Despite uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, roots singer Micah Shemaiah plans to release his fifth album, Bush Tea , on May 17.

Like his previous albums, it will be released solely on vinyl, a format he prefers. Shemaiah’s last collection of songs, Roots I Vision, came out in 2018.

He said there is no official distributor as yet for Bush Tea, which has another serving of socially-conscious songs.

“My message is always the same, though I have grown somewhat musically; this album is really a reflection of where I started this trod, basically playing my guitar and writing songs. So, all the songs on the Bush Tea album are built from scratch, from a guitar progression to a full sound,” he explained.

For most of Bush Tea, Shemaiah worked with members of his Dreadites band, as well as veteran guitarists Earl “Chinna” Smith and Dalton Browne, keyboardist Franklyn “Bubbler” Waul and drummer Wilburn “Squiddly” Cole.

Shemaiah began recording in 2001, long before most of the artistes in the much-touted roots-reggae revival. His albums have yielded songs like Dread at The Control and Reggae Rockit which have earned him a base in Europe.

Unlike neo-roots acts like Kabaka Pyramid or Protoje, most of Micah Shemaiah’s songs are unknown in Jamaica. Getting a hit, he stressed, has never been a big concern.

“I don’t think about making hit songs at all, I don’t think about a quality album until I have the inspiration for the songs then I try to make it sonically beautiful and also to make it stand up to the standard out there,” he said.

Shemaiah was born Micah Shemaiah Abrahams, and though he excelled at football while attending Excelsior High School and Jamaica College, music was always big in his home as his parents were members of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

Prior to Roots I Vision, his albums were Rastaman Meditation, Shalalak, and Original Dread.