Entertainment

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Deejay Capleton will attempt to recapture his glory days with I-Ternal Fire, his latest album which will be released next week in the United States (US) by VP Records.

The 15-track set is Capleton's first album for the Queens, New York, label since 2004's Reign of Fire. Previous albums like Bun Friend, released in 2008, were largely self-produced and distributed in the US by Penitentiary Records.

I-Ternal Fire contains songs such as Call I, Long Way and 400 Years.

High-profile producers Clive Hunt, Shane Brown and Bobby 'Bobby Digital' Dixon worked on the album, which was scheduled to have its local launch last evening in St Andrew.

Though Reign Of Fire yielded a big hit in That Day Will Come, Capleton has been relatively quiet in the past five years.

Multiple cancellations

Recently, he was forced to cancel several concert dates in the United States after protests by gay-rights groups, who claimed that some of his songs incite violence against them.

Promoters in the US say the 43-year-old Capleton (real name Clifton Bailey) retains a strong fan base on the country's East Coast.

The St Mary-born Capleton was one of the rising names in dancehall during the early 1990s, with a succession of risqué hit songs that included Number One Pon The Look Good Chart, Alms House and Lotion Man.

His music took a more spiritual turn mid-decade when he was among several artistes who converted to Rastafari.

Tour and Wings Of The Morning, which defined his new image, were minor hits in the US and even earned him a stint with Russell Simmons' Def Jam Records.

Capleton has had a fruitful relationship with VP. In addition to Reign Of Fire, other albums for the company include 2000's More Fire which produced chart-climbers such as Jah Jah City and Hands Off.