Hopeton Lindo spreads holiday cheer with ‘Feel It Christmas’
One of contemporary reggae’s prolific composers, Hopeton Lindo’s songs cover hardcore dancehall to roots-reggae and lovers rock. Three years ago, he diversified his catalogue even further by toasting the jolliest time of the year.
He released Feel It Christmas, a five-song EP that contains singles by him, Peter G, Novel-T, Empress Uneek and Anthony Redrose. Lindo came up with the idea for a Yuletide project during a dark period.
“It was 2020 COVID, so my concept was to spread some good cheer through music. I never did any Christmas song productions before but felt the need to do this one even though we mostly worked remotely due to the protocol then,” he said.
The veteran singer performs three songs on Feel It Christmas. He is solo on The Season while collaborating with Peter G on My Wish For Christmas, and Anthony Redrose on A Different Christmas.
Novel-T and Empress Uneek cover two popular standards — I’ll be Home For Christmas and Someday at Christmas, respectively.
Feel It Christmas was re-released in November by Lindo’s Irie Pen Records. The longtime South Florida resident, who hails from Kencot in Kingston, enjoyed Christmas in his youth.
“I have many pleasant memories of celebrating the season in Jamaica and one of my favourites as a child was the excitement of going downtown to Christmas Market with my parents and siblings,” he said.
Howard Campbell