Busy Signal Free and Back in Studio

By Steve James on Friday, November 23, 2012 - Photos by Steve James - Comment

Busy Signal was released from the federal prison in Minnesota on November 21st. Press conference and new songs.

Sampler

A massive homecoming media launch was held on Wednesday, Nov 21st for reggae artist Busy Signal who was released from Federal prison in Minnesota on the same day and returned home immediately after.

The event which was held at The Devonshire in Devon House, in Kingston was streamed live on BusySignal.com, his Facebook fan page, and the official websites for JukeBoxx Records and VP Records, the label that is currently distributing his latest CD, 'Reggae Music Again'.

The event was attended by representatives from almost every local media house, members of his management team, his family and several of his close friends.

Busy Signal press conference Addressing the audience, Busy was open and honest about his experience. He likened the six months spent in prison to six million years. He told the gathering that it was one of the most difficult periods of his life. Despite the celebratory mood, it was obvious that those present were visibly moved by his admission that his sleeping conditions, not being able to move around as he wanted to, or the simple act of not being able to "flick" off a light switch of his own free will impacted him greatly. He lamented that he could not even get a "sweetie" if he wanted one while in lockup.

Asked if he wrote any songs while incarcerated, he responded that he did not usually write songs by putting pen to paper but that he has several lyrics in his mind ready to deliver to the world. For those anxious to hear new songs from the artist, his manager, Shane Brown, stated that the singer has several unreleased tracks that were done prior to his incarceration, that are scheduled to be released soon. He made it clear however that they would be selective regarding which songs were released and when, but mentioned the artist's collaboration with No Doubt on the title track from their recently released album 'Push and Shove'.

Busy Signal also indicated that he intended to record songs in different genres. In addition to the reggae and DJ genre, he has intentions to record in country & western and even the gospel genre. His manager teased those present by announcing that the singer, who has not performed locally in over four years, is scheduled to perform at one major event in December, but stopped short of saying which one, only that it will be announced sometime soon in the coming weeks. According to Italian promoter, Carlo Gullato, Busy Signal has already been booked to perform on thirty shows in Europe next summer inclusive of all the major festivals.

The singer had very high praises for his management team, his fans, the lawyers who represented him locally (K.D. Knight) and overseas (Bill Mauzy), the US court system and even the judge who presided over his hearing who he said, all assisted him during this most difficult period.

Robert Livingstone, former manager of international reggae star Shaggy, also addressed the gathering, praising Busy Signal by referring to him as "one of the biggest acts outside of Jamaica".

Busy Signal already recorded some new songs with Jukeboxx Records and Shane Brown since he his back to Jamaica such as 'Come shock Out' and 'Think Man A Idiot'.