Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff inks with Artemis for North America; New album 'Black Magic' due out August 24th

NEW YORK (Artemis Records) - Artemis Records has announced the signing of reggae legend Jimmy Cliff to an exclusive North American contract. Artemis Chairman/CEO Danny Goldberg commented "BLACK MAGIC is the best album Jimmy Cliff has done since THE HARDER THEY COME. It is an incredible honor for everyone at Artemis Records that he has chosen to bring it to our company and to sign with us".

On August 24th, Artemis Records will release Jimmy Cliff's new album, BLACK MAGIC. Produced by Dave Stewart, the album features appearances by Wyclef Jean, Annie Lennox, Sting, Jools Holland, Kool and The Gang, tennis player Yannick Noah, and one of the last ever recordings by the late Joe Strummer.

With over 20 albums to date, Grammy winner Jimmy Cliff has always been one of the brightest stars of Jamaica's thriving musical culture and was among the first to bring reggae to a worldwide audience. Born in St James, Jamaica, Cliff moved to Kingston as a teenager and had his first hits, "Hurricane Hattie" and "Dearest Beverley", with Lesley Kong in 1963.
Their working partnership continued until Kong's death. Together they produced some of the best-known tunes of the ska era, including "Miss Jamaica" and "King of Kings".

It was at the recording sessions for "Miss Jamaica" that Cliff met the young Bob Marley, whom Cliff helped record his first single "Judge Not". Over the course of the next decades the two went on to create modern reggae music. As Cliff points out, "Today's reggae music has gone through many formulations. Originally known as ska, it has evolved to "rock steady" to modern reggae, in its different forms".
Highlights of Cliff's stellar forty-year career include a starring role in fellow Jamaican Perry Henzel's film The Harder They Come, a 1985 Grammy for Best Reggae Recording for his album CLIFF HANGER and featured vocal work with Elton John on the enormously successful Disney movie The Lion King.