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CLINTON LINDSAY » BREAKING NEWS, GUEST RUNDOWNS » SOME TOP MUSICIANS ON THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE LATEST JAMAICAN MOVIE “IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR!”

SOME TOP MUSICIANS ON THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE LATEST JAMAICAN MOVIE “IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR!”

 BY BRIAN BONITTO—

 Lennie Little-White—
 FOR his upcoming movie It’s A Family Affair, veteran film-maker Lennie Little-White draws on the talents of an all-star cast of Jamaican musicians as well as some emerging acts for the soundtrack.

“A soundtrack helps to establish the mood and ambiance of the whole movie. Besides, in our film, some musical selections help to tell the story by the use of lyrics directly connected to a particular scene or situation,” Little-White told Jamaica Observer.

“There are a multiplicity of producers on this project,” Little-White told the Observer.

The 14-track set boasts production works of Grammy-nominated duo Sly & Robbie, Dean Fraser, saxophonist Tony Green, Chris Birch and Steven “Lenky” Marsden.

Sly & Robbie

Sly & Robbie

Sly and Robbie’s Unmetered Taxi and Taxi Connection; Green’s Reggae Mambo and Green Pastures; Military by Birch; and Marsden’s popular Diwali make the cut.

Little-White said he was approached by an emerging Clarendon act Celcius, who eventually did the set’s title track Rich Pan Mi, which is on Fraser’s instrumental It’s A Family Affair.

“Celcius (given name Richard Sewart) approached me with a demo track of his original song titled Rich Pan Mi. I reworked the lyrics and entered saxophonist and super-producer Dean Fraser, who did a new arrangement and recording of the title song using Celcius himself to revoice the new lyrics. The result is a reggae orchestral piece that meanders seamlessly through the movie,” said Little-White.

Dean Fraser

Dean Fraser

Actors Brian Brown (who plays United States-based bassist Andre) and TV personality Emprezz Golding (who plays his girlfriend Maya) also share vocal and production credits.

Golding’s vocals are featured on To Jamaica and Kiss Me. She is credited as producer of the latter. Brown is singer and producer of Man of Steel.

Slated for a fall release, the low-budget It’s A Family Affair is a comedy examining converging cultural differences when a Jamaican man and his wife renew their wedding vows at a reunion and invites his sister and brother from Britain and the United States, respectively.

“An interesting tangent of the movie is the story of studio musician Andre, who wants to be the next Robbie Shakespeare. He sees himself as a clone of Shakespeare and uses him as his main inspiration. At his side, his girlfriend Maya is an emerging model and singer,” said Little-White.

Dahlia Harris,

L-R Dahlia Harris, Ian “Ity” Ellis, Emprezz Golding in scene from “It’s Family Affair”

“Not to be outdone is the lead actress Dahlia Harris, who demonstrates her versatility as a singer when she appears as a clone of Jamaica’s most colorful dancehall diva. Dahlia not only performs as a singjay, but she also demonstrates her prowess as a dancer in the dancehall genre.”

It’s A Family Affair also features actors Ian “Ity” Ellis, Tony “Paleface” Hendriks, Bertina Macaulay, and Leonie Forbes.

 

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