With their debut album, Reggae Is Healing, submitted for Grammy consideration, Jah Rockaz are preparing a second album, international touring dates and a business model designed to build an audience beyond streaming platforms.
Jamaican drummer and Jah Rockaz bandleader O’Brian Williams believes reggae has become too dependent on recorded productions and digital visibility, leaving less room for the live musicianship that helped establish the genre internationally.
“Right off the bat, bringing back the bands,” Williams told World Music Views, explaining the thinking behind the group’s debut album, Reggae Is Healing.
“I believe there’s room for bringing back live music and bands in reggae music, and we need to preserve musicianship while embracing modern production and technology. And that’s what Jah Rockaz want to do, to help bridge those two worlds.”
The group is positioning itself between traditional roots reggae and contemporary pop and rock, although Williams says its musical direction should not be mistaken for a departure from reggae.
“When we speak of pop and the pop culture, we’re not even talking about a genre, per se. It’s more of a lifestyle, appealing to that lifestyle, a pop lifestyle. But still with reggae at the forefront.”
“We’re trying to create that culture and community where we’re representing reggae, pop and rock,” he said.
The approach reflects a broader ambition to change how Jah Rockaz is presented and marketed internationally without abandoning its roots.
“It’s just the evolution of where Jah Rockaz is going,” Williams said.
The band’s debut album, Reggae Is Healing, has been submitted for consideration in the Best Reggae Album category at the Grammy Awards. Williams said the submission was handled by the band’s distributor, ONErpm, while he and his team pursued the Recording Academy’s membership application process.
For Williams, the project carries significance beyond industry recognition.
“Reggae Is Healing is more than an album, to be honest with you. It’s a testimony of how music helped me navigate some of the most challenging moments of my life.”
He added: “Me submitting to the Grammy consideration is meaningful because this project was built on purpose, not just for entertainment.”
The album has also opened new commercial opportunities. Williams said Jah Rockaz has attracted interest from international media and received approaches concerning performances in Japan, Australia and Europe.
Among those discussions is Germany’s Reggae Jam festival, which he hopes will provide an entry point for a wider European tour in 2027.
“Reggae Jam called me already for next year, so the goal is to use that as an anchor to get into Europe and pitch for more festivals and club shows for 2027.”
He described the album’s reception as “steady progress,” pointing to international exposure and touring opportunities as some of its most tangible results so far.
Williams also intends to attend the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, regardless of whether the album secures a nomination.
“It’s a good time to be in that space and in those rooms because I want people who are voters and stuff like that to know who Jah Rockaz is,” he said.
“We’re still waving the banner for reggae music and still preserving the roots and the culture and the movement and the lifestyle of reggae music.”
Beyond the awards campaign, Jah Rockaz has released a new single, A Little More Time, featuring J. Sommer, who appeared as a chef in the Bob Marley biopic One Love and is also a singer and musician.
“A Little More Time represents the evolution of Jah Rockaz, where we’re blending reggae, pop and live instrumentation to create music that connects across cultures,” Williams said.
The independently produced single retains the band’s emphasis on live instruments.
“Everything is done independently by us,” he said. “Live music, live instrumentation.”
The song is intended for the band’s next album, Evolution of Legacy, which Williams expects to release in summer 2027.
But Jah Rockaz’s plans extend beyond recording and touring. Williams is developing a podcast and a wider community platform designed to establish a direct relationship between the band and its audience.
“We kind of want to step away from the narrative of doing music for just attention, and having our own community that we’re building in a global tribe,” he said.
The podcast will form part of that strategy, providing a platform for the band’s audience as it develops what Williams describes as a Jah Rockaz ecosystem.
His experience working with established artists as a producer and touring musician, he said, exposed a recurring weakness in the industry’s approach to audience development.
“I’ve worked with some of the biggest names in music you can think of, producing, touring, all that stuff,” he said.
“What I realise is that the majority of these artists and musicians, and I’m not bashing them, but they don’t have a system, a coherent system to establish their music.”
Williams believes dependence on short-term exposure has left many artists vulnerable to fluctuations in online attention.
“Most of the times they’re living off rented attention or an algorithmic boost. When you have an ecosystem, you predict results.”
Developing such a system has become a priority after years of trying to establish a sustainable career.
“That was the missing puzzle for me, why I used to fail and not be able to get that successful career that I’ve always wanted.”
Williams intends to explore those experiences in Reggae Is Healing, a book scheduled for publication in February 2027, around the time of the Grammy Awards.
“Reggae is healing. That album also helped me and moulded me to write a book,” he said.
The book, podcast, new recordings and touring plans are intended to work together, giving Jah Rockaz greater control over its audience relationships and long-term development.
For Williams, the Grammy submission is one part of that process rather than the ultimate objective.
“Reggae has always been a global music, and reggae even represents the spirit,” he said. “We stay rooted in the authenticity of reggae while allowing the music to evolve.”
“The album brings together live musicianship, a different vocal expression and a message that transcends the border.”
The immediate challenge will be converting the attention surrounding Reggae Is Healing into sustained international touring and an audience willing to follow Jah Rockaz beyond individual releases.
Williams remains focused on the musicianship at the centre of the project.
“We want people to know that roots rock reggae music is alive, and live musicianship is still alive, and we’re still waving the banner for reggae music.”
