Reggae class is in session and Professor is dropping some knowledge on their second release Throw Down Your Arms. This live show CD/DVD recorded in France at the Sun Ska Festival, features all the songs from Professor's first 2011 release Madness.
Professor is the side project of Groundation's lead vocalist Harrison Stafford and an all-star cast of Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Earl "Flabba Holt" Carter, Loyd "Obeah" Denton and Dalton Browne. Stafford's unique voice is the same but the music is a bit simpler than that of Groundation. I don't say that in a bad way either. I just mean that you don't have to hold an advanced music degree and pop an Adderall to enjoy it. I'm not hating on Groundation either, just saying, their jams are cerebral. Compared to Groundation, Professor's sound is a little less complex but the message, one of true global unity, is profound.
The album was written and inspired by Stafford's travels in the West Bank. It's a reflection on the Isreal and Palestine conflict through the lens of reggae music. The songs were mostly inspired by a conversation Stafford had with a Palestinian poet who said he didn't like Bob Marley's message. You don't hear that a lot but it's true that a lot of reggae music, including Marley's contains a Zionist message. So Stafford wanted to flip that shit on it's head and record a juicy Jamaican roots reggae album for everyone in the Holy Land.
Here is the live version of "East Jerusalem" off Throw Down Your Arms.