‘This album is one that I wanted to make originally’

After hearing the tracks on Spragga Benz’s Endeavors Reloaded album at the launch last Wednesday, one question needed to be answered: Has it been submitted for a Grammy? The simple answer that Spragga served up, with a smile, was “No, it’s not eligible”.

Endeavors Reloaded is the album that Spragga Benz brings to life by deliberately choosing a talented and diverse set of artistes whose voices would best complement the songs and the soul of the project. It is a labour of love, and as Sizzla told The Sunday Gleaner, “ Endeavors Reloaded is a beautiful album”.

To label it “collab-heavy” is an understatement, but that actually turns out to be a positive. Spragga’s collaborators include Echo Minott, JC Lodge, Sizzla, Sean Paul, Stonebwoy, Bugle, Agent Sasco, Tarrus Riley, I-Wayne, G Dep, Bittah Sosicka, Briggy Benz, Ashley Skerritt, and late reggae crooner Cocoa Tea on the single That Drone.

As the name suggests, it is not an entirely new album. Reloaded is the expanded edition of his 2025 album Endeavors and special parts of the Reloaded project are the interesting stories about Spragga Benz’s search for the artistes. For instance, he couldn’t find a number for I-Wayne; when he finally got to Tarrus Riley, it was 10 o’clock, and Tarrus had a flight to catch at 12; he launched a search for Echo Minott, discovered that the veteran entertainer was living in France, had no address for him, and then he and Spragga just happened to “buck up pon a flight”. That was no coincidence; it was fate. And, when he originally reached out to Bugle, the artiste “did deh pon a move”.

Spragga released Endeavors, but he held firm to his dream.

“This album is one that I wanted to make originally, but time and schedule didn’t permit it,” he said. “And I couldn’t get some of the artistes who mi did really want. So, after we release the original, we seh we woulda still like to complete it like how we did vision it.”

Once he started focusing on it again, the Reloaded project took about six months to complete, which may sound like a short time. But “short” is relative when it comes to an artiste of Spragga Benz’s calibre.

Actually, the 2025 Endeavors was completed in an incredibly short time.

“ Endeavors took us about three or four days to complete,” Spragga Benz shared with The Sunday Gleaner, as he gave a snippet of the story leading up to the intense studio session.

“We had a concert at UBS Arena, and some little discrepancies go on, and we never get fi perform, and so mi leave out of the venue angry and go check mi bredren at the studio,” Spragga Benz said, laughing out loud.

“We end up staying at the studio for the weekend … from Saturday to about the Tuesday … and did about 40 songs. We then had to choose about 13 … but we didn’t get the collaborations that we wanted … people deh pon tour and people nuh inna the mood fi voice right now. But we put out the album anyway,” he said.

Upon its release in August 2025, Endeavors tasted success, peaking at #1 on the iTunes Reggae Albums Chart, and the opening track, Mountain, made its presence felt on the international iTunes charts.

This Reloaded version sees Echo Minott collaborating on Mountain and taking the song to higher heights.

“The mountain is the challenge, and it is about overcoming the challenges in life,” he shared with the audience at the launch. And, like the song, it was really a challenge to find Echo Minott.

“We just couldn’t find Echo fi di song .... and then mi buck him up on a flight. Echo Minott is an artiste who deh bout from before me even think ‘bout getting into music. Echo Minott a one of the innovators … listening to him the first time I was hearing dem tings deh inna dancehall,” Spragga said, in tribute to the foundation dancehall artiste.

“Him sing so many songs that is a landmark inna dancehall that people probably not even realise. I am very pleased with this project,” Spragga Benz told The Sunday Gleaner, as he explained in detail why Endeavors Reloaded is not eligible for a Grammy.

“The original Endeavors was released last year. So, this album not new tracks. … it’s just additions to the existing album,” he said.

“But,” he said, “we have lots more coming. Look out for my new project; it’s called Spragga Benz: From ‘93. I know fans are going to love it. And remember to buy Endeavors Reloaded.”

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com