Isiah Mentor builds a personal catalogue

Concerned that evil forces are overwhelming the globe, singer Isiah Mentor takes them to task on ‘Demons Among Us’, a hard-hitting song he produced for the Village Records label.

Released on October 5, the veteran roots artiste warns the unsuspecting to be weary of “even family members. You have to be very careful, because we are seeing a different level of evil.”

Isiah Mentor was inspired to write ‘Demons Among Us’ by his “ancestors”, after observing “worms and fungus” acting as friends who mean him and others, no good.

‘Demons Among Us’ is his latest recording for Village Records. Isiah Mentor said he long gave up on recording songs for different producers, to concentrate on building a personal catalogue.

While looking at the global marketplace for his latest work, he said Europe is his particular focus, as that region retains his strongest support. Isiah Mentor first toured the United Kingdom as Lilly Melody in 1989 with Anthony Redrose.

Pressure Me

“The European market is totally different, as it seems as if Europe appreciates authentic roots-reggae music and good reggae music. They support it, and the younger generation seem to grow up on the music, believe it or not, from the ‘60s all the way up. They play King Stitt, Prince Buster, Lee “Scratch” Perry all the way up to the Marleys. The market there is great,” he declared.

Isiah Mentor is originally from Rae Town, a fishing community in central Kingston whose most famous son is Shaggy. He started his recording career as Lilly Melody at the venerable studio of Osbourne “King Tubby” Ruddock in Waterhouse, which at the time was home to other upcoming acts like Redrose and King Kong.

He recalls his time at ‘Tubby’s’ as educational and fruitful, describing him as “the best producer I will ever meet”.

“He treated his artistes the best, we had our own chef, and we had first pick of the rhythms when Sly and Robbie, Yabbie You, and other artistes come to build rhythms. Myself, Anthony Redrose, King Kong, Wayne Palmer, Banana Man, and Thriller U were a part of the immediate residency,” said Isiah Mentor. “He taught me to work on myself, my career, and I’m reaping the benefits of that now after years and years of being part of the Firehouse label.”

As Lilly Melody, he recorded songs in the late 1980s such as ‘Ghostbuster’, ‘Older Than Me’ and ‘No Pressure’ for King Tubby who was murdered in 1989, age 48, at his Kingston home.

The songs Isiah Mentor cut at King Tubby earned him a debut trip to the UK 34 years ago, a presence he maintains on major festivals like Uppsala in Sweden and Gully Sound in France.

(Photo courtesy of Friendly Fire Music)

Demons Among Us