Taj Weekes and Adowa Hope and Doubt

(AlphaPocket Records/Jatta Entertainment; Tuesday, August 16, 2005)[/b] New York, NY—Reggae recording artist Taj Weekes and Adowa will release their debut album, Hope and Doubt, on AlphaPocket Records on Tuesday, August 16, 2005. Produced by Weekes, engineered by Joe Blaney (Lauren Hill, The Clash, Prince) and mastered by Alan Silverman (Norah Jones, The Kinks Chaka Khan), Hope and Doubt is an album of finely-crafted classic roots reggae, with something to say.

With Hope and Doubt, New York-based Weekes takes listeners back to the Caribbean of his childhood and here, against an island-beat backdrop, he tells his autobiographical tales, both tragic and hopeful. On “MPLA,” Weekes offers a poignant goodbye to his activist older brother, nicknamed MPLA for being famously vocal about the Angolan liberation movement, who was mysteriously killed after he discovered Rastafari. Yet the album never disintegrates into a mere chronicle of the hard-knock life. The big horns on the upbeat “Sad” declare war on apathy, offering a “brighter song” in place of “another day another shrug/down in the ghetto.” The danceable “Scream Out Mellow” is a passive resistance anthem in disguise, while “Mysterious” is a song of faith and hope. Weekes’s songs of struggle combine with his pop craftsmanship to bring reggae back to its roots: music about the people, for the people. Hope and Doubt is an attention-grabbing debut by an artist who’s sure to offer his people hope for years to come. Web site MEDIA CONTACT: Eva Dilmanian 646-654-9324