FLORISH

Silver Spring, Maryland – Principals of I N I Records plan to step up promotion for Imported From Jamaica, the compilation album that launched the independent company in February.

The Silver Spring, Maryland-based label is run by Philadelphia natives Bruce Butler and Michael Bailey. Most of the artists signed to I N I Records are from Greenwich Farm, a working-class community in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital.

According to Butler, “The album is being distributed worldwide through UMG, we have gotten streams in 35 countries so far.

First set of promotional CDs for radio and television were made in Jamaica, (but) didn’t come out too well so we got some made over here. We should start our radio and TV campaign next week.”

Butler and Bailey were encouraged to work with Jamaican artists by Tony Mack, Butler’s older brother, a music industry veteran in Jamaica who also lived in Philadelphia for many years.

Florish, Sashae, Double T’z, Steve Tulloch and Informative Historyman are some of the acts featured on the 23-song Imported From Jamaica.

Butler said I N I Records’ first solo albums will be by Florish, a singer, and Informative Historyman, a journeyman artist who has an underground following in Europe.

“We are also getting some very good reviews for Double T’z and Steve Tulloch. Their projects shall be released soon after the first two. We have audio-visual CDs up on YouTube, and shall commence with the filming of the artist’s video’s end of April,” Butler disclosed.

Butler specializes in music licensing and has worked on reality shows such as Real World, Pimp my Ride and Extreme Challenge. Bailey is a respected figure in Philadelphia jazz; he hosted the radio show, Philadelphia Jazz Showcase, and was executive producer of the popular television show, Jazz Encounters.

Greenwich Farm first became a hot spot for Jamaican music during reggae’s dawn in the late 1960s. Directed by producer Bunny Lee, singers such as Slim Smith, John Holt and Delroy Wilson, as well as harmony group, The Melodians were some of the acts who put the seafaring community on the map.

The momentum carried over into the 1970s, when there was an explosion of musical energy from Rastafarian artists like Earl Zero, Cornel Campbell and Johnny Clarke.

Mack, who grew up in Greenwich Farm, worked with all of them and continues to nurture talent from the area. - jamaican Observer