Showing his “Tru Colors” in a 13-track album released January 21, 2014 is Wayne Marshall who proves his versatility in the variety of songs on the compilation. Riding on the popularity of singles like Stupid Money and I Know, the album was indeed greatly anticipated and doesn’t disappoint one bit. In fact the album serves to vividly remind fans of Marshall’s melodious voice, his profound dexterity in deejaying, rapping and his poetic class.
The introductory track, It’s On Now, deeply connects to listeners as he explains the eclectic nature of his music and how much he has evolved in the business. Admittedly there could have been a misperception about the title track, Tru Colors- some may have thought it would’ve dealt with more personal revelation: self-discovery and the realization of potential. But no, it related to betrayal and the exposure of a backstabber and while there was less excitement poetically, the track addressed a real situation that never loses relevance.
Soothing vocals and amusing puns were loaded in the tracks. A mix of party feel-good music – songs such as Go Hard – fused well with contemplative and conscious lyrics such as On The Corner and Nah Give Up. The musical fusion on Long Time was excellent – a nice jazz rhythm seamlessly mixed with a groovy dance beat, brings to the fore the potential of this track to cross many cultural and other borders. Marshall agrees, “All demographics can appreciate it, we didn’t limit ourselves to one sound; it is something that all Dancehall, Reggae and Hip Hop fans will love.”
As a prelude to his European tour, the album is a testament to Marshall’s maturity and growth as an artiste.
Drawing also on his industry colleagues, the release benefits from creditable collaborations with noted recording artistes such as “singy singy”Tarrus Riley on the (live music acoustics) track Nah Give Up; Stupid Money with Assassin – which includes debuts from Marshall’s sons Giomar and Alex, on the cute chorus. Though the track, Be On The Alert was a bit awkward – Bounty Killer’s opening rant had little significance to the song’s message- the resounding theme of the album is the positive. Quite surprisingly, Capleton’s feature on the track Strike Dem, showed a pleasingly different side to the ‘Fire Man’ and made this one of the most brilliant recordings on the album. The positive nature of this track – which kept its Dancehall relevance- shows the cohesive mastery of executive producer, Damian Marley in tandem with Ghetto Youths International Productions.
Though it took two-and-a-half years to produce his second album (Marshall Law was released in 2003 by VP Records), Marshall is proud and believes he is fulfilling his role in music. “We, the younger generation, have a role to play in music. This album will take me to a brand new level of respect musically in the game…I am going to be one step closer to living up to the high standard set by our forefathers in music,” he remarked.