Daniel Caesar has put his own spin on a classic Bob Marley track, in advance of the release of a long-awaited biopic about the reggae legend.
“Waiting In Vain,” a cover of Marley’s 1977 hit, was released on Friday (February 2). It will appear on an EP of songs “inspired by” the upcoming movie Bob Marley: One Love.
The EP will be released on February 14, the same day the movie comes out. In addition to Caesar’s song, the project will contain contributions from Kacey Musgraves, Wizkid, Leon Bridges, Jessie Reyez, Bloody Civilian, and Bob’s grandson Skip Marley.
You can hear Caesar’s take on “Waiting In Vain,” produced by the singer himself, below.
The original “Waiting In Vain” peaked at number 27 on the UK singles chart. Several years after its release, it was anthologized on Marley’s greatest hits collection Legend. The best-selling reggae album of all time, Legend has gone 15 times platinum, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
Caesar’s most recent project Never Enough was released in the spring of last year.
“Never Enough functions as a break-up album, but it also marks a redemption arc for a flawed man with equally flawed views to make a case at proving he’s matured,” wrote HipHopDX‘s Louis Pavlakos in a review of the album.
“Subversion is what distinguishes Never Enough from his previous efforts. Instead of sprinkling female voices across the album as he did on Freudian, this record exclusively focuses on the male perspective — save for a handful of background harmonies from women and a Summer Walker remix on the deluxe.
“The growth shows…though a lengthy runtime and inconsistent themes can sometimes feel like Caesar had two different visions but combined them into one sprawling project covering four years of absence.”
Never Enough received an Honorable Mention for Best R&B Album of 2023 in the HipHopDX Awards.
