Today we introduce you to the new album from renowned Jamaican-American artist Garrison Hawk (a.k.a. Hawkman). Written and recorded in his home town of New York City, he’s returned with a lock-stock-and-barrel new offering – ‘The Adrenaline’ LP, signifying a return to the artist’s roots with a fantastic dancehall and reggae collection after several decades of performing in the sphere of alternative rock, pop and progressive rock.
With this new album, we find hardcore Jamaican dancehall, bringing you back to the root of dancehall while giving you an adrenaline rush. Each of the 13 tracks have a stealth intensity that speaks for itself – songs with a feel and meaning that will take you on an imaginary trip. Renowned dancehall deejay (and Janet Jackson collaborator) Beenie Man also makes a special appearance on the track ‘Gal Have Wants’.
Garrison Hawk is well known for his work on Tricky’s 2001 album ‘Blowback’, the UK artist having told Billboard magazine “Hawk is my partner, musically”. Garrison Hawk also gained wide recognition for ‘Gangsta Roll’, which nudged him on to the world stage, reached #9 on the HYPE TV top 20 chart, and received radio airplay around the world. Hawk’s charting club remix of ‘Sweet Music’ is also notable, having been leaked to radio and subsequently climbing to #11 on the UK pop charts.
“By doing work in different genres of music, I now have a bigger appreciation for loving my roots, which is dancehall and reggae, the real stuff like Shabba Ranks, Ninjaman, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Capleton. I just felt I needed to go back to my authentic roots and that return to the roots is the central theme for my new album,” says Garrison Hawk.
Born in Mandeville, Jamaica, Hawk was a teenager when his family relocated to the Bronx, New York. There, he cultivated a distinctive singing and rapping style, and began performing with local sound systems. By the time he was 17, he was touring the U.S. East Coast with key reggae stars, eventually sharing the stage with Shabba Ranks and Super Cat in the late ’90s.
After asserting his presence with a vengeance to those with an ear for hip-hop’s jagged, ragga-laced edges, Hawk landed an ill-fated deal with Warner Brothers, with inner label politics seeing his album shelved. This has not stopped his growth, having released his previous ‘Survive’ album with legendary reggae musicians Sly & Robbie (produced by bass legend Bill Laswell and released via NYC label M.O.D. Records), in addition to collaborating with producers Roger Sanchez and Armand Van Helden, DJ Excel and Smoothe da Hustler, the Method Of Defiance collective, Teddy Afro, Gigi, King Jammy and dancehall legend Joe Lickshot, among others. His previous release is a testament to such collaboration
One of the brashest, most versatile and recognizable young voices to emerge from Jamaica in a generation, through his exciting but arduous journey, Hawk has honed a nuanced style that merges singing and rhyming into a soulful mix, radiating life here in the dancehall chants of ‘The Adrenaline’, which can be obtained at https://music.apple.com/ca/album/the-adrenaline/1544859977
CREDITS
All rights reserved to Ian Bromfield, Marathon Records
(Elaine Hawk music) ASCAP
Produced, produced and arranged by Garrison Hawk at Marathon Studio, except
‘Gal Have Wants’ produced and mixed by Bill Laswell and Garrison Hawk.
Mixed by S. Medz Reid at Beat Star and Wacky Studio, except Tracks “Good Girls Love Bad Guys’ and ‘Humanity’ mixed by Smokey; Track ‘Love in a Mi Heart’ mixed by J. Dingo, A.Hylton and S.Hylton.
Mastered by Castek Mastering
Artwork by Kayla Bromfield and Nevaris
Cover photo by Augustine Crawford
