Dennis Brown may be the most-covered reggae artiste given his amazing catalogue of reggae and lover’s rock songs. Talented reggae singer Dona-V is a D. Brown super-fan who stands out among the legend’s legion of fans, and he showed that dedication by paying homage to the Crown Prince of Reggae with a cover of the popular classic ‘Should I’.
” Being a die hearted fan of Dennis Brown, who I consider the greatest reggae artiste of all time, made it an easy decision to do a cover version of his classic “Should I”. I put my heart and feeling into the song and as a result created my own unique twist, thanks to New York based co-producer, Scott Yahny,” the artiste, whose real name is Donovan Pinnock, said.
The single will be released via all digital platforms through VPAL Music on May 20th. Brown, who died in 1999 at age 42, recorded the song in 1979 for producer Joe Gibbs.
Dona-V will be following up that release with an original song, ‘It’s Never Over’ which he wrote and produced himself. This song will also be released by VPAL Music on May 20th.
“It’s a strong love song obviously telling a story of someone who has done his lover wrong and is begging for another chance to talk it over. Yes, it sounds a little bit personal and it might be,” he said, laughing.
Originally from the district of Victoria Town in the Manchester parish in Jamaica, Dona-V has been recording songs since the mid-1980s. He began singing in churches in Victoria Town at the tender age of 6 years old and was drawn to reggae music by the soulful songs of Dennis Brown and Delroy Wilson. He attended Holmwood Technical High School.
He recorded his first song, ‘Story Come to Bump’ for producer Harry J in 1986 but it was never released, then he migrated to New York City in 1988 where he currently resides.
It was not until 1990 that his first song was released, ‘Twilight Zone’ with producer Jah C. He has since done singles for several New York producers including Phillip Smart, Shelly/Super Power Records, Sir Tommys, Lloyd Campbell, Jah Live and King Jammys. Dona-V’s most successful single is ‘Prophecy is Revealing’, recorded for producer Dub Vendor who is based in England.
Dona-V worked with the legendary late Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd on his first album, Cry For Tomorrow, which was released by Studio One in 1999. He followed up that with his second album, “Any Means Necessary” which was released on all major digital platforms. He has collaborated with reggae greats like Luciano and Sizzla on his second album, Any Means Necessary. He also did a collab single with I Wayne on a track called ‘Natural Heights’ which was released on I Wayne’s ‘Book of Life’ album.
“I have been singing for 36 years plus, simply because I love it. I will continue to sing and write, writing being my greatest strength, until music tells me to stop. Music alone shall live,” Dona V said.
