EYES WIDE OPEN: ANTHONY CRUZ GETS REAL ON DEM BADMIND
On his incisive release Dem Badmind, reggae veteran Anthony Cruz tackles envy and bad energy with composure, clarity, and a groove that refuses to flinch.
Every artist who reaches a certain level knows the feeling. The smiles that do not quite reach the eyes. The whispered doubts from people who were once in your corner. Anthony Cruz knows it too, and on Dem Badmind he names it out loud.
Produced alongside Tad’s Record and released through Tad’s International Record, this is a calm, clear-eyed reckoning with the envy that trails success like a shadow.
THE KEY IS TO STAY FOCUSED AND NOT LOSE YOURSELF IN IT
Cruz stays controlled throughout. His vocal is deliberate. The production, rooted in modern reggae but spacious and uncluttered, gives his words room to land.
“You can feel the energy around you, and sometimes it is not genuine,” Cruz explains. “The key is to stay focused and not lose yourself in it.”
That focus is exactly what the track demonstrates. It makes Dem Badmind feel less like a diss track and more like a quiet act of self-preservation. For listeners who recognise that particular strain of bad energy, it will hit close to home.
ABOUT ANTHONY CRUZ
With a smooth, soulful sound rooted in lovers rock and roots reggae, Jamaican singer Anthony Cruz (born Rowan Smith) has been a fixture in the genre since the early 1990s. His collaboration with Buju Banton, Too Bloody, won the 2006 Reggae Soca Music Award for Best Reggae Combination.
A British Reggae Industry Awards nominee and European album award contender, Cruz remains a vital and enduring reggae voice.
