It's Your World (Feat. Raheem DeVaughn, J. Ivy)

“Back when I wrote this song, the latest greeting in the hood was “What’s happening, baby?,” and for a while brothers settled on: “Ah man, it’s your world.”

Now, as a twenty-something, shy kid from Brooklyn, that phrase made me start thinking that, if it’s really true, I must be okay whoever — and wherever I was, even if I couldn’t feel it under the jaded, cold eye of the music business that circled overhead.

This song was Brian reassuring Brian with this mantra and sharing it with other Brians — of any shape or form — who might have needed it too.

Turns out there have been quite a few who did.”
— Brian Jackson

It can be argued that not many have been able to marry music and message with mastery as well as Brian Jackson, the legendary co-writer and musical partner of Gil Scott-Heron.

Brian emerges anew with a sound that is sure to reverberate through speakers and minds of today. This debut single, “It’s Your World,” produced by the iconic Masters At Work (Louie Vega and Kenny Dope), serves as an introduction to his forthcoming album, ‘Now More Than Ever.’

Jackson’s journey revisits 17 seminal tracks crafted alongside Scott-Heron, infusing them with a fresh, high-value production. This soundscape heralds a new dawn as Jackson enlists a vanguard of contemporary artists.

Raheem DeVaughn, the son of the mythical jazz musician Abdul Wadud and a torchbearer in a lineage of musical innovation, ignites this track with his sublime vocal performance, dancing effortlessly through various vocal tones and iterations.

DeVaughn’s voice deftly navigates the contours of the composition, reflecting its complexity and emotion.

Grammy Award-winning spoken word poet J. Ivy provides enchanting mantras that blend beautifully with the lush, textural framework laid by the maestros Vega and Dope.

True to the meticulous spirit of Masters At Work, the selection of musicians orchestrate this 11-minute masterpiece with precision and soul. With strings conducted by the esteemed Leroy Burgess and played by the Apple Hill String Quartet.

Background vocals feature the legendary Lisa Fischer and Cindy Mizelle.

The performance is held together by the inimitable Brian Jackson’s touch on the Fender Rhodes. The array of keyboards — Wurlitzer, piano, and synthesizers — maneuvered by Axel Tosca, alongside the tenor sax of Ivan Renta and the trumpet of Alex Norris, Gene Perez on bass, and Luisito Quintero on a variety of percussion instruments, complete this ensemble of sonic brilliance.

“Love is a suit of armor that’s warm. We are the light, we are the light, we are the right that’s been wrong…”

These eloquent reflections remind us that our minds must be rewired, our timelines rerouted, and that the world, indeed, is ours.

Jackson’s work remains a testament to his relentless truth-telling and visionary artistry, championing a narrative of empowerment and self-realization.

This track is but a herald of what is anticipated: a celebration of one of music’s most consistent, fearless truth-tellers across decades.

While a younger Jackson held a resolute mission to speak truth to power, the passage of time has only enriched his passion. His message endures, evolving to the realization that the ultimate power lies within us.

It is our world, where the dialogue is ours to command, a truth to speak — internally and externally

Written and performed by Brian Jackson
Vovals by Raheem DeVaughn and J. Ivy
Percussion by Luisito Quintero
Keyboards by Axel Tosca
Tenor Sax by Ivan Renta
Trumpet by Alex Norris
Bass by Gene Perez
Strings by Apple Hill String Quartet , Arrangement by Leroy Burgess
Produced by Louie Vega and Kenny Dope AKA Masters At Work

Releases May 2, 2025