There is both an honor and responsibility built into being the child of a musical icon. Tosh feels both pointedly and has worked hard to honor his heritage while forging his own musical identity. NHADVOCATE

Born Jawara McIntosh in Kingston, Jamaica in 1980, the son of renowned reggae superstar Peter Tosh was in his father's direct light briefly. By 1985, his mother had separated from Tosh, moving them to Boston to be near family. Tosh1 remained in constant contact with his father until his tragic death in 1987.

"I was very close with my father," says Tosh1. "Because he was murdered when I was 7, there's a void there, and the only way I can fill it is to seek the truth and represent what my father represented. I keep very fond memories of him."

With a deep love of reggae hardwired in his psyche, Tosh1 listened to a dizzying cross section of contemporary sounds, especially rap and hip-hop: Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Ice Cube and Kool Moe Dee. In 2000, he began encompassing his desire to meld his two favorite genres into a single new creative force. Since then, Tosh1 has been honing his craft, dedicating himself to not only furthering his own musical aspirations but maintaining his father's music and message as a living presence.

"If you're not willing to stand for the truth, what will you stand for?" says Tosh1. "If you're going to die for something, it might as well be the truth. It's the only real thing worth dying for."

Tosh1's current tour is billed as a tribute to Peter Tosh, but is also a hint of what fans can expect to hear on Tosh1's debut album, tentatively slated for later this year. With a full complement of guests — including Cuban, Stoosh, Mistree and Sledge — performing a couple of tracks each to warm up the show, Tosh1 and his backing unit, the Dis-n-Dat Band, present a show that simultaneously honors the past and previews the future.

"It's about 60/40 or even 70/30," says Tosh1. "Most of it is a tribute to my father right now. I'm just introducing myself to the people. A lot of people want to hear my father's stuff but I definitely integrate some of my own material, too."

Like his controversial father, Tosh1's music transmits his message of social change, spiritual belief and activist conviction. Unlike a lot of next generation reggae proponents who cloak themselves in Jamaican colors and cloud themselves in less-than-sacramental smoke, Tosh1 is fiercely committed to righting the world's wrongs and providing a soundtrack to the process.

"My music is very spiritually-motivated," he says. "I put that fire in the music so that it's undeniable. It's straight-up truth. My father was the same way. He was about no compromise and telling the people, 'This is what's going on; get up and stand up for your rights.' But to this day, we're still sitting down and that's the problem. I have to do my duty to remind us that we have to get up. Everybody in the world has an inborn concept of the truth and what's going on and know it's not right. But you have to be ready to do something about it, that's the next level."

In creating his reggae/rap hybrid, Tosh1 is reaching a broad spectrum of music listeners, reflected in both his professional peer group and the composition of his audience.

"You have hip-hop producers and reggae producers but it's rare that you come across a reggae and hip-hop producer," says Tosh1. "We got Sly and Robbie to sign on for the project and I'm working with a producer named Cashmere Royale — a great producer from Colorado. As for the audience, it's very diverse. Every time I have a show, I'm surprised by the turnout. Some are straight-up reggae fans and some are diehard hip-hop fans, but it's a nice mixed crowd. I'm getting young people, old folks, black, white, Chinese. Everybody's coming out."