Kenne Blessin revives Barrington Levy’s Vice Versa Love for new fans

Kenne Blessin’s new version of Barrington Levy’s Vice Versa Love has started drawing attention across reggae circles because it does two things at once: it reintroduces a 1993 favorite to younger listeners and keeps the emotional pull that made the original endure. The remake sits on Blessin’s 14-song album Caught My Attention, which he released on February 7, 2025 through Dacosta Muzic.

What makes the cut connect now is its balance of familiarity and lift. Blessin said the idea came naturally while he was playing a riddim during the album’s production, and he shaped the song with a rockers feel meant to get people on the dancefloor. That choice preserves the original’s warm groove and message of reciprocal love, but it also gives the track a sharper forward motion that fits the modern release cycle.

Vice Versa Love is the only cover on Caught My Attention, which makes its placement on the album stand out even more. The rest of the set leans into Blessin’s own writing and themes of love, self-awareness and unity, with tracks including Falling For You, Be With You, My Love Will Never Die, Sign The Deal, Ganja From Jah, Running, Spread The Love, Peer Pressure and Jah Jah Loves Me. That framing turns the remake from a nostalgia play into part of a larger statement, one that holds the album together instead of interrupting it.

Blessin’s route to this point helps explain why the song lands with both longtime fans and new ones. Born in Kingston and raised in St Thomas, he grew up on Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, Sizzla and Beenie Man before absorbing hip-hop, soca and other influences after moving through the Caribbean. He migrated to Antigua in 1999, won Gem FM’s Caribbean Star Search there, and later recorded his first groovy tune, My Love, in Barbados with Da Bhann. Now based in Atlanta, he has also worked with artists including Sean Paul and Freddie McGregor, bringing enough range to make a classic sound lived-in rather than copied.

Levy’s original still carries the authority of its own era. Released in 1993 on MCA Records, Vice Versa Love was produced by Lee Jaffe, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, a credit line that still anchors the song’s legacy. Blessin did not try to overwrite that history. He used it as a launch point, and that is why this remake reads as both tribute and reinvention, with enough respect for the original to satisfy veterans and enough drive to pull in a new generation.