Kusumitha Vasanth
“Dancehall President” Skarra Mucci recently released his album Perfect Timing. The thirteen-track album hosts an array of guest artists and addresses pressing issues like the challenges faced by the African diaspora, compulsive buying, mind control, AI and more.
Perfect Timing is Skarra Mucci’s first “real release” in five years
As described by the reggae artist himself, “It’s been five years that I didn’t do a real Skarra Mucci release.” Perfect Timing is his ninth studio album released as a joint venture with X-Ray Production and Undisputed Records.
Skarra Mucci is known to have a rich vocal palate that allows him to juggle between reggae, dancehall riddims, and hip-hop beats. He also occasionally experiments with gospel and soul, as seen in the album with the surprising Gospel interlude ‘Free Your Soul.’
Why it’s the Perfect Timing
In an interview with Reggaeville, Skarra Mucci opened up about why he named the album Perfect Timing. He said that it was the perfect time for the world to wake up to reality and stop the “influencer kind of modern style.” “It is a time for people to acknowledge themselves, respect each other and themselves too, knowing that everyone is just as valuable as yourself.”
The Jamaican artist touches on various societal issues prevailing in the world. He urges people not be a slave for money and compulsively buy things they don’t need.
Perfect Timing is reggae music in its truest sense
Reggae music has always been known for its socio-political topics like Black Nationalism, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, anti-capitalism, etc. Perfect Timing. is no different. Skarra Mucci believes that it is time for revolution for everyone to just understand others and move away from the egoistic, materialistic world.
Most of the songs in the album, like in Stephan Marley’s Old Soul, were created during the pandemic. It has songs that the artist wanted people to hear since 2019/20. This proves that the pandemic era has become an inspiration while also providing creative breakthroughs for all artists.
Johnny Osbourne, Black Bandana, and others join in
Known for his collaborations with famous artists for his songs, Perfect Timing is no different. Skarra Mucci teamed up with a bunch of artists for songs in the album. ‘Who Fool Dem,’ a song from the Rastafarian point of view which saw Derrick Sound from Geneva while popular Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer Johnny Osbourne joined in ‘What A La La.’ Osbourne’s melodic singing and the classic ragamuffin delivery come together in this epic remake of the 1990 original.
The album also has many other collaborations that elevate the whole experience of the album.
‘Street Dance’ and ‘Here I Come’
‘Street Dance,’ a song from the album sees Skarra Mucci riding L’Entourloop’s productions and combines hip-hop, road movie soundtrack, and reggae skanks. It is accompanied by a music video filmed in Marseille. Skarra Mucci can be seen singing and dancing alongside francophone singer Yannis Odia.
‘Here I Come,’ the opener of the album is a beautiful song that opens with a vocal sample of Caleb Sweetback’s 1975 vinyl release and a short speech by Skarra Mucci. It is a conversation about obstacles one has to overcome to reach Zion, the “holy place” or “kingdom of heaven.”
It is a very sweet song that reminds us to live in the moment and go with the flow to experience the ‘perfect timing.’
Skarra Mucci will be touring promoting ‘Perfect Timing’ starting from the seventh of October accompanied by French band Dub Akom.
