Mature Mondays, AJ Brown celebrate tonight

Mature Mondays, the weekly event that is geared towards ‘big people’ and singer AJ Brown have partnered for tonight’s staging, which will be a showcase of the celebration of the event’s 16th season renewal and the launch of AJ Brown’s newest album, Shots of Love.

Brown is upbeat that the vibe and appeal of Mature Monday, coupled with the day being celebrated as Independence Day, will be the ideal setting to unveil the album. His first solo album since Voice of Love (2007), the St James-born vocalist, who first came to prominence in the late 1970s on the north coast hotel circuit, is thrilled to unveil the 16-track project.

“We have released three of the songs, Living in The Now, You Used to Believe, and Jah Will Always Be Around, and we worked with some of the best producers and musicians in the business,” said Brown, who has been lead singer for Third World band since 2014.

Artistes Hezron and Tamara B are scheduled to perform at the album launch with music from DJ Snow, founder of Mature Mondays, DJ Smurf, DJ Candy out of New York, and Billy Slaughter.

“Mature Mondays is for those people who want to bask in memories of their youth, when music was strong on melodies and they could dance the night away,” shared DJ Snow.

Recently, it moved to a new location, 52 Dumbarton Road in Kingston, the headquarters of the Rebel T sound system, but the veteran selector stressed that irrespective of the venue, there is no change in concept.

“We wanted to start something for big people to enjoy themselves. Now, it’s one of the biggest thing on a Monday night,” DJ Snow declared.

THROUGH THE ERAS

He spins most of the hit songs on his Klassique Klymaxx sound system, and patrons are taken back to the ska and rocksteady eras of the 1960s, then to the 1970s when roots-reggae from labels like Channel One reigned. Also from that decade are uptempo disco tracks and ‘rent-a-tile’ soul music.

By policy, the ‘90s are the event’s last stop, although selectors can throw in a few songs from the 2000s once it’s not derogatory. Another unique aspect of Mature Mondays is the showing of a video for each song played throughout the evening.

Born in Hannah Town, west Kingston, DJ Snow moved to the Portmore community of Edgewater in his youth. His first big gig as a selector was with the legendary Klassique Disco at the weekly Rae Town dance in central Kingston.

After leaving Rae Town, he started Klassique Klymaxx, which played mainly in Portmore. DJ Snow launched Mature Mondays shortly after returning to Jamaica from the United States, where he lived for more than 20 years.