Reggae-dancehall fans have been raving about the new single, ‘Rumours’ by talented artiste, Kabbalist which has been blowing up FM radio for the last two weeks.
The song samples the 1988 cult hit, Rumours by Gregory Isaacs. That single was a monster hit that encapsulated the hard-hitting, bass-heavy driven electro-dancehall stomp that was popular at the time. This single is an update, a remixed version featuring Kabbalist‘s smooth vocals on a hip-hop influenced beat.
“Gregory was a great bredrin of mine, in fact, he had listened to the track before he died. My team had wanted to use the original, and we went to Universal who wanted to use it but someone raised an objection to it, so I asked the late Phillip Smart to do over a new track and remix it,” he said.
He released the remixed single this year, and the response so far has been phenomenal.
“This is the biggest response I have ever gotten on a track so early in the promotion. It is playing on ZIP, IRIE, and with the response so far, I will be fast-tracking plans to shoot a video perhaps at the end of May,” Kabbalist, who was born Paul Ferguson, said.
Kabbalist was born in St. Catharine , Jamaica, but migrated several decades ago. Now a resident of New York and a talented artist in his own right, Kabbalist has been performing since the age of 10. Kabbalist‘s musical specialty is ” foundation deejaying”, the 1980s Jamaican style of “rapping” which some consider a predecessor of modern hip-hop.
He is known for his 2010 breakout single, “Catwalk”, which roared onto the playlists of urban radio stations from NY’s Hot 97 to Los Angeles’ Power106. Four years later, the single was featured in an American television pilot “She’s Got Is’Shoes”, created by American award-winning film-maker, playwright, and novelist Nina Foxx.
He has performed with artistes such as Peter Rankin, General Lucky, Faith Hill, Dean Fraser, Steel Pulse, Bounty Killer, and Third World.
