Alborosie

The unlikely reggae star Alborosie was born Alberto D'Ascola in Sicily, in 1977. He performed in Italy's Reggae National Tickets band as a dreadlocked teenager and moved to Jamaica in the early 2000s, working as a sound engineer and producer before releasing his debut album, Soul Pirate, in 2009. A self-styled "reggae ambassador," Alborosie defiantly paid his dues in a wild milieu (his stage moniker combines his given name with a Jamaican insult he endured) and specialized in self-conscious lyrics that include, "I'm Italian but not Columbus." His respect for and dedication to the roots reggae cause attracted A-list collaborators, including Horace Andy and Dennis Brown, for the collection Specialist Presents Alborosie & Friends in 2014, and he recruited Bob Marley's former backing group for 2018's Unbreakable: Alborosie Meets the Wailers United. Respectable dub albums, such as 2015's excellent Dub of Thrones: Alborosie Meets King Jammy, punctuate his numerous studio releases, on which Alborosie singsongs in credible patois and, occasionally, croons in lovers-rock Italian.