Kashief Lindo’s new EP ‘JUSTICE’ (A Conscious Journey) Sparks Conversations on Social Inequities

by Howard Campbell

SOUTH FLORIDA – It has always been a tough go for people of color in the United States. For many, that imbalance has become more pronounced since Donald Trump became president in 2017.

Singer Kashief Lindo and his father, producer Willie Lindo, are wary of those challenges. Most of the songs on Kashief’s EP, Justice: A Conscious Journey, are inspired by current affairs.

Released in December by the elder Lindo’s Heavy Beat Records, it spawned the hit song Till Them Bun Down di House which addresses the indifferent treatment blacks in the US face from law enforcement.

“All the songs are a reflection of the time we are living in. From arrival till now has always been a challenging time regardless.

This is the reason the EP was made, to help create awareness and show the urgency of addressing the situation,” said Kashief.

“From arrival” refers to Africans who were captured by Europeans, and taken to the New World in the 17th century where they were sold as slaves. Thousands of them were brought to the British-owned American colonies which became the United States in 1776.

According to Kashief, the mood of Justice: A Conscious Journey is summed-up in a line from I Want Justice, one of its songs.

“While others with less atrocities got reparation, black people got incarceration.”

Songs like Till Them Bun Down di House, I Want Justice and Just Another Question, are a departure from the lovers rock numbers Kashief has recorded since he kicked off his career almost 30 years ago.

Most of those ballads, like No Can Do and First Cut, were produced by his father, a respected session guitarist at Federal Records in Jamaica, who became a top producer in the US.

Willie Lindo has produced songs like Inseparable by Dennis Brown, I Wanna Wake up With You by Boris Gardiner and What One Dance Can Do, a monster hit for Beres Hammond.

The social message of Justice: A Conscious Journey has resonated with fans in South Florida and the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut). Naturally, Kashief Lindo is pleased, especially that people are seeing a different side to his artistry.

It’s good to know that it is being recognized because I’ve always done reality songs on my albums and singles.

But what is more gratifying is to know that the message is being received in this manner,” he said.