Toots and the Maytals

The world lost reggae legend Toots Hibbert on Sept. 11 (though no cause of death has been listed, he had been hospitalized with COVID symptoms prior to his death). One of the more unfortunate things, though, is that the 77-year-old Hibbert was celebrating the release of Got To Be Tough, his first album in a decade, released Aug. 28, which showed that he wasn’t slowing down creatively. Ahead of the new album, Hibbert did a select few American interviews. I was one of those fortunate ones; we spoke on Zoom on Aug. 4, a few weeks before his hospitalization. Seated at the mixing board at his studio in Jamaica, Mr. Hibbert — as his handler who brought him to his mixing board desk where Mr. Hibbert sat for the duration of the 30-minute Zoom call, addressed him — showcased his trademark spirit an...