Barrington Levy unleashes ‘Money is the Drug’

Reggae and dancehall icon, Barrington Levy, is releasing the first single, Money is the Drug, from his upcoming 20th album, Life. Love. Humanity.. Premiered during his June 2023 European tour, Levy’s sing-along performance of the new track at Glastonbury Festival and other tour stops, was well received.

“ Beggers on the sidewalks will cry for it, brothers on the streets, they’ll die for it … money is the drug … yeah yeah,” Levy sings on the track which he says “is for brothers and sisters all over the world who sometimes lose their way because of money … see it and know it for what it is. The Drug”.

As one of five Jamaican artistes included on Rolling Stones 200 Greatest Singers of All Time, at #119, Barrington Levy is no stranger to global accolades, having achieved a Guinness World Record with simultaneous #1 and #2 hits on the UK Charts in 1983 with Under Mi Sensi and Broader Than Broadway.

Driven by his passion for making good music, Barrington Levy has remained true to his core values and this latest project, filled with conscious lyrics, infectious melodies and distinctive ad libs, is in keeping with the high standards he has set throughout his exceptional musical journey.

With a 45-year music career that began in 1978 and is still going strong with annual tours, new releases, collaborations and catalogue samples, Barrington Levy remains a relevant creative force in contemporary music who has gifted the world with some of reggae and dancehall’s most timeless classics, including Here I Come, Living Dangerously and Too Experienced.

Levy lived in the UK 1980-1992, and there he recorded some of the biggest hits of his career, and finally started to make money from music with UK producer Jah Screw. In 1992, he signed a seven album-deal with US-based MCA Records which yielded only one album, Sly & Robbie produced Barrington. Creative differences with the label forced the artiste into a 21-year hiatus from the music industry.

Over the next few years, Levy recorded and released music independently on his Black Roses label, including the 1998 anthem Living Dangerously ft Bounty Killer as well as Bad Boy Anthem and On the Corner, collaborations with rapper Shyne that have become hip hop classics.

In 2015, he returned with the critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated Acousticalevy album, produced by himself and hit-maker Handel Tucker.

Money is the Drug will be available on all major digital platforms with the music video to follow.