (....and, of course, I'm now thinking about doing such a list) would be an album that we've well discusses around these parts so I won' take up too much of your time by beating it down again but, way back in 2009, IGR would release what is my opinion one of the greatest compilations of the modern era of Roots Reggae music, "Joyful Noise". Similarly, the other components of the Zion I Kings, Zion High Productions & Lustre Kings Productions, have also released compilations which are, easily, amongst some of their greatest productions. I could go on a more well known scale and start mentioning things such as "Reggae Gold" and "Strictly The Best" also - people who make Reggae music love making compilations and when they are very well done, the results can be some of the most memorable and most identifiable that they make, period.
So, were one of my favourite labels going today to release a compilation which, at least on paper, looked like pure FLAMES, they're probably going to have my full attention. That brings us back to the wonderful people at Trinity Farm Music who, once again, are doing something well worthy of a look. While I could already point to a signature release from the label (they did launch our favourite album of 2024, Akae Beka's "Living Testament"), TFM have CONSISTENTLY delivered solid work in very recent times courtesy of a very interesting batch of names (biggup Batch) and have done so at a fantastic rate. Clearly, they have no intent on slowing down AT ALL.
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| 2018 |
So how do you take things even higher? Maybe [another] large compilation would do it. I can't go too far with this (well, I can (and I probably am eventually, but....), because Trinity Farm Music already has an outstanding compilation to their credit in 2018's LOVELY "Music Tree" which would have been one of their very first releases altogether. At least to my knowledge, there was never a second volume to "Music Tree" so, in its stead (kinda), 2025 now brings us "Heart Of One". The PACKED compilation checks in at nearly and hour and a half, spread over twenty-one tracks, featuring contributions by a VERY healthy variety of names. If you're following along with TFM's works, you'll see a number of their favourites building up the vocalist roster on "Heart Of One" and you'll also see some wonderful surprises as well (some of whom, I hope to see recording with the label more going forward) including some old personal favourites that we haven't seen much of it lately. For me, when it comes to compilations (especially on riddim albums which're far more rare these days than they used to be) one of the things that stand out most immediately is who is on board. I've actually made comments about that exact thing in the past and have had producers message me saying what happened or how certain things came about and it's all very fascinating (one was even apologetic) but when I laid eyes on what was happening here, even prior to hearing the actual music, I was mightily impressed, once again, by TFM. I failed to see how you could even put together such an array of talents and drop something subpar and "subpar" is not what I heard when I did get to hear "Heart Of One". Also, like pretty much everything that I've listened to from TFM, the music here is very heavily Roots Reggae, but I didn't find it very.... exclusive. While I don't see it being a very good starting point for listeners new to the genre entirely, if you've only recently come to know the greatest sound on the planet (congratulations), you're going to find something here entertaining and not just because there's so damn much of it. From beginning to end, "Heart Of One" shows itself to be stellar and a FINE potential introduction to one of the best labels going today. Let's get into it!
Did I mention that this album had twenty-one songs on it?? It's been a minute since I've done a review on an album so damn long and I don't know how I'm going to break it down and segment it but let's just get to it anyway. Getting things up and going on Trinity Farm Music's BIG compilation is a very familiar name to our eyes and ears as the Arkaingelle puts both his and one of the album's best foot forward with the outstanding 'Yaddin by the Rivers'. By the slimmest of margins (with respect to maybe two or three others (but one in particular)) The album's opener is also my single favourite that it has to offer. Arkaingelle has a song called 'Manifess Joy' which is one of the top fifty or so best songs that I have EVER heard, so it's no surprise that he takes top honours here for me, as 'Yaddin by the Rivers' is simply flooring.
"It is time now for repatriation
Gather yourself, yow, let's get it together
We've got to organize, and centralize and mobilize
We haffi dispell all their falicies and all their lies
Do you know The King Of Kings was crowned, Haile Selassie I?
Rastafari, Head Creator over I & I
Lord Of Lords, Conquering Lion Of Judah
Prince Of Peace, I wonderful Counsellor
Yes, He's the Alpha & Omega and with Menen, there's no other
The King & Queen, dem hold the ancient order
Mek I an ah yad a Mama land, lef outta babylon
No matta where you come from, Africa Fi Africans"
The Arkaingelle gives a MASSIVE grounded praise to The Almighty with this shot and it, instantly, became a favourite of mine (would have to think, but it COULD be the second finest tune that I've heard from him thus far) and were it at all possible, suddenly I was even more intrigued by "Heart Of One". Also want to give a quick credit to the music here: The impeccable aforementioned Tuff Lion is credited as being amongst the musicians on this album and I don't know if he plays on 'Yaddin by the Rivers', but I would not be surprise if it does feature his handiwork. This sound, as EASY as it is, is GORIOUS and I would well recommend that you pay a closer attention to the riddim as it develops because it does move ever so slightly and becomes even stronger to my opinion. Next up (spent all that time talking about one tune, time to get moving!) is someone whose name I have come across but, clearly, don't know as much about as I should because Dre Z Melodi DELIGHTS on his effort, 'Faith'. Just last year, Melodi dropped an album which I heard a bit of by the name of "Victory". Such release was damn difficult as it featured, amongst others, Akae Beka (twice) (and the first of the pair, 'Loving Jah' was fantastic), Fred Locks and Perfect Giddimani. It may be time to give "Victory" a closer listen because 'Faith' is damn impressive. DZM has somewhat of an unusual delivery. To my ears... he's almost sounds a bit like Ras Army but no matter a point of comparison you may want to come up with, check the golden 'Faith', another praiser but one which definitely finds its home with a VIBE. Listening to this song makes me feel good! Also, again, note the lovely musical conclusion here as well. Veteran Haile Maskel comes through for Trinity Farm Music with 'Wadada Today', which I'm going to allow my wonderful Wife to review:
"This song sounds like a cool old man singing a song"
There you go! From my point of view.... 'Wadada Today' is so DAMN BASIC but I don't mean that in a derogatory way. There is something compelling about it (beyond the great music, which I'm going to stop mentioning so much because it's the case on pretty much every song on this album, so I can save it for closing), especially in its latter stages as Maskel puts forth a very solid unification tune. Underrated and overlooked Belize born, Jah Myhrakle, has a new album out of his own by the name of "Worthy 2 B" (about six weeks old at the time of writing this), which is pretty good and I should probably review it at some point in the future. Until then, however, check his contribution to "Heart Of One", 'Take Frontline'. This GORGEOUS selection deals with ideas such as loyalty and the importance of surrounding yourself with positivity and positive, forward thinking people. EASILY one of the strongest pieces on "Heart Of One", Jah Myhrakle SHINES and does so in a very entertaining and melodic way as well. Hikari Zion, unfortunately, offers up the sole and solitary misstep on the whole of "Heart Of One". Try as I might, I could not get into his 'Luv Yu' at all. Both the pacing and what is are rather unusual and neither worked for me, ultimately (I, seriously, have no clue what is going on with that song). Righting the ship, the final two names from the opening third of the album came as total shocks and really helped to up my curiosity here. The first is Ickarus. Former (and maybe still) member of the famed Star Lion Family (which also produced both Pressure Busspipe & NiyoRah) from out of St. Thomas, Ickarus may not have had the road that some of his peers have enjoyed but OBVIOUSLY that isn't a matter of talent as he displays throughout his 'Everything Irie'.
"You've gotta nice smile, now put it on display
Do it real fast, arriba, andale
Wi no inna negative, wi no waan today
Tell dem mi serious and now mi no come to play
Put di knife down, youth, put di gun away
And hold a Bluetooth speaker from today
UPLOAD SOME AKAE BEKA POSITIVE SONG TO PLAY
And watch di moon enlight di night and sun bright di day
When you walk with a positive, it's like a spiritual armor
Some people say bad deeds does return
Some people a just does ah call it a karma"
As you would expect, a song by the name of 'Everything Irie' goes in every possible direction and I'm thinking it was just something that he Ickarus vibed for that riddim. Regardless of its origins, however, it is a big winner for the album. Whether you realize it or not, THE most identifiable name on the whole of "Heart Of One" is that of Ras Elijah Tafari. Best known for his visual artwork in album covers -- such as this one, this one, that one over there, this one and that one too and even THIS ONE HERE -- (I HAVE NOTHING IN MIND WHILE I AM WRITING THAT. I'm going to go through and fill them in later. That shows you how prolific he's been and continues to be) but here, he turns his talents to actually inside the recording studio (as far as I can tell, he's been doing it for a decade or so at this point) and offers a pair of tunes for "Heart Of One"... along with the cover, of course. The first of them, 'Same Family' MIGHT be my favourite of the two but it's very, very close. Tafari's style is fairly straight forward chanting, for the most part, though he will press it and back off from time to time and he has a pretty good command of melody as well. That is well apparent here, 'Same Family' is pleasing to listen to and it makes sense. The same could be said when Tafari returns for 'Hot Hot Hot', later on. For its part, this song has more of a HEAVY vibes to it (there's something really cool about 'Hot Hot Hot'... despite its title) as the artiste turns up the heat on those in serious need of cleansing. I give a massive credit to Ras Elijah Tafari, in general. He's one of those people who'll likely not get his full credit for it but the man has made a MASSIVE contribution to this generation of Reggae music, again, whether you know it or not.
The next third of "Heart Of One" keeps the wonderful surprises coming in the form of who's on board and the quality of their output is also high. We also get a couple of names back from the first batch with their second songs on the album: Jah Myhrakle & Dre Z Melodi. Myhrakle's song, the very catchy 'By His Words' sits comfortably amongst the album's finest in my opinion, combining exactly what you're thinking of for a theme with a very clever method. DZM, on the other hand, takes a somewhat unique route on 'Keep My Health'. Although this one doesn't quite reach the heights of 'Faith' and (it's going to take a few spins to grow on you) it's fairly skeletal at times, 'Keep My Health' wins by virtue of a uniqueness and a VIBE. Staying away from it for now - musically, something very interesting happens on the tune and, again, if you have a little patience, 'Keep My Health' will glow for you. We also get a pair of CANNONS courtesy of two unexpected names for "Heart Of One" as both 'Rastafari Guide the Way' and 'Moralist' are EXCELLENT. The very simple former is by an Isayah, who I'm not entirely sure that I've come across at any point ahead of this album but it the big praising piece comes as a very welcomed introduction and, as usual, I'll immediately head off and find out what else Isayah has been up to (he'll come back and show us what he's been working on, later). The ULTRA impressive Kali Wale is the man behind 'Moralist' and though I thought I'd also have to do some background work for him, a name change actually saved me some time. Wale has a very nice singing voice (it's very LOUD and clear) and he's an even better writer.... somewhat reminiscent of an artist by the name of YahKali, with whom I am familiar, largely due to a review I wrote over a dozen years ago for an album by the name of "Powerlink" by the Amandla collective. I was impressed with YahKali's abilities back then and he and Kali Wale just so happen to be one of the same and, nothing has changed: 'Moralist' is downright MASSIVE and I could really go for a full album of this.
"System of the serial
Some win, some losers
Use language just to confuse us
Ripped from nature so dem can abuse us
Entertainment just to amuse us
And nation rise unlike no other
Giving honours to the child and the mother
Protect the innocent and respect each other
Equal rights, justice forever
System backward: Sit down - get reward
Identify the I as civally morbid
Reject your place of birth, inheritance forfeit
Another generation sorted
And nation rise, not bound to no colour
Just to pedigree, tradition and to culture
DECLARE your allegiance and start to unocover the true source of all your power
Moral, say we loyal and we noble
Royal cause we cup full, yet we joyful
Healthful, sipping sorrell, smelling floral
Inna the spiral, message viral, with we hearts full
Moral, say we loyal and we noble
Royal cause we cup full, yet we joyful
Healthful, sipping sorrell, smelling floral
Inna the spiral, message viral, with we hearts full"
Original Nine Fingers, Xkaliba, WONDERFULLY also makes an appearance here with a big piece of intelligence in 'Want More'. Though not to the same degree as the aforementioned (and soon to be mentioned again) Ickarus, we'd definitely like to hear more from Xkaliba. His style is SUPER SIMPLE. It is very basic and straight-forward but it works for him, far MORE often than not. I do enjoy 'Want More' (don't love the spelling but everything else is just fine) as the Cruzan chanter touches on the thin line between thriving and seeking the best for yourself ["Get good loving. You still want more"] versus just being DAMN GREEDY. The musically motivating 'You Can Be' comes from someone who I almost certainly have not mentioned for at least a decade, King Hopeton. Several hundreds of years ago, Hopeton released a FINE album by the name of "King Of Kings". It was a thundering introduction to the singer and although he didn't really follow up on it (he did, but none of Hopeton's subsequent work has been on the level of his debut, in my opinion), it made a fan out of me and I've at least made an attempt to keep an ear out for what King Hopeton's been up to. 'You Can Be' is another one which required some time to grow on me but it has greatly from the first time I heard it. King Hopeton also has a new collection out, "Time", which will probably be just about a week old by the time you read this. About a year ago, veteran Rob Symeonn pushed "Manners & Depression", an album, for Trinity Farm Music. He's also had other work on the label, including since the album, so it should come to no surprise - his presence on "Heart Of One", with 'Depression' (...probably would have been a surprise if he weren't on board). This song is what you're thinking it is as Symeonn warns all about the various stresses of everyday life and how to not get caught up in so many things piling up on you at once and losing your happiness. The topic is, obviously, quite crucial to him lately as the artist also pushed the similarly concentrated 'Sunshine', another single for TFM, earlier this year. 'Depression' is even stronger and a major attraction for "Heart Of One".... more on that later.
Another kinda/sorta familiar name shines during the final chunk of "Heart Of One" as both of the songs that Noble Culture contributes are found here. About twenty years ago, a Black Culture launched the Bambu Station produced well-received "Lion's Den Adversity" and, like Kali Wale, he, too, has undergone a name change and is now Noble Culture. Between his 'Refugee' & 'Not in The Mood', it is former which REALLY stands out as BC puts forth a very nice and specific social commentary about how people can feel like outsiders in their very own homes. Apart from the sake of comparison, 'Refugee' is just really strong as well. Though it doesn't quite hit those levels, 'Not in The Mood' also goes well, especially lyrically. The shortest selection here by more than twenty seconds, you do wish it were lenthier but 'Not in The Mood' does manage to make an impact in its short time. It's also very simple and nice to the ears. Our old friend, Messenjah Selah also makes an appearance with this fun time, 'Natural'. In the early days of this blog, we did a kind of running project with one of Selah's albums, "Breaking Babylon Curse", so he's had a special place on my players even since. 'Natural' is EASILY the best song that I've heard from Selah in some time and it features him dealing with how he's come to be who he is, musically, a 'sufferer' of intense, infectious Reggaemylitis.
"It's written in my blood
REGGAE YOU DO ME LIKE NOBODY DOES, NOBODY DOES"
It does all of us like that, Messenjah Selah. Take Haile Maskel, for example. He loves it so much that he comes back again to the album with 'Negust is Ruler', which is even stronger than his first effort here, 'Wadada'. I'm going to tell that though I don't feel the song needs any time to grow on you, it does take a bit to develop and, as the only over five minute piece here, 'Negust is Ruler' gets all the time it requires on that front. When it does get where it's going, it is a creepingly LOVELY praise which fits its creator (and THE Creator) perfectly as a vibe which is the best way I feel it is enjoyed. Ickarus also makes a return before ending things here with his second go on "Heart Of One" with the familiar 'To Africa'. This song actually taps the same riddim as 'Who Will Go For Us', the initial single from what turned out to be our favourite album of 2024, "Living Testament" by Akae Beka. Here, we find the chanter outlining some personal goals as he plans to visit the continent before the end of his days. This one is FUN and you can really here the passion coming through Ickarus and HOPEFULLY he makes it home! Lastly, check the ABSOLUTELY MAMMOTH 'StrucJah' from Isayah who returns to the project gloriously. Isayah beats us all down to the cellular level (the man literally talks about things like DNA and photosynthesis) (somewhere, Vaughn Benjamin approves) and you get to a place where, in its later stages, Isayah is SOARING all over 'StrucJah'.
"HIS Haile temple is the willingness of royalty
JAH GIVE US EVERYTHING WE NEED IN RIGHTEOUS ENERGY
The DNA, double helix, highest complexity
YOUR BODY IS A NATURAL ORGANISM, KEEP IT CLEAN"
DAMN! If you were, at all, unfamiliar with and unaware of Isayah's level of skill prior to "Heart Of One", you, like me, have just been placed on notice as he gives a giant word to honour the power of The Orchestrator.
I've alluded to it (and flat out said it) a few times throughout this review, so I'll make this brief: The music all over "Heart Of One" is kinda SPECTACULAR. It's really, really strong. In particular, I'd point you in the direction of Haile Maskel's 'Negust is Ruler'. The guitar (which may or may not be played by Tuff Lion) on that thing is GORGEOUS and it truly levels up near its conclusion. Big credit goes to Trinity Farm for making an album which sounds like this because, even if you aren't as fond of the actual songs as I am, anyone even remotely a fan of Reggae music will thoroughly be impressed by what they hear by the players of instruments here.
Overall, while I definitely set some mighty shoes for it to fill and a big path for it to follow, "Heart Of One" does just fine with it. It is excellent and it is such in a way that is very understated, for the most part. I don't think ANY vocalist on this album is going to leap out at a more casual fan. Again, THE most recognizable name here would be that of Ras Tafari Elijah and that's because of his visual art. Musically??? PROBABLY who stands out the most is Arkaingelle (Rob Symeonn and Messenjah Selah would also be in that conversation) but, as a collective, for someone like myself (and probably Yourself) this lineup is delicious and rarely is there a wrong direction taken. So, perhaps if you haven't been paying attention to the fine work Trinity Farm Music (and Go A Chant Productions) has been pushing over the past few years, "Heart Of One" represents a brilliant point to become acquainted, especially for more constant fans of the genre. One of the finest Reggae compilations of 2025 - and it ain't even close!
Rated 4.5/5
Trinity Farm Music
2025
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