Words by Jesse Serwer—
Fresh off his appearance at LargeUp’s Winter Music Massive party Saturday night, Stephen Marley has issued the second leak from his upcoming album, Revelation Part 2: The Fruit Of Life. (Stream “Thorn or Rose” featuring The Roots’ Black Thought here).
“Rock Stone” features a Boboshanti tag team of Sizzla and Capleton over a beat right in Stephen’s usual sweet spot between hip-hop and reggae. But then…boom… Dubstep drop! Pretty much all of the currently relevant bases are touched on this one, so we’re curious to see how these various demographics take to it. It could be Marley’s biggest anthem since “Traffic Jam,” or miss all intended targets by casting too wide of a net. (It seems the EDM-inspired track’s release was timed to coincide with the WMC/Ultra events happening in Steve’s homebase of Miami). In any case, the energy level on “Rock Stone” lyrically is definitely high so, on first listen, we’re leaning towards the former.
Along with the track leak comes details on The Fruit Of Life, due out this summer. The album will diverge from Revelation Part I: The Root of Life, a rootsier affair which emphasized reggae’s connection to Africa, taking a more hip-hop approach with a bevy of heavy hitters including Rick Ross, Rakim, DJ Khaled and Dead Prez, as well as Bounty Killer and Shaggy. A multi-leg tour with the Ghetto Youths camp and, later, Slightly Stoopid will follow. Stream “Rock Stone” here, and check out the tour dates below.
TOUR DATES
4/12 (Sat) in Saint Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
4/13 (Sun) in Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage
4/15 (Tue) in Wilmington, NC @ Greenfield Lake Amphitheatre
4/17 (Thu) in Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre
4/18 (Fri) in Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
4/19 (Sat) in New York, NY @ Best Buy Theater
4/20 (Sun) in Providence, RI @ Fete Lounge
4/23 (Wed) in Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
4/25 (Fri) in Chicago, IL @ Park West
4/26 (Sat) in Madison, WI @ Barrymore Theatre
4/27 (Sun) in Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
4/29 (Tue) in Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
4/30 (Wed) in Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
5/2 (Fri) in Aspen, CO @ Belly Up Aspen
5/3 (Sat) in Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
5/4 (Sun) in Missoula, MT @ Top Hat Lounge & Casino
5/6 (Mon) in Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
5/7 (Tue) in Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
5/9 (Thu) in San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
5/10 (Fri) in Ashland, OR @ Ashland Armory
5/11 (Sat) in Sacramento, CA @ Assembly
5/13 (Mon) in Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
5/14 (Tue) in Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
5/16 (Thu) in West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
5/17 (Sat) in Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
5/19 (Mon) in Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
5/20 (Tue) in Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
5/22 (Thu) in Houston, TX @ House of Blues
5/23 (Fri) in Austin, TX @ Mohawk
5/24 (Sat) in New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
6/27 (Fri) in Detroit, MI @ 4th Fridays In The Park
6/29 (Sun) in Rothbury, MI @ Electric Forest Festival