Non Returning Status

(this article was originally published on May 14, 2008 by Matthew Everett for Metro Pulse)

Marla and Jahti Allen, the principals of East Tennessee reggae band the Natti Love Joys, met in New York in 1983. Marla’s group, the Love Joys, had come from London to record at Lloyd Barnes’ Bullwackie Studio. Jahti had just returned from a European tour with the Congos. (A native of Kingston, Jamaica, he had joined the group as a bassist after the release of 1977’s Lee “Scratch” Perry-produced Heart of the Congos, widely regarded as the best roots reggae album ever made.) He was also a member of the popular New York band Itiopia.

“The Love Joys was my girl group, with my two cousins,” Marla Allen says. “We had a few hits in London. But we were just kids then. We were working in New York, and Jahti wanted to work with me. First we were Abel and Allen—Abel was my maiden name. Then we were A & A Reggae, and then the Natti Love Joys.”

Click here to read the rest of the article. [Metro Pulse - Knoxville, TN]