FREE is an auspicious introduction to the band, a wistful yet defiant anthem about resiliency and striving in modern mayhem. It looks back, contextualizing the struggles of ancestors and lamenting how free- dom has still not been attained. This reflection prompts a different kind of introspection, a nostalgic desire to revert to the innocence of childhood, a temporary freedom from the chaotic, cutthroat adult world. The chorus poetically expresses the yearning of wanting to soar in the sky like a bird while your actual circumstances are more akin to trudging forward terrestrially barefoot, the soles of your feet scalded. Most of us can relate to this message of dreaming big and having to reconcile those dreams with our harsher, imperfect reality. But while this may resonate with anyone on a personal level, the juxtaposition of Martin Luther King’s dream with Trayvon Martin’s death reminds us that the song is more about the collective dreams of the descendants of African slavery and how the promise of equality remains unfortunately unfulfilled. Though it may be painful to dream of better, if we stop, it will never be actualized. While we have to confront and navigate the constraining system with a survivalist’s frame of mind, we should remember that spiritual freedom can grant us the wings we need to soar. The track was mixed and mastered by Shaka ‘Top Cruz” out of New York and recorded at the legendary Tuff Gong studio – the birthplace of immortal songs like “Redemption Song”, “Buffalo Soldier” and “No Woman Nuh Cry”. Tuff Gong has worked with Reggae luminaries like Burning Spear, Bunny Wailer, Marcia Griffith, Buju Banton, Capleton, Junior Reid, Anthony B, Freddie McGregor, Garnett Silk and Dennis Brown. The name The “Tuff Gang” is an ancestral call, a reclaiming of a heritage for group leader Asadenaki, son of Reggae legend and pioneer Bunny Wailer. Before the name “Tuff Gong” was associated with The Wailers, it was first “Tough Gang”. The Tuff Gang continues the lineage for a new generation.