NAYA ROCKERS is back with "Higher Education," an 11 song benefit LP that covers regions, styles and ages. Listeners are welcomed into a rootsy storytime with the opening passage of Clinton Fearon’s, “Come With Us.” The track opens warm and wise, addresses the stage for a call to unity that runs through the LP. The album’s title track, “Higher Education,” then puts in Ivan Neville’s hands the flame of musical inheritance, an anthem which speaks to the human will to excel and evolve through knowledge.
Side A glows with instantly memorable moments, Sister Nancy’s “Teach The Youths” stomps as a directive anthem, Stephen Marley’s “The Right Path” uplifts with spiritual resolve and ageless grooves. Hector “Roots” Lewis My Own Music The soulful gratitude of Hector “Roots” Lewis’ “Thanks,” in which young artists salute their teachers and role models, establishes a lineage for a next generation of reggae leaders that stretches from heritage to future promise.
Side B picks up the pace of the album with more expansive creativity. Mike Love’s “Long Way Down” fuses mindful words and high-flying melodies, while Angelo Moore & The Tamlins’ “The Brotherhood" is a reminder that even in times of struggle we need to come together to celebrate. Queen Omega serves up the empowerment with “Words of Wisdom,” Micah Shemaiah grounds the message in reflective calm with “Same Lessons to Learn” and the great Mad Professor closes things out with a duditation that circles back around perfectly.
And what makes "Higher Education" so amazing is not just its all-star cast (featuring Earl “Chinna” Smith, members of The Skatalites, John Brown’s Body and Slightly Stoopid), but also the reason for its creation. Each bassline, horn line and lyric feeds into something larger: the nurturing of music’s future in Jamaica, where the seeds of reggae were first sown.
At not much more than 40 minutes, "Higher Education" is both compact and expansive, each track a universe, but all connected by a shared spirit of collaboration, resilience, and legacy. NAYA ROCKERS create bridges between the past and the future, between now and generations to come.
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