Living Legends: Beres Hammond On His Enduring Career

July 11, 2025August 11, 2025 The Positive Community

Beres Hammond has had a lengthy career in reggae, both as a member of Zap Pow and as a solo artist. The two-time GRAMMY nominee discussed his enduring popularity and what he hopes younger artists can learn from his story.

Prior to performing his first song at Reggae Sumfest 2024, Jamaica’s largest music festival, legendary vocalist Beres Hammond shared a concise but important message. “Jamaica,” he bellowed, seemingly as a greeting, which he followed by shouting “brand.” “We are a brand! I am, you are. Brand! Say it,” he instructed. “Brand, Jamaica!”

Throughout his July 20 Sumfest set, Beres interspersed the catchphrase “brand, Jamaica,” as if reminding the audience of 15,000 (and the younger artists backstage) at Montego Bay’s Catherine Hall, of Jamaican music’s significant legacy and widespread impact. Countless musical gems comprise brand Jamaica, but few, if any, are more precious than the songs of Beres Hammond.

Born Hugh Beresford Hammond in the small fishing village of Annotto Bay, the two-time GRAMMY nominee first gained notoriety in the early 1970s fronting reggae/R&B fusion outfit Zap Pow. As a solo artist, Beres’ songs primarily explore the erratic complexities of romantic relationships; his charismatic, powerfully granular vocals have been likened to that of soul legends Otis Redding, Teddy Pendergrass and Sam Cooke.

“I never thought I’d reach this point,” Hammond tells GRAMMY.com. “Even now, I still show respect to the folks that helped me to grow and are helping me to still be relevant.”

At Sumfest, accompanied by his superb Harmony House band and three flawless female backup singers, Beres delved into his beloved catalog, as the audience, spanning three generations of fans, loudly sang along. After performing his first No. 1 single, the 1976 soul nugget “One Step Ahead,” which held the top spot in Jamaica for over three months, Beres reminisced onstage, “People thought I was an American guy. It was my first taste of success, but I had no money, I couldn’t even ride the bus. I was broke!”

Beres released a spate of popular singles beginning in the late 1970s into the mid-1980s yet he continued to struggle financially. His situation improved with his initial release on his own Harmony House label, the 1985 hit “Groovy Little Thing.”

A sequence of hits followed recorded for various Jamaican producers including 1987’s “What One Dance Can Do,” which spawned several answer records (including Hammond’s own “She Loves Me Now”). His 1990 defiant social critique, “Putting Up Resistance”, produced by Tappa Zukie, remains one of the biggest reggae songs from that era.

Working with producer Donovan Germain’s Penthouse Records, in 1990 Beres laid his vocals over a riddim called “A Love I Can Feel” (after singer John Holt’s 1970 hit, itself a Temptations cover). The resultant “Tempted to Touch” topped reggae charts internationally and commenced a stream of Penthouse hits for Beres that also included “A Little More Time” and “Who Say,” collaborations with a gruff-voiced teenaged sensation, Buju Banton.

As his fan base expanded throughout the Caribbean and reggae Diaspora, alongside increasing acclaim for his stellar songwriting and passionate, pliant vocals, it was inevitable Beres would attract major label interest. He signed to Elektra Records, for whom he released just one album, the outstanding In Control, in 1994, featuring the sublime, sultry R&B flavored single “No Disturb Sign.”

Between 1996 and 2018 Beres released seven self-produced studio albums through his Harmony House label’s joint venture with Queens, NY based VP Records, including two GRAMMY nominated titles in the Best Reggae Album category. Beres received the nod for his 2001 album, Music is Life at the 44th GRAMMY Awards and again at the 56th GRAMMY Awards for his 2012 album One Love, One Life.

Beres has collaborated with dancehall superstars Sean Paul and Popcaan, and his work has been referenced by Jamaican artists including singer/songwriter Tanya Stephens and sing-jay Mavado. Although he hasn’t had a U.S. mainstream hit, Hammond’s music is nonetheless recognized by some of the industry’s biggest names. In 2012 Rihanna tweeted the lyrics to Beres’ “They Gonna Talk,” obliquely addressing her then rekindled relationship with Chris Brown; at an event in Barbados, she was seen singing along to a medley of Beres hits. Drake conveyed his fondness for the iconic vocalist by retweeting a fan’s declaration that she’d like Beres Hammond to sing at her wedding. Wyclef Jean conclusively expressed the veneration due the bespectacled songster on the outro to his 2001 duet with Hammond “Dance 4 Me,” bluntly stating, “All you fake singers, bow down to the legend.”

Beres Hammond’s most recent single “Let Me Help You” was released on May 3; VP Records says a new Beres project is possibly due by the end of 2024. In between rehearsals for a spate of performances in the New York tri-state area, Beres Hammond sat down with GRAMMY.com and discussed his enduring popularity, his messages to younger artists and the meaning of “brand, Jamaica.”

Welcome back to New York City. I was at Reggae Sumfest and I saw your wonderful performance. There’s something extra special about your performances in Jamaica, seeing, hearing different generations of fans singing along to your songs.

What I like most is when the young folks, teens and 20s say, “My mom used to listen to you when she’s in the kitchen working, that’s how I know these songs.” They still love them, still sing them. It makes me feel like I came out here to do a job and everything’s been accomplished.

Why do you think your music has such vast appeal among various age groups?

I think it’s the way I present my songs. I make it so easy for everyone to have access. I don’t use Wall Street words; I make it A-B-C. I just do my thing in the simplest manner so everybody can sing it!

You just performed two sold out shows at the Coney Island Amphitheater and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center part of your Forever Giving Thanks tour. So many decades after you started out, that must feel extremely gratifying.

Everyday feels like a new day on the job. I’m giving thanks that I’m in good health and I’ve still got some voice left. All the folks around me, like the band and crew, they’re treating me as if we just started. When you have people around you like that, it’s almost like the journey has just begun.

Have you been working with the same band members for all these years?

For a lifetime, almost. Some have been with me for over 30 years. For the newest members, it might be 10 years.

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Interview

Living Legends: Beres Hammond On His Enduring Career, Timeless Music & ‘Brand, Jamaica!’
Beres Hammond has had a lengthy career in reggae, both as a member of Zap Pow and as a solo artist. The two-time GRAMMY nominee discussed his enduring popularity and what he hopes younger artists can learn from his story.

Patricia Meschino
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GRAMMYs
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Aug 28, 2024 – 10:52 am
Prior to performing his first song at Reggae Sumfest 2024, Jamaica’s largest music festival, legendary vocalist Beres Hammond shared a concise but important message. “Jamaica,” he bellowed, seemingly as a greeting, which he followed by shouting “brand.” “We are a brand! I am, you are. Brand! Say it,” he instructed. “Brand, Jamaica!”

“I never thought I’d reach this point,” Hammond tells GRAMMY.com. “Even now, I still show respect to the folks that helped me to grow and are helping me to still be relevant.”

Why do you think your music has such vast appeal among various age groups?

Have you been working with the same band members for all these years?

For a lifetime, almost. Some have been with me for over 30 years. For the newest members, it might be 10 years.

Throughout your Sumfest performance you intermittently shouted, “brand, Jamaica!” What does that mean?

I was talking about me, what a beautiful brand, but also Jamaica, itself, to the world. Helluva brand! I join the folks that still have Jamaica on the world map as a brand to be reckoned with. Because we nah go nowhere. We deh yah! [We’re here].

I’ve always thought of myself as a brand and upcoming artists should recognize the legacy that’s left here for them. I say “brand” again, to make them understand the role they’re supposed to be playing in what was handed down to them. Be proud of what you’ve got because you are standing on some broad shoulders; be careful how you step on those shoulders.

Coming up in the 1970s and early ’80s, whose shoulders did you stand on?

What introduced me to wanting to sing was a few voices including Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, he’s still amazing. I used to love Aretha Franklin and I still love Patti LaBelle. I listened to those voices and said, “Yeah, I would love to sing like them.” Then checking on my Jamaican folk, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, hearing those voices, I thought, there must be something out there for me.

Learn more: Remembering Coxsone Dodd: 10 Essential Productions From The Architect Of Jamaican Music

Are there any artists you are mentoring, artists that are standing on your shoulders?

Some of them come up to me and say Father B — they call me all kinda names, Father B, Dada, and they give me some nice accolades. I don’t seek them out, they find me and I always have the right things to say to them, if they ask. Kids still want to learn and being around me, you will learn many things.

Thirty years ago, in 1994, you released your album ‘In Control’ for Elektra Records. It’s still one of my favorite albums.

At that time Elektra went into some merger. The beautiful Elektra crew working with me — some got fired, some went to other places; it was a mess, man. That had a great effect on what the album should have done and really turned me off from Elektra and major labels. This is how people with their big bag of money treat people, come in, push us around. But through the years, I’ve learned that [Elektra] took my music to places that I don’t think I would have reached, so it helped me along.

You continue to have a very successful career, but I can’t help but wonder, had ‘In Control’ received the push it should have, would your music be better known beyond a reggae audience?

I don’t know, but I know where I stand now and where we are still aiming to go. That never came out of our focus because, hey, the sky’s the limit.

Where are you aiming to go, what are some of the things that you’d still like to do?

I’d like to sing that song that makes the whole world sing along. I’m not sure if I’ve made that one yet.

I hope that my Jamaican brothers and sisters who are making music take it seriously and remember, you’re an influence. Ask yourself, what kind of influence do you want to be to the next generation? Do you want to be the one to make them have a better education? Do you want to be the one that makes them aspire to be leaders? Or do you want to be the one to send them to prison?

Is there any place that you haven’t yet performed but would like to?

People have asked me, what’s my favorite place to perform? I still don’t know. My favorite place is anywhere in the world; once you gather to see me, oh God, that’s my favorite place.

How has the music industry changed in the years that you’ve been in it?

You have to brace to face any new challenge in music. But all I’ve ever wished for is, no matter what kind of changes the music goes through, keep the thing positive so the people can learn. I can’t tell the younger generation what to do. I had my time and did what I had to do; you have to allow them to be themselves, too. Whatever changes the new generation wants to make, I’m there with them; just keep those values and you’re good.

On Jan. 1, 2023, you and Buju Banton put on a very successful concert in Jamaica called Intimate. Any chance you’ll bring that back?

They just talked to me yesterday about it. [Hammond imitates Buju’s resounding voice] “What ‘appen? What are we saying? Second leg? Father B, give I the green light.” So, we are looking forward to bringing that back in January 2025.

Read more: Buju Banton’s Untold Stories: The Dancehall Legend Shares Tales Behind 10 Of His Biggest Songs

You’ve recorded many songs with Buju and in 2023 you released another collaborative single “We Need Your Love”; an album was expected to follow. Are there any release plans for the Beres/Buju album?

We’ve already recorded 12-15 songs so when them ready, they will tell me. I did songs for Buju and he did songs for me.

Earlier, you mentioned turning on the radio to hear a song that everyone will sing along to; do you listen to Jamaica’s radio stations to hear the latest music?

I listen to talk shows to tap into what the country is doing. You have people calling in, talking about what the prime minister is doing, how many people died today. Music is around me through my kids, my friends. I’m up on everything; without actually listening to it, I’m hearing it.

You have six children; some are pursuing music careers. Tell me about them.

One of them, DJ Inferno, he’s always on the road with me; he plays before I perform, and he mashes up the place all the while. My son Rasheed is in production, trying to establish his own label, he’s ready to start releasing music. One of my daughters, Nastassja, they call her Wizard, she’s a writer, artist, producer. My other daughter, Andrene, is an actress (Andrene Ward-Hammond stars on the CW Network’s “61st Street”) and she’s on tour with me looking after my personal needs.

Sometimes I am out here with all six of my children. It’s a beautiful thing. They make me proud.

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