WATCH THIS: Badda General x ZJ Liquid x Stylo G x Shatta Wale “The Barrel” Remix Official Music Video PREMIERE

From Jamaica to America, London to Ghana

Badda and ZJ Liquid are taking their barrel movement to a worldwide level. “A barrel is a traditional thing that keeps connections with people overseas,” ZJ Liquid explained to Reshma B in her latest Murda She Wrote column for Tidal. “You can put a lot into a barrel. When you get a barrel, you good for six months. You don’t need to buy anything — you got rice, ketchup, beans, peas, syrup, soap, clothes. It’s very helpful to families, and people can share with more than just their immediate relatives. Sometimes people don’t even have food, and you can give them something out of a barrel so they can cook dinner.” Ever since the release of “Barrel” this past February, Badda General and ZJ Liquid’s conversational collab has taken on a life of its own—being reposted all over social media and buzzing in the streets of Jamaica. “It just become a thing,” said Liquid. “Everywhere I go people are like, ‘Yo Liquid, what can I get out of the barrel?’” The song’s popularity prompted other artists to call in hopes of jumping on a remix. “A lot of people reached out,” said Badda. “But in my brain it didn’t make sense for an artist to send a barrel from Jamaica to Jamaica.” When U.K. dancehall star Stylo G called to say he loved the song, Badda jumped at the chance to collab — especially since some listeners have pointed out certain similarities in their vocal tone and lyrical flow. “Stylo is a great artist,” said Badda, who resisted “outside forces” who tried to draw them into a clash. “For someone to compare me and Stylo, that is not a minus, that is definitely a plus. I am ego-free,” he added. “I am just here to make music and put smiles on people’s face. We just unite and kill the noise.” Gold Up, the song’s producer, had a link to Ghanaian dancehall star Shatta Wale, who also jumped on the remix, adding some African flavor to the musical barrel. “I have actually never met none of them in real life,” Badda admitted, “but music is a thing that connects all of us together.” Video After The Jump…

The creative chemistry between Liquid and Badda General is no accident. The rising dancehall stars have been friends for more than 20 years, making their names in Montego Bay when Liquid was known as Lippo and Badda went by Froggy. Both started out as selectors, but today they’re renowned for their skills on the microphone. Although Badda now lives in Florida and Liquid is based in Kingston, they keep in touch by phone, and one of their regular conversations inspired the hit song “Barrel.” While chatting about the excitement whenever someone in “foreign” sends a barrel back home to Jamaica. In the midst of their laughing and reminiscing, Badda and Liquid realized that they were onto something. “Yo, we need to do a barrel song,” Liquid recalled telling Badda. “All the stuff we were saying we just automatically transfer into the lyrics.” They recorded the song in the form of a phone conversation, highlighting the spontaneous creativity of Jamaican street slang.

Badda and Liquid are now working on an album titled Dancehall Poetry. “The feedback is way overwhelming,” says Badda. “I can’t wait for everyone to hear what me and Liquid are working on next.” He says they’ve recently completed a song featuring Miss Kitty, who can certainly hold up her end of the coversation. “We are talking about real things,” says Badda. “It’s dancehall reality with humor. Not just fluff stuff.”

Stream “The Barrell (Remix)” on Tidal

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