Above: Eddie Murphy
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Reggae may have begun in Jamaica, but it’s now in almost every country in the world, including Zamunda: star actor and comedian Eddie Murphy has gotten into reggae.
The star of films like “Coming to America,” (in which he played the prince of the fictional country of ‘Zamunda’), “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Trading Places” has released a single called “Red Light” that features Snoop Lion. Lion, formerly known as Snoop Dogg, is another new entrant to the reggae genre.
The single was released via a new Twitter page recently set up for Murphy, and is part of a soon-to-be-released album called “9.” The song is done in the traditional reggae style, with Murphy singing and playing guitar.
It’s not yet clear whether the album will entirely feature reggae or music from different genres.
It’s the first major musical foray in nearly 20 years for Murphy, whose singing career is best known for “How Could It Be,” which was released in 1985 and was famous for the song “Party All the Time.”
Murphy’s most recent film was A Thousand Words, which premiered in 2012. He will next be appearing in a Beverly Hills Cop TV movie about the son of his character, Axel Foley.
Of course, this is not the first time audiences have heard Murphy singing reggae. The former SNL star parodied the genre on an SNL sketch in the 1980s.
The official music video for “Red Light” will be released on Sept. 9.
To listen to the song, click here.