The long-awaited posthumous project by the late Vaughn Benjamin and Zion I Kings titled ‘Polarities‘ is scheduled for a May 21, 2021 release. The album finds Benjamin working with longtime collaborators Laurent “Tippy I” Alfred of I-Grade Records, David “JAH D” Goldfine of Zion High Productions, and Andrew “Moon” Bain of Lustre Kings. Also intimately involved in the production of this project is the late Drew “Drew Keys” Stoch of Haze Street Dub.

Polarities is the 13th and final full album of new material from Vaughn Benjamin and IGrade Records, the culmination of a 20 year working relationship that began with 2001’s Nemozian Rasta album, which was Midnite’s 4th album released to date at that time.

The 13 songs on Polarities were mostly recorded between 2016 and 2018, many while on tour, when Tippy was manager and FOH engineer for Akae Beka. The songs Everything Bless” and “Viral Trend” recorded in Kingston, Jamaica (Tuff Gong Studio). Others were recorded in Chile, Vermont, France and Florida. The musicians on the album include the above mentioned principals of Zion I Kings, long-time collaborator and keyboard and trombone maestro Drew Keys, Jamaican superproducer Teflon Zincfence, Lloyd Richards, Kirk Bennett and Aston Barrett, Jr among many others.

Two singles from the forthcoming album were released by Tippy in 2020. “Black Carbon“ finds Vaughn Benjamin tackling the ZIK riddim along with Chronixx, one of Jamaica’s most gifted voices.

The second single, titled “Everything Bless” matches Benjamin with the immensely talented global reggae icon and Ivorian reggae singer and songwriter Tiken Jah Fakoly.

Stay tuned to World-A-Reggae for a review of the forthcoming album and an in-depth interview with Laurent “Tippy I” Alfred.

Check the album art for the ‘Polarities’ album by Marcus Wilson.