Jubba White's A Better World Turns Global Perspective Into Roots Reggae Purpose

There are albums that feel like a concept, and there are albums that feel like a lived-in perspective finally finding the right shape. A Better World, the forthcoming second solo album from Jubba White, lands in that second category.

Due out May 22 via White Stone Productions with distribution by Tuff Gong International, the record does not sound like an artist trying to summarize the world with one clean thesis. It sounds like someone who has already seen enough of it to know that the strongest truths are usually the simplest ones: food, shelter, love, connection, purpose, and the hope that people can still choose compassion over chaos.

That is what gives A Better World its weight. Not the slogan. The perspective behind it.

More than a second album - this is "My Random Thoughts 2.0"

On paper, A Better World is Jubba White’s sophomore solo release, following 2021’s My Random Thoughts. But when Music Coast asked how this album differs from the first one, Jubba gave an answer that makes the relationship between the two feel more evolutionary than separate.

Jubba White: "Yes, A better world, like most of what I create is more about my perspective and experience within life, rather than a concept for an album. However, a story always seem to unfold in the process of creation. Both albums represents a culmination of my life's experiences, the stages through the years of travel and inspiration. A Better World, my second solo album is My Random Thoughts 2.0. A matter of fact, My Random thoughts is always happening, will continue to happen but actually started happening since the very first independent project as Dubtonic Kru in 2006. My thoughts have always been random:) However, the inspiration to do a solo project came about during 2021, a time of social distancing."

That answer is key to understanding the album. A Better World is not a sudden departure or a “message record” built from scratch. It feels more like the next chapter in a worldview Jubba has already been documenting for years - as a drummer, as a producer, as a bandleader, and now as a solo voice putting those thoughts into a warmer, more explicitly personal frame.

A drummer first, always

If there is one thing you cannot separate from Jubba White’s identity, it is rhythm.

He has built a career that stretches far beyond one role: drummer, vocalist, producer, founder of White Stone Productions, Billboard-charting reggae producer, Grammy-nominated session player, and one of the figures behind Dubtonic Kru’s international rise. But for Jubba, the hierarchy is still clear. He is a drummer first. And that matters because it changes how songs are born.

Jubba White: "I am coming into this project not just as a singer but as a drummer, because I am a drummer first. The drums is the instrument that has taken me to so many places throughout the world... but as many places as I've been personally, my drums on records have still reached far more than I have. Being a producer has also been there long before my voice took center stage, so more times than not, the melody and music has lead the way."

That framing helps explain why A Better World does not feel overdesigned. The songs seem to rise out of groove and feel before they harden into concept. The message is there, but it is carried by pulse, not pinned to the wall like a lecture.

Singing the truth instead of selling a slogan

Albums built around unity, compassion, and shared humanity can easily tip into generalities. That is one of the dangers of trying to make “positive music” in any genre: if the songs stop feeling lived, they start sounding like posters.

Jubba’s answer to that risk is blunt and refreshingly direct.

Jubba White: "First of all, let me say that I'm happy and thankful that the energy is felt through the music... and to the question of how I was able to make sure A Better World stayed rooted in the real feeling rather than a slogan, was by singing my truth. The truth always resonate. Whether accepted or not."

That line does a lot of work. "The truth always resonate." It is not polished, but it is exactly the kind of statement that feels earned from someone who has spent years playing across borders, scenes, and generations of reggae. Jubba does not sound interested in flattening life into a neat mission statement. He sounds interested in telling the truth as he hears it and letting the songs carry that where they need to go.

Collaboration as a reflection of energy

Jubba’s career has always involved building bridges. White Stone Productions is not just a label credit or a production tag - it is part of a much bigger network of musicians, rhythms, and voices that he has helped connect over time. So it made sense to ask what collaboration taught him on this album, not just as a producer but as Jubba White the solo artist.

Jubba White: "What collaboration has taught me, not only, but especially on this album is that I am blessed to have amazing artists wanting to collaborate with me. It says something about the energy they feel from my art."

That answer reveals a lot in a small space. He is not talking about collaboration as strategy. He is talking about it as response. Artists hear something in his work - a feeling, a spirit, a sincerity - and want to be part of it. That is a different kind of endorsement than hype or industry co-signing. It suggests that A Better World is operating on the kind of frequency people can actually feel.

The value of simplicity

Roots reggae and dub have always understood something many genres forget: space is not emptiness. Space is pressure. Space is spirit. Space is where a song learns how to breathe.

Jubba’s response on restraint makes it clear that this is not a new lesson for him, but one that has deepened over time.

Jubba White: "What I have learned over the years, that has helped me to create projects like A Better World, is that it's the feeling that matters and simplicity is most times underrated. I allow the music to lead and speak it's own language through me as a vessel."

That is one of the best ways to understand the album before it even arrives. A Better World is not trying to prove how much it can do. It is trying to do exactly what it needs to do - no more, no less - and trust that feeling will travel farther than complexity for complexity’s sake.

Why Goals and Dreams and Sunrise stand so tall

At Music Coast, two songs that immediately felt central to this album were "Goals and Dreams" and "Sunrise." We asked Jubba what those two tracks reveal about A Better World that the rest of the album does not, and why they feel like such important pillars.

Jubba White: "It's great to hear Music Coasts picks! Goals and dreams and Sunrise. What these two songs reveal about A better World is that; Love is lovely and when the sun rises, most people are happy. As for Goals and Dreams, most of us go for it, so if our goal is to have A Better world, we'll make it happen. This song serve as a reminder."

There is something very Jubba about that answer. He does not overcomplicate it. He points to light, love, hope, and action. In another artist’s hands, those ideas might feel thin. Here, they land as reminders - not because they are simplistic, but because they are fundamental.

"Sunrise" feels like one of those songs that understands the emotional reset built into a new day. "Goals and Dreams" feels like the album’s statement of intent: if a better world is something we really want, then it has to move from wish to practice.

What A Better World is carrying into release week

There is also a practical side to this album’s arrival worth noting. A Better World is not just a symbolic second solo album - it is a 10-track release with a clear current rollout and structure:

  • Sound of Love (Groove) feat. Paola Pierri
  • A Better World
  • Sunrise
  • The Energy (Reload)
  • Mama
  • If I Had the World (Extended Version)
  • Ease Your Mind feat. Wakafari, Young Forever & Vince Lepeltier
  • Thanks and Praises
  • Goals and Dreams
  • Goals and Dreams (Drum Solo)

That final detail - closing with a drum solo version of "Goals and Dreams" - feels especially telling. It folds the album back into Jubba’s first language: rhythm.

Full Music Coast Interview with Jubba White

1. A Better World feels like a record built from perspective rather than just concept. After traveling through more than 50 countries and working across so many corners of reggae, what life experience most directly changed the way you approached this second album compared to My Random Thoughts?

Jubba White: "Yes, A better world, like most of what I create is more about my perspective and experience within life, rather than a concept for an album. However, a story always seem to unfold in the process of creation. Both albums represents a culmination of my life's experiences, the stages through the years of travel and inspiration. A Better World, my second solo album is My Random Thoughts 2.0. A matter of fact, My Random thoughts is always happening, will continue to happen but actually started happening since the very first independent project as Dubtonic Kru in 2006. My thoughts have always been random:) However, the inspiration to do a solo project came about during 2021, a time of social distancing."

2. You are coming into this project not just as a singer, but as a drummer, producer, and bandleader. On A Better World, when did rhythm lead the songwriting, and when did the message or melody force the groove to follow?

Jubba White: "I am coming into this project not just as a singer but as a drummer, because I am a drummer first. The drums is the instrument that has taken me to so many places throughout the world... but as many places as I've been personally, my drums on records have still reached far more than I have. Being a producer has also been there long before my voice took center stage, so more times than not, the melody and music has lead the way."

3. This album carries a big idea - unity, compassion, shared humanity - but the strongest songs usually make those themes feel personal instead of abstract. How did you make sure A Better World stayed rooted in real feeling and lived experience rather than sounding like a slogan?

Jubba White: "First of all, let me say that I'm happy and thankful that the energy is felt through the music... and to the question of how I was able to make sure A Better World stayed rooted in the real feeling rather than a slogan, was by singing my truth. The truth always resonate. Whether accepted or not."

4. You have spent years building bridges between different musicians, cultures, and sounds through White Stone Productions. On this album, what did collaboration teach you about your own voice - not just as a producer, but as Jubba White the solo artist?

Jubba White: "What collaboration has taught me, not only, but especially on this album is that I am blessed to have amazing artists wanting to collaborate with me. It says something about the energy they feel from my art."

5. Roots reggae and dub both leave a lot of room for mood, space, and spiritual weight. On A Better World, what did you learn about restraint - about what not to play, not to sing, or not to overproduce - that helped the album say more?

Jubba White: "What I have learned over the years, that has helped me to create projects like A Better World, is that it's the feeling that matters and simplicity is most times underrated. I allow the music to lead and speak it's own language through me as a vessel."

6. Two tracks that really stood out to us at Music Coast were Goals and Dreams and Sunrise. What do those two songs reveal about A Better World that the rest of the album does not, and why do they feel like key emotional pillars of the project to you?

Jubba White: "It's great to hear Music Coasts picks! Goals and dreams and Sunrise. What these two songs reveal about A better World is that; Love is lovely and when the sun rises, most people are happy. As for Goals and Dreams, most of us go for it, so if our goal is to have A Better world, we'll make it happen. This song serve as a reminder."

The Music Coast takeaway

A Better World feels less like an abstract call for peace and more like an artist putting decades of rhythm, collaboration, and lived experience into a form simple enough to carry. That may be the album’s biggest strength. It does not overstate itself. It trusts the groove, the truth, and the feeling to do the work.

And in Jubba White’s hands, that feels like more than enough.