Staff WriterAfter releasing the Master Blaster (Bulby York Music / VPAL Music) album to critical acclaim in 2018, legendary Jamaican producer Collin “Bulby” York has finally dropped the first official video from his 11-track masterpiece. “Lots of Signs,” directed by Cinema Gods (Steven Bernard and Sadiki Thompson Robin), was filmed on Fleet Street in downtown Kingston on December 19, and premiered March 15th on Boomshots, the official reggae and dancehall platform of Complex Media Network. Heavy on vibes, the video showcases the talents of choreographer Orville “Expressionz” Hall, who was sourced through a #lotsofsigns skank challenge that Bulby hosted on his social media when the Master Blaster album was initially released.
The “Lots of Signs” song features dancehall superstars Christopher Martin and Beenie Man delivering a fresh take on the late great Tenor Saw’s classic cut from the 80s. Bulby’s modernized production, which now includes the rich textures of a horn line and additional dub effects, carries a noticeably darker tone than the original. “We were trying to catch a similar vibe to Beenie Man and Barrington Levy’s ‘Murderer’ on this track,” explains the Master Blaster.
“It was important for the visuals to capture the weight of the message in the song,” added director Steven Bernard of Tenor Saw’s lyrical advice to “face reality all the time.” That, however, did not stop the artists from expressing their joy over the opportunity to collaborate. “When I was first contacted to record, it was awesome to receive that call, and then it was incredible to find out that Beenie Man was included,” offered Chris. “Now I’m just looking forward to people watching the video and loving it as much as I do.”
Beenie Man told Boomshots, “Working with Bulby is always magic. Mi longtime friend.” The relationship between deejay and producer dates back several decades now, and has most notably spawned the dancehall standard, “Stop Live In A De Pass” aka “Memories.”
Although this is the first collaboration between Beenie and Martin, the King of the Dancehall says “Is like Chris ah mi bredda. We just show up and boom it done. One take. Laughs and vibes.”
Originally released as the lead single from Bulby’s 2018 Master Blaster album, “Lots of Signs” gained steam after York and Martin made a promotional run in NYC that took them to media outlets like Beats 1 Radio, HOT 97, WBLS, Red Bull Radio, Irie Jam, LargeUp, and Boomshots, among others. That groundwork eventually led to the song getting picked up by VP Records for the latest installment of their award-winning compilation series, Strictly The Best Vol. 59, which debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart. Christopher and Beenie Man recently performed the first-ever live rendition of the song to close out the show at VP Records 40th Anniversary launch celebration. The event was held at Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records in Montego Bay on January 30th, and featured an all-star lineup that also included Shenseea, TeeJay, and Raging Fyah.
Watch the “Lots of Signs” video on Boomshots
Watch the “Lots of Signs” video on VEVO/YouTube
Stream or purchase Master Blaster
Media Writer
