Jamaican singer-songwriter Minna LaFortune, a rising star within the reggae world, has launched a stirring new single, “The Black Star Liner.”
LaFortune instructed Caribbean Life on Wednesday that the uplifting anthem pays homage to Jamaican nationwide hero Marcus Garvey and his teachings of African liberation, self-reliance and PanAfricanism.
“’The Black Star Liner’ is a reggae tune with a driving rhythm that invitations the listener to hitch the symbolic Black Star Liner, a delivery firm based by Garvey in 1919, and journey to Africa on a ‘mission of affection and togetherness,’” she stated. “The lyrics categorical the satisfaction, hope and love that the Jamaican folks have for Africa and the African Diaspora, in addition to the dedication and braveness to beat challenges and create a extra affluent future with different Africans.”
LaFortune stated the tune is impressed by Garvey’s philosophy and the music of Bob Marley and Burning Spear, “two of essentially the most influential reggae artists who embraced Garvey’s teachings and unfold them to the world.”
She stated the tune additionally “predicts adjustments that have been going to occur within the Jamaican-African Bond and in Africa that have been in line with the imaginative and prescient of Marcus Garvey.”
“With its dynamic reggae rhythms and socially acutely aware lyrics, ‘The Black Star Liner’ takes listeners on a metaphorical journey from Jamaica to the African continent,” LaFortune stated. “’The Black Star Liner’ metaphor is so highly effective as a result of it represents the dream automobile that can carry African peoples again to their ancestral homeland.
“Simply as Marcus Garvey based the precise delivery firm in 1919 to facilitate the return to Africa, my tune envisions a symbolic journey the place we’re all aboard that ‘liner’ headed to the continent with satisfaction, unity and dedication,” she added. “The Black Star Liner embodies the hopes of the pan-African motion.”
The tune’s highly effective refrain declares partly: “On the Black Star Liner, we coming from Jamaica/On the Black Star Liner, we going to Africa/With the phrases of Marcus/And the power we possess/We’re on a mission of affection and togetherness.”
“’The Black Star Liner’ is my humble contribution to maintaining Marcus Garvey’s dream alive – that, in the future, African peoples the world over will come collectively within the spirit of satisfaction, self-determination, and unity,” LaFortune stated. “It’s a reminder that, regardless of our struggles, we’ve got an unbreakable power that can in the end lead us to a brighter future.”
The only is accessible now on all main streaming platforms.
LaFortune’s musical voyage started in Jamaica, the place she stated she was immersed within the melodies of her homeland.
Migrating to the US at 30, LaFortune stated she continued nurturing her ardour whereas contributing to the Caribbean Diaspora’s cultural cloth.
Her debut EP “Dance with Me” Quantity 1, launched in June 2023, showcases her originality and song-writing abilities, and her inventive vary on themes from romance to social commentary.
The festive “Caribbean Christmas” album adopted in December 2023, fusing vibrant Caribbean kinds.
LaFortune stated she is at present engaged on “Dance with Me” Quantity 2, set for a 2024 launch, and persevering with her highly effective musical legacy.
She stated included in “Dance with Me” Quantity 2 might be her latest releases, “Reggae Music is Like to me,” “Don’t Drink Your Sorrows,” and “The Black Star Liner,” amongst many extra authentic songs.
Contact Minna LaFortune at info@minnalafortune.com, or name 917-771-7935.
