YAADCORE is On ‘Rasta Time’
Four years after the release of his revelatory 2022 debut album, Reggaeland, Jamaican recording artist Yaadcore returns today with Rasta Time, the new EP from Mixto Records and his own 12 Yaad Records. The project, out now on all digital streaming platforms, features seven new tracks, plus acoustic and dub versions of the EP’s title track and lead single.
A limited-edition vinyl release of Rasta Time is also available for pre-order HERE.
Those plugged into Jamaica’s contemporary reggae and dub scene already know the name Yaadcore. After gaining prominence as the essential selector (DJ) of the 2010s-era reggae revival movement headlined by acts like Protoje and Chronixx, the now full-time vocalist has emerged into a powerful and influential artist in his own right, blending traditional roots reggae with contemporary dub and hip-hop influences.
Rasta Time references both Yaadcore’s own spiritual awakening and the spiritual and cultural legacy of the Rastafarian Messiah and former Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie. Songs like “Look What I’ve Become” and “Mari Matrimony” celebrate the benefits of clean living and mindful marijuana intake, while the EP’s title track and lead single (Watch the “Rasta Time” video HERE) highlights Rastafari’s influence on modern wellness culture, decades before medical marijuana and plant-based diets became mainstream.
Yaadcore elaborated on the meaning behind Rasta Time in a recent interview with Angela Yee, which aired this week on New York’s Power 105.1 FM, as well as IHeartRadio stations nationwide:
“Rastafari people have been saying these things [about the benefits of plant-based diets and marijuana use] for a long time. So when I say ‘Rasta Time,’ I’m saying it’s our time now to benefit off what we’ve been showing the world. Now we see the system monetize, popularize and claim what we have been envisioning, and we don’t really get the benefits financially or even certain respect and opportunities. For instance, all Rasta men, if they want a marijuana license to plant herb, should get that with ease. They make it difficult for certain people to benefit off of what we’ve been advocating for, and made ‘cool.’ So ‘Rasta Time’ is telling people we have come to claim what is ours.”