Taj Weekes and Adowa, though adored by their reggae fans, refuse to fit into a specific genre. Though their songs are heavily influenced by the classic country and calypso Weekes grew up listening to on the island of St. Lucia, their music incorporates sounds of roots rock, funk and West African percussion.

Some of the Weekes and Adowa’s songs are surprisingly political. Their latest album, A Waterlogged Soul Kitchen (released from Weeke’s own label, Jatta Records), includes “Rain Rain,” about Hurricane Katrina, “Janjaweed,” discussing the crisis in Darfur, and “Drill,” bemoaning the destruction of the BP oil spill. According to FlipSwitch:

As Weekes & Adowa were finishing up A Waterlogged Soul Kitchen, Weekes was reading a newspaper story about the BP oil spill. “’I stopped the session and told the guys I had a new song,” Weekes recalls. “And I starting laying down the guitar for ‘Drill’ on the spot.”  Weekes’ inspiration also struck guitarist Mike Pinera, who’s played with Iron Butterfly and Alice Cooper, who had dropped by the studio. Pinera was so enthused when he heard Weekes’ song that he dashed out of the studio to grab his guitar and upon his return blasted out a heartfelt solo for “Drill.”