by Howard Campbell
[CHICAGO] – When Denzel Martin tunes into local news in his hometown Chicago or his native Jamaica, much of the stories are crime-related. Disturbed by this trend, the singer wrote and recorded the song War, which was released in October.
Martin, a graphic designer, has lived in Chicago for almost 30 years. He says the city’s downtown area especially, is a hotbed of criminal activity. It is no different in Jamaica where over 1,000 homicides have been recorded in 2021.
The troubling scenario inspired Martin to compose War.
“Because of all the stuff going on. The shootings, the crime, just so much chaos going on in my city, all over the country…in Jamaica. It hurts,” he said.
Martin was born in Kingston, but spent most of his youth in Portland, a rural parish in eastern Jamaica. He returned to Kingston in his late teens and kicked off his recording career in the late 1980s at the Marley-owned Tuff Gong studios working with Nelson Miller, drummer of Burning Spear’s band.
War is Martin’s latest effort since he returned to recording four years ago. Though he has done some songs since settling in Chicago, he became a graphic designer after graduating from Chicago College with a degree in fine arts.
Love Song marked his comeback, followed by a cover of Lionel Richie’s Hello, and Sorry.
Chicago is one of the most violent major cities in the United States. At the end of August, police statistics there showed 524 murders in the Windy City, many of them taking place in black communities.
