Queen Ifrica – Breath Of Life

From the opening notes of the Stephen Marley-produced title track, it’s clear that Queen Ifrica is keeping her roots firmly planted. Breath Of Life is an emotional prayer of gratitude, carried by Marley’s acoustic orchestral arrangement. From there, the album settles into strong one-drop reggae, with live instrumentation, deep bass and plenty of lyrical substance.

The Montego Bay native sounds fully at home throughout the set, moving comfortably between love, spirituality, sensuality, social issues, and everyday life. Junior Brown leads the production, with Colin “Bulby” York and Jason “j-Vibe” Farmer among those who helped to give the album its weight and drive.

Speechless shows a softer side as Ifrica opens up about falling deeply in love. Pelican brings a breezy island feel, while Spoonful finds her playfully flirting with a man who’s already taken. Then comes the lively Bad Girl, a track that has all the ingredients to easily become one of the album’s summer favourites. For the herb enthusiasts, she shares My Highgrade. Excellent Jah turns the focus upwards with a chant of praise, while Weeping Willow carries a more urgent message, calling for African unity and strength in difficult times.

The gorgeous Mom Like Me, first released around Mother’s Day, leads into New Version Of Me. The track features Queen Ifrica’s children Tanzie, Malawi, and Imeru Tafari, making it the album’s only guest appearance. They bring plenty of maturity to the performance, although their mother is quick to remind them who was there during the early years: “clean your nose, wipe your asses, make sure that you’re early for classes.”

There’s also a message of hope in Change The World, where Ifrica reminds the listener that love still has the power to make a difference. Raggamuffin Style keeps that positive energy going, encouraging working people and hustlers to stay close to Jah and carry themselves with pride. Finally, Lanton (Lantern) brings the journey full circle. The current hit finds Queen Ifrica confronting the darkness of modern-day Babylon and calling on Jah to bring judgement.

Breath Of Life feels like a natural progression for Queen Ifrica. It’s rooted in classic one-drop, but it doesn’t look backwards. With strong musicianship, heavyweight production and lyrics that move between the personal, spiritual and social, the album gives the “Fyah Muma” plenty of room to breathe. And she makes every breath count.