IN-DEMAND veteran reggae artiste Junior 'One Blood' Reid will be releasing his 17th studio album entitled Junior Reid, The Legend, on July 15.

The singer said the 16 track, one drop reggae set, is different from his previous projects as he wanted a local flavour.

"I have involved more local acts and kept the focus on reggae music. I took the time out to 'service' the reggae zone," the 51-year-old told Jamaica Observer.

Most of the album's tracks were produced by Reid's label JR Productions and also features works from Fat Eyes Production.

The set boasts collaborations with Julian Marley (Inna Di Gideon), Sizzla Kalonji (This Generation), Buju Banton (Unwanted), and Vybz Kartel and Uncle Murda (Guns Dem Load). Other singles include Same Boat, Never Let You Go and One Blood.

"I really hope that this album will reach out to the fans worldwide and also grab the attention of new ones," he said.

Reid said while he expects major success from each single, he admits his favorite is Same Boat.

"We all came here on the same boat, even the slave masters were on it. It has a lot to do with black people's history and that's very important to me," he said.

Reid emerged on the music scene in 1978. He scored big with Original Foreign Mind in the 1980s. However, in 1990 he released the unity anthem One Blood, which topped reggae charts worldwide putting him at the forefront of the reggae scene.

A former lead singer of the Grammy-winning Black Uhuru, the group's Brutal was nominated for a Grammy in 1987. The single Great Train Robbery was a hit in the United Kingdom.

Due to his unique style, Reid has been sought after by many American hip-hop and R&B artistes including Alicia Keys on No One remix; This is Why I'm Hot remix with rapper Mims, and Died In Your Arms remix with T-Pain and Rick Ross.

Among his many albums are One Sufferation, One Blood and Rasta Government in 1980, 1992 and 2003 respectively.

Last month, he released his Undeniable mixtape, which features American rappers Snoop Dogg, Fabolous, Lil Wayne, The Game, Swizz Beatz, and Rick Ross.