State Of Da World is the name of the new album by Grammy-winning reggae band Inner Circle. It will be released in August by the New York independent company, Shanachie Records.

It is Inner Circle's first album of new songs since 2001's Barefoot In Negril. Shanachie president Randall Grass says it is their best effort in years.

"It has some of their best songwriting and is conceived as a true album not just a collection of tracks," Grass told The Gleaner.

Eight of State Of Da World's tracks are collaborations with big names such as Stephen and Damian Marley, Junior Reid, Gramps of Morgan Heritage, Mutabaruka, Bushman, Luciano and Steel Pulse front man David Hinds.

Grass says the group, which includes brothers and founding members Ian and Roger Lewis, returned to serious themes on the new set as can be heard on Religion, which was done with Bushman and Hinds.

Inner Circle was formed in the early 1970s and included the Lewis brothers, vocalist Prilly Hamilton, Ibo Cooper on keyboards and guitarist Stephen 'Cat' Coore. The band was wildly popular in the 1970s when it was led by charismatic singer Jacob Miller, who led the band during stints with Island and Capitol Records.

When Miller died in an auto accident in 1980, Inner Circle took a break from recording, but returned in 1986 with a new singer Calton Coffie, and the album, Black Roses. By then they were based permanently in Miami.

In 1994, the group released the Bad Boys album, which contained the international hit songs Sweat and Bad Boys. It sold platinum (over one million in sales) and won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.

Shanachie Records is a leading 'indie' company that started distributing reggae in the 1980s with dub master Augustus Pablo's classic East Of The River Nile album. It has other strong reggae albums in its catalogue by roots acts like Culture, Mutabaruka and the Wailing Souls.

In recent years, Shanachie has released new music by the late South African singer Lucky Dube and Third World.