Legends of Jamaica, the studio comedy album by Slashe, was released on April 20, 2020, through World Music Views Records. The 15-track project, plus one bonus track, delivers a humorous yet honest take on life in Jamaica, blending sharp political satire with everyday cultural observations.
Originally released in 2013 under the title Breadfruit Tree, the album marked Slashe’s (then known as Iceman) foray into audio comedy, showcasing his knack for impersonations of Jamaican public figures, including mayors and former prime ministers. The project was written by Iceman, real name Donald Anderson himself and produced by Donovan Watkis, Global Head of Music at World Music Views.
“The album is a timely political satire that sets out to make the listener laugh,” Iceman told The Jamaica Gleaner in 2013. “The listener is guaranteed to have a much better day after listening because there’s a comfortable level of honesty at the core of all the tracks.”
Legends of Jamaica was recorded over six months at recorded at Rural Area Productions in Clarendon with Kevin “Rural” White as engineer and Watkis as producer. Breadfruit Tree was made without a live audience, musicians, or backup singers. “Is not a music experience. Is a comedic experience, so is you, the engineer and the resource person at the time,” Slashe says.
It’s rooted in studio-quality production while retaining the rawness of live Jamaican humor. The album is accompanied by an unreleased 40-minute animated feature.
Creating humor without visual cues was a challenge Slashe welcomed. “The visual assists the audience in laughing… So when you just have the voice now, your voice has to be so animated, so engaging, so ‘storytellingesque’ that it draws in the audience,” he says. “It almost drape up them imagination… and you are able to evoke laughter from how you tell the story from your perspective.”
“It is a challenge, but it is a welcome challenge. It is something that I always aspired to do,” he adds. “It is a daily practice to make people laugh. Comedy is not something that you can go to a college or university to learn. Is your delivery, is your perspective, is your take on life situations.”
Anderson did pursue formal training at Edna Manley College’s School of Drama between 1992–1995. “We did acting, voice and speech, directing… a lot of subjects that allow you to harness your skills on a technical and a performance level,” he says.
From childhood, Iceman honed his impersonation skills. “From I was a kid, I have been impersonating people, impersonating sounds,” he shares. “Me used to try sing like Michael Jackson in We Are The World.” He recalls doing a solid MJ impression, and names Kenny Loggins, Stevie Wonder, and Willie Nelson as other successful imitations. “I coulda capture the Cyndi Lauper voice, but I never rehearse the falsetto that much.”
On Legends Of Jamaica, Anderson gives voice to several public figures, including former Prime Ministers P.J. Patterson (“Perci Speech”) and Edward Seaga (“Eddi Rant”), and former Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie (“The Macking Mayor”). He also tackles everyday scenarios like government bureaucracy in “Jamaican Fire Man,” and mimics iconic Jamaican ads in “Remembering.” Religious life is covered in “Church Encounters” and “Rasta Reasoning,” and there’s relationship comedy in “Ladies Man Gone Wrong.”
“A lot of comedians’ material is life-based, either from what they see or what they go through,” he says. “My comedy material is about me growing up, my personal experiences, my school experiences, my church experiences… Those impersonations… are from years of observation, years of listening to them when my mother force me to watch the news when election a gwaan and there is nothing else to watch on TV because is just one TV station and you no have no video a you house.”
Despite years of practicing voices, he admits, “I never thought I would be doing a full comedy album. I always thought that I would put out a music album… a film… a TV show before I put out a comedy album. So if you did tell me 10 years ago that this was going to happen, I would probably say that you are joking or you are lying.”
“So to see this come to fruition is one of my dreams come true,” he says.
Despite its creative depth, the album received little promotion at the time due to Slashe’s transition from comedian to recording artist. Still, Legends of Jamaica remains a hidden gem—a comedic time capsule that reflects the wit and spirit of Jamaican culture through the lens of satire.
Listen on Spotify below:
