Jimmy Cliff announces first album in 9 years, 'Bridges,' shares new song "Human Touch"

Ska, rocksteady, and reggae pioneer Jimmy Cliff tells Rolling Stone that he’s currently finishing up his first album since 2012’s genuinely great, Tim Armstrong-produced Rebirth. It’s called Bridges, and it features collaborations with multiple producers, including Mark Batson (who’s worked with Eminem, Jay-Z, and more). First single “Human Touch” is out now, and it’s a classic-sounding Jimmy Cliff song. As he said to Rolling Stone, he wrote the lyrics before the COVID-19 pandemic began, but the song takes on new meaning now.

“I said, ‘Well, this is a good song. An appropriate song.’ It sounds like it was written for [the pandemic],’ Jimmy said. “Everyone is missing the human touch. So I’m sending out that message to the Covid virus.”

In the interview, Jimmy also reflected on the deaths of Toots Hibbert, Bunny Wailer, and U-Roy, discussed the upcoming 50th anniversary of The Harder They Come, talked about one of his hew favorite reggae artists (Chronixx), and more. Read the whole thing here and stream the new song below.