There is a new reggae sound igniting the music scene in Germany. This new sound is led by Keith ‘Rough House’ Powell Jr, a bass guitarist and solo singer who has penned a reggae song called Nice Up Di Dance’, that has rocked packed venues all across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The single is the lead track from the artiste’s debut solo album, ‘Love Divine’.
“The feedback has been incredible, I have performed the song several times in front of thousands of people during recent performances in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, and dem love it each time. The song has an energy of its own, it is real, the people are reacting to it, the radio is beginning to pick it up, and that is why I am going for a big Summer push with it,” he said.
Rough House is the lead bass player and the musical director for Samy Deluxe, one of Germany’s most successful solo rap musicians, whose two solo albums have both peaked at #2 on the German album charts.
“When I tour with Samy Deluxe, he gives me the opportunity to perform the song in his hype segment and the reaction has been great, the people love the song, and Samy gives me a lot of support, they call him the German Jay Z over here, so it is a great look for reggae music that he is supporting this song,” he said.
Rough House is an accomplished bass and guitar player and has been the studio musician on several top ten reggae songs in Germany.
“I have also worked with Gentleman, and a lot of big name artistes in Germany, things are just looking better this year,” he said.
Born in the parish of Manchester, Keith Powell Jr. has made Germany his second home, and he has been performing as a solo artist there in the last four years. He has a strong musical heritage as his father Keith Powell Sr. is a well known figure on the Jamaican music scene who has worked as a guitarist for legends like Peter Tosh and Dennis Brown.
He became a musician like his father and toured with several artistes and played on studio sessions for huge names like Toots Hibbert, Jimmy Cliff, Ken Booth, President Brown, Culture Knox and Garnett Silk.
He said that it was while on a three week vacation in Germany in the late 1990s that his big break came.
“I was just hanging out a studio session and playing bass when somebody saw me playing and asked if I wanted to work with them, and within one week, I had returned to Jamaica, got my official visa and returned to Germany. That was in 1998 and I have been here since that time,” he said.
He has worked as a bass player for “Die Fantastischen Vier”, “Samy Deluxe”, “Max Herre”, “Gentleman”, Patrice, and played on huge live shows such as Summer Jam, Chiemsee Reggae, Splash Hip-Hop Festival, Rock Am Ring, Rock Am Park, and many more famous event in Europe.
And now that his debut album “Love Divine” has been released in Germany, Rough House is preparing to make aggressive moves in the marketplace.
“Right now, the sky is the limit. My mission is to get the music to the people, a number of small independent record labels have expressed an interest in my work, plus the video has just been released and the buzz is growing,” Rough House said.
