The home of legends like Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy, Chicago's music is steeped in the blues. It does, however, have a solid reggae base thanks to people like The Notorious Kool G and DJ Matches.
Co-hosts of "The Hottest Dancehall Reggae Mixshow in the Universe!", the Disc Jockeys make their debuts as music producers with the 21 Greatness Riddim Album, scheduled for release in late February.
It features eight artists including Tarrus Riley, whose song "Be Great" is the first release on January 22.
Queen Ifrica, Gott Yo, Luciano and Nature Ellis are also featured on the 21 Greatest Riddim compilation. The Notorious Kool G said he and DJ Matches --- who were born in the United States to Jamaican parents --- selected the artists for the project.
"We deliberately picked these artists that we respect, plus a few surprise artists. We chose his (Tarrus Riley) song (to be released first) because of the message behind the music and we both felt that the world needs a strong, positive song to uplift and remind us of our history and where we should be," he explained.
The Notorious Kool G built the 21 Greatness Riddim. He has been creating beats for several years but this is the first to be released.
He and DJ Matches hope the songs will reach a broad audience, which is also the objective of "The Hottest Dancehall Reggae Mixshow in the Universe!".
"Honestly, we would like it to reach every market. We’re making music for all audiences with hopes of getting international success and bring back longevity into our Jamaican music," he said.
For the past four years, he and DJ Matches have co-hosted the six-hour show which airs Thursday, Friday and Saturday simultaneously on WZPP 96.1 FM and WZOP 92.7 FM in Florida.
The Notorious Kool G was born in Washington DC where his parents attended Howard University. DJ Matches was born in Chicago.
Written By Howard Campbell