Reggae artiste Vernal Sage (pronounced Sajay) still believes in the power of reggae music as the artform which has the ability to convey major emotions, tackle red button issues and inject positive messages into the consciousness of the masses.
“Reggae can never die as long as there is oppression and inequality in the world,” the artiste whose real name is Howard Cox, said.
Vernal believes that the genre needs a much-needed shot in the arm.
“We need a reggae tsunami in Europe where Jamaicans are once again front and centre. Afrobeat is killing us in Africa and the Jamaica artistes especially the younger brigade are not having a serious impact in Europe. We need our young reggae artistes to stay true to the mission, and sing about real issues, spread consciousness, and rally people against the system that is keeping all of us down,” he mused.
He is promoting his latest single, ‘Love is Magic’, a gem of a song carved in reggae oak.
“The reaction to ‘Love is Magic’ has been overwhelming, with lots of positive feedback over 50 disc Jockeys locally have asked me for a copy of the song,” he said.
The song will lead out Vernal Sage’s upcoming EP, ‘Life’.
“The ‘Life’ EP features six tracks but it has not been officially launched yet as we are now in the phase of promoting singles,” he explained.
One of those album cuts is the standout single, ‘One Night Stand’, that was released in May with a video that has already racked up over 35,000 views on Youtube.
“The fans really love the instrumentation, the lyrics and musical arrangements of One Night Stand’, a lot of positive feedback, big up Big D of Silk Radio out of London and Captain Kirk from Supa Jams radio out of Florida, I am really pleased with the support and the whole movement,” he said.
He was born in the parish of Westmoreland, Jamaica to parents Basil Cox and Evadne Wedderburn, and was the eldest of eight siblings. He attended Glenmuir High School and became a member of the school’s choir. He moved to Rocky Point, Clarendon where he attended Clarendon College.
Thereafter, his love for music transitioned into singing on sound systems under the moniker, “Green T” a protégé of Cocoa Tea back in the late 80’s. Later, he met Ernest Wilson, a distinguished member of the Clarendonians, who liked his sound and introduced him to other music industry insiders.
In early 1990, he recorded three songs under the Green T stage name. The song, ‘No Rebound’, ‘Crucial’ and ‘Love is Magic ‘, produced by Antonio Shaw, general manager of BESS FM radio in Jamaica, were not promoted well and fizzled soon afterwards.
After graduating from University of Technology, he became an IT specialist and continued to juggle a corporate position with a music career, releasing several songs with Greensleeves Records. Eventually, his time was subsumed by the corporate world and he stopped doing music until about 2010.
Over time, he became a close personal friend of Boris Gardener and later teamed up with him, and musician Donovan Downer from the Fab Five reggae band to do a single entitled “Rasta’s Paradise” in the year 2020.
Since that time, he has been working more diligently on his craft.
