As a founder of the global party Dubwise Jamaica, creator of the popular Reggae Aroma mixtape series and the first person to play leading lights Chronixx and Protoje over the Jamaican airwaves, Yaadcore is one of the most prominent and influential DJs working in reggae today. Having cemented his place as one of the genre’s pivotal tastemakers, this year marks a new direction for Yaadcore as he gets set to issue his first original recordings.

Raised in Mandeville, Jamaica, Yaadcore learned the art of “playing sound” from his father, a selector with local reggae sound system, Love People International. First gravitating to dancehall, he became disillusioned with that genre’s explicit content. He soon found his calling within the seeds of what would come to be known as the “reggae revival” — a close-knit group of young reggae singers, deejays and musicians who were blending the upful, cultural vibes of classic roots reggae with a modern approach to music-making and branding.

In 2013, Yaadcore joined with Protoje and Jason Panton to create the earliest incarnation of Dubwise at the Kingston venue, White Bones. At this time, he also became the tour DJ for Protoje, providing him an opportunity to share the new vibrations emanating from Jamaica in countries around the world. Dubwise itself went international in 2015, when Yaadcore toured Europe and Africa dubbing it a Dubwise Jamaica Tour, later expanding to Miami for a weekly series at Coyo Taco in that city’s fashionable Wynwood area. It has since “popped up” in over a dozen countries including Malta, Ethiopia and Kenya, with regular events kept in New York City,  Atlanta, LA and Port-of-Spain, Trinidad — making Dubwise the first truly global reggae party. The event has introduced a new generation of listeners to foundational reggae jams, while hosting guest sets from the likes of living legends David Rodigan, Danny Dread and King Jammy.

Those unable to make Dubwise sessions can keep up to date with Yaadcore through his Reggae Aroma mixes. The selector releases a new installment through his Soundcloud annually. In 2016, he became the first and, to this date only, reggae DJ to spin live at the annual Afropunk Festival in Brooklyn.

“No Fenke Fenke,” out on all digital retailers June 8, is the first original production from Yaadcore, and the second release on Delicious Vinyl Island, the new Caribbean music label from L.A.’s legendary Delicious Vinyl. A joint release with Yaadcore’s own 12 Yaad label, the tune features Ghetto Youths recording artist Kabaka Pyramid and Shanique Marie (of the Equiknoxx Music camp) trading lyrics over a modern twist on classic reggae sounds. Already a hero of Jamaica’s reggae revival, Yaadcore adds another dimension to his repertoire with a full slate of productions and releases in 2018.