I Grade Records is set to release Danny I’s new album, To Your Majesty, which finds I Grade going back to its Virgin Islands roots – spreading musical ises and healing – while reaching out to Latin America as well. Danny I, who was raised St Croix, USVI, leads the way deep into the fiber of contemporary reggae and rastafarian culture. Danny I has traveled the world, seen war and strife between nations as well as on the streets of his island hometown. To Your Majesty is his response. The album’s 14 tracks are a showcase of what happens when meaningful messages based on Danny I’s inspired experience and Zion I Kings’ majestic musical arrangements come together ably guided by I Grade Records’ Pioneering co-founder and producer, Laurent ‘Tippy I’ Alfred. Guest appearances by standout VI artists, Army, Dushane and Sabbattical Ahdah help to paint a lyrical picture that captures the problems and solutions of local communities from the islands to the mountains. To Your Majesty will be available April 12 via EB Reggae, VP Records and e-tailers worldwide.

To Your Majesty is an album in the sense that the sum of the parts tell the full story. Danny I takes you through the valley of trial and tribulation all the way to the top of the mountaintop to praise the most high. “Leave All Your Load” offers the type of refreshing, no-nonsense message Danny I has to share, “reality can be hard/ yet it’s still reality/ reality can be rough/ but rasta its when you get tough”. “On The Streets Again” is a direct comment on the spike in street violence taking over in the small cities and towns of St. Croix – “I see them on the prowl again/ they say they want to get ahead/ and so they want to beat a -head/ so they pack an ‘X’ amount of lead/ and you’re dead, just so, you’re dead.” The fantastic songwriting is underlined by surprise moments in the album when Danny I speaks directly to the listener, adding emphasis to the meaning in the message and closing the distance between the performer and the audience.

Urging Danny I on from beginning to end is a sonic experience crafted by the Zion I Kings production team comprised of the producers for Zion High Productions, I Grade and Lustre Kings. Whether it’s the warning sound of the horn solos heard loud and clear on “Sometimish Rastaman” featuring Sabbattical Ahdah, to the percussive guitar riffs on “Never Lay Down”, where Danny I is joined by Army, to the ambient production and dub on “Over Red And Blue”, the creative use of the music, and perhaps just as importantly, the spaces between the musical notes, leave a fulfilling audio experience in the album’s wake. To Your Majesty also reaches out on another level with “Tu Confusion”, a Spanish-language track full of passionate roots vibes in the vein of I Grade’s work with Midnite and Dezarie. And “Pure Lovers Rock” featuring Dushane adds a timely R&B flavor to the record. Considered yet subtle songwriting and robust production value create a fascinating, layered experience in which To Your Majesty provides something for everyone to take home.

VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTFxx2M7sSc