(from left to right Wayne Marshall, Damian Marley, Christopher Ellis and Black-Am-I at Tessanne's Homecoming Concert Downtown, Kingston on Sunday, January 12)
Tru Colors is Marshall's second album following Marshall Law! Tru Colors is the second
major project in a matter of weeks for GYI, which is owned by the Marley
brothers: Stephen, Damian and Julian.
In November,
the Marley owned label released Better
Than Love, an EP by British singer Christopher Ellis, son of rock steady
legend Alton Ellis. Both projects are credited to Damian Marley as executive
producer.
Marshall has
established himself as a Dancehall star with songs like Overcome, New Millennium
and Hot in The Club. But he considers
Tru Colors his best work to date. "The
others were compilations rather than a project. I promised myself the next
album would be rounded and that's what it is," he said.
Go Hard, a collaboration with some of
Jamaica’s hottest artistes, is the album's lead track. Go Harder is a follow up of Go
Hard featuring rappers Ace Hood, Waka Flocka and deejay Cham. Prior to the release of Tru Colors,
Marshall toured Europe and the United States East and West coast, which
introduced him to new audiences.
Like his label mate, Christopher Ellis is also making waves on the entertainment scene with his unique style. Better Than Love is Ellis' most ambitious project to date, though he has worked as a singer since he was age 11 with his influential father.
The five-song mini-set bears some similarity in tone to Alton Ellis' revered
Lovers, Rock sound. Better Than Love
includes the ballads You Babe and Spoiling Me.
Pointing to
the close friendship his father shared with Bob Marley, the Marley brothers'
father, Ellis says Better Than Love transcends
music.“It’s a lineage thing. It stems back to when I met Stephen and Damian
Marley. And more than that, it stems to our fathers and the whole Trench Town movement.”
The Marley
siblings have won several Grammy Awards as members of the Melody Makers and
solo acts. Stephen Marley has established himself as a producer, on Damian's
Grammy-winning Halfway Tree and Welcome to Jamrock albums.