As I once wrote in a term paper back in college, Reggae music could essentially serve as the soundtrack for the Afrikan Diaspora given the surface area of topics which it tends to cover. Ever since its creation and its forefathers of Mento and Ska music, the music coming from Jamaica, and by extension the Caribbean as a whole, has always had a socio-political and cultural tilt in terms of what it covered. It can and has also been described as the world’s greatest newspaper as, at times, all one needs to do is listen to certain top Reggae tunes or certain artists to find out exactly what is happening in terms of Afrika and it’s children worldwide. Thus, all that being said and true, it was no surprise how Reggae music and all of Jamaica and most of the Caribbean responded to by far the most significant occurrence in recent the recent history of the Afrikan Diaspora, and one of the most significant of all time, the electing of Barack Hussein Obama as the President of The United States of America on November 4, 2008. For quite awhile, pretty much anywhere you would go in Jamaica (even before the election) and, surprisingly even in the far more neutral St. Maarten, it was Obama country for the most part. There were countless murals being painted and countless rallies of support being held and just general good feelings and support for the presidential hopeful. And, of course, after he had actually won, things grew to an even greater degree of prominence as, throughout the Caribbean, there were conferences and even more jovial types of gatherings held in the name of the new President. Of course, we being a very musical people, this transferred well into the musical aspect of our culture as well, just as previous political events had done, including quite a few lyrical barbs thrown at former President George W. Bush, in his eight years in office. Of course, that’s what Reggae music does. This occurred throughout the Caribbean as well, not just in Jamaica as, very memorably the legendary calypsonian of Trinidad (Grenadian born), The Mighty Sparrow, after enjoying one of his biggest Carnival seasons in awhile on the strength of a remake of one of his greatest tunes, Conga Man, by Soca superstar Machel Montano, checked in with the VERY popular Barack The Magnificent tune, which was followed by an equally popular double album of the same name. Closer to home, TOP NOTCH Reggae and Dancehall artists like Beenie Man, Sizzla Kalonji and Mavado voiced tunes in honour of the new president alongside many of the peers and several of these tunes went on to be decent sized hits. Virtually coinciding with yet another big cultural event, the Olympics, the President became the talk of Reggae town again, after eight years of ‘positive absence’ in his truly EXTRAORDINARY accomplishment.
Out of all the artists, throughout the Caribbean and the different genres, perhaps the one who scored with the biggest shot of all was one of the very first who jumped on the bandwagon, surprisingly, longtime Reggae veteran from out Clarendon, the very respect Cocoa Tea. I had read quite a few articles surrounding Cocoa Tea’s song named after the new President as early as the late beginning of last year, well before his own early September forty-ninth birthday celebration, at a time when the then Senator from Illinois had yet to even secure his own party’s nominee and was facing the heavily favoured Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. And while I do tend to disagree with MANY of the articles written about Cocoa Tea’s song, in the suggestion that it somewhat ‘reenergized’ or completely ‘re-birthed’ his career (as I don’t feel that Cocoa Tea’s career was exactly lagging, over the past few years he’s proven himself to be someone who remains solid during the time and every other year or so has a hit tune, nothing different happened here in my opinion), I do have to admit that the tune went on to be an obviously big hit for the singer, one of his biggest in recent years. So, the next step? Well, just like the aforementioned Mighty Sparrow and others such as respected Trinidadian Parang artist Eric Powder, as well as The Ranking Cobra from out of Antigua, Cocoa Tea released a full on Obama-themed project; Yes We Can, the album named after the would be President’s official campaign slogan in 2008. This album has been receiving quite a bit of attention since it’s release in early November, soon after the election, for obvious reasons. However, that being said, the Reggae purist in me cannot help but scream out WHO CARES WHY IT EXISTS, IT IS A NEW COCOA TEA ALBUM!, which is always a good thing. Yes We Can comes via Cocoa Tea’s very own Roaring Lion imprint and is distributed via Tad’s Records and Zojak Worldwide digitally. The self produced Yes We Can is the sweet voiced veteran’s first studio release since 2006’s VERY NICE and underrated Save Us Oh Jah release from VP Records and is his first release from his own Roaring Lion since 2004’s Tek Weh Yuh Gal which had the title track which would have been his last such ‘homegrown’ hit a few years back (showing exactly what I meant by Cocoa Tea’s career pattern basically since the turn of the century). Yes We Can is an album which, of course, receives the obvious attention via it’s connections to the new President (who has proven to be definitely the world’s greatest salesperson and most identifiable face, besides being a wonderful individual) and it contains the two singles which helped launch the album itself into existence. I, personally, look at albums like this as a good thing simply in theory. This album will and has received attention in circles which Reggae music, and Caribbean music in general, typically doesn’t receive and I don’t necessarily mean ‘mainstream’ attention, but eyes will be and have been on it which don’t usually surround every socio-political Reggae release. But, again, the Reggae purist in me has to analyze Yes We Can for it’s merits as an album. So, as those different sets of eyes and ears tune in to his most popular album to date, what they won’t be tuning in to is Cocoa Tea’s best.
The first thing which is certain to catch attentions of this albums is the wonderful packaging which features people of a variety of ethnicities and walks of life surrounded by flags from countries all over the world, all of which surround Cocoa Tea, himself. If this is your first venture into a Cocoa Tea album (and it may very well be) I’ll also tell you that he is probably the coolest man in the world, just keep that in mind. Getting things started on Cocoa Tea’s latest big release Yes We Can is the title track which was one of the two previously released BIG singles which got all the talking going. Thankfully, to go along with the hype surrounding the tune, Yes We Can is a fairly big tune. The tune, of course, has a very unifying vibes and, in terms of the sound, it has a very ‘sing-a-long’ style to it. I’m not going to go as far as call it the best on the album named after it, but it is definitely amongst the class of the album and probably the single most addictive tune on the album altogether (and I love how Cocoa Tea sings it with a bit of added strength to his vocals as well which is something he RARELY does). Next up is the first of several combinations and a few remakes as well, with Nuh Cut It Dung which is a take on John Holt’s CLASSIC Police In Helicopter. The tune features the singer alongside Beenie Man’s good friend and Shocking Vibes product, the talented and over animated Silver Cat as well as Cocoa Tea’s good friend, talented chanter (and backup singer) Culture Lion and young Jamaican rapper/producer Gammy D (the later two both being from Clarendon). The tune here is okay, decent enough, however, to my ears the song is destroyed after Silver Cat’s first verse which is never equaled for the balance of the song, except by Cocoa Tea’s (of course) well solid vocals throughout (although Culture Lion does come very close). Decent track. Completing the opening to Cocoa Tea’s Yes We Can album is another of the bigger tunes on the album really, War War. This tune is more along the lines of what you’ll normally hear Cocoa Tea sing in most situations and it is very well done, which is another thing you’ll normally hear from him. But definitely give this one a few deep spins because, although it may not be spectacular, it’s just such a nice vibes against the war and violence. Big tune and solid enough opening in full.
As you look down the tracklist of course the other tune which really sticks out on Yes We Can is the tune named Barack Obama which was the big hit which led to the existence of this album. The song was a big hit, however, most Reggae heads I know, myself included) weren’t very high on the tune itself . It does have a very nice old school vibes (and that’s the aforementioned Culture Lion you hear saying “Obama!”) but it was actually kind of corny at times and somewhat funnily written. But who cares, it was a hit and that’s really all that matters, just not his best. Not even close. What is the best on Yes We Can? That comes in one of the combinations as Cocoa Tea is joined by another legend out of Clarendon, his neighbour, Prezident Brown on the WICKED 119. Anytime you get two such artists together, you’re really dealing with something potentially special and that’s exactly what the duo delivers on the excellent anti-violence anthem, not to be missed, especially by the hardcore Reggae heads and I’d love to see them voice more tunes together or maybe even someday perform this one live. Big tune and the album’s finest. Of course you’ll be drawn to the other combinations which feature just as big and even bigger names. Check the very well done Real Man alongside the legendary Marcia Griffiths. This is an older tune which I do recall hearing a bit and is a very solid piece between the two vets, over Cocoa Tea’s cut of the equally legendary Equal Rights riddim. Longtime Cocoa Tea spar and Dancehall legend Shabba Ranking joins him on the decent enough Time Is Red which, considering the pairing, could have really been a better offering, not that its BAD, I just expected more. And on the bonus tune Tings Getting Tougher, Sizzla Kalonji joins Cocoa Tea on a song which was better than I thought it may be considering the combination the two had on the Tek Weh Yuh Gal album. On this one, Sizzla keeps his cool and delivers a winning effort alongside the usually strong Cocoa Tea. Nice tune and one of the album’s finest. The balance of Yes We Can finds Cocoa Tea by his lonesome and still pushing nice vibes. Check the remake of Dennis Brown’s tune (You And Your) Smiling Face. Cocoa Tea was made to sing SWEET tunes like this one and I’m sure the Crown Prince would be proud with his efforts. The same could be said about I May Never (See My Baby), a remake of a very old Horace Andy tune. This one is even better, to my opinion, than Smiling Face and Andy, who just released his own album, may have an opportunity to hear this one, and he is certain to enjoy what he hears, definitely. Going back a minute, check the very SMOOTH I’m Waiting. This tune is DEFINITELY one of the better ones on Yes We Can altogether and is probably the one which I hadn’t heard previously which I’ve spun the most since I’ve had it, nice lover’s piece there. Another nice piece is the tune I’m Not Guilty which was written, reportedly, about a dispute Cocoa Tea had in Barbados where he was arrested and actually charged with marijuana possession which prevented him from traveling to the States to tour. The matter was ultimately settled and he was permitted to travel, but on the plus side, it did give us this very fine tune. And as the album winds down we do get two very nice tunes in Love Is Not To Play and the somewhat corny I Swear which is still growing on me. Love Is Not To Play is the stronger of the two although it doesn’t go to the heights of the piece in my opinion; before turning it over to I Swear which, has a bit of building left to do with me still. Ultimately Sizzla chimes in to help Cocoa Tea on the aforementioned very nice ending tune, Tings Getting Tougher.
Overall, given the nature of this project, I’m certain that there are going to be quite a few ears listening this one who haven’t previously listened to him and while they’ll certainly get a well done project, I wish Cocoa Tea had stepped up Yes We Can even more. It’s difficult with the topic here because Yes We Can basically had a ‘deadline’ of sorts because then Senator Barack Obama still had to actually win the election and delaying this one, in case he actually didn’t win it, was a risk Cocoa Tea and company just weren’t willing to take. In retrospect, because Obama did win, it might’ve been nice to delay the release until his inauguration; as it stands Yes We Can was released officially on November 4, 2008, the actual day of the elections. What I do hope, however, from a Reggae standpoint is that those fans tuning in for the first time will seek out other Cocoa Tea tunes and albums and more Reggae in general, because, from a marketing standpoint, this one is for them. Hardcore fans, this one is pretty much a solid collector’s item for you, as if you have either of the Save Us Oh Jah or Tek Weh Yuh Gal albums, then you’re certain to rate them higher. This one, however, has a landmark feel and approach to it and what we can hope is that new fans tuning into Cocoa Tea’s C game, will come back for his A game. One of the best in the business taking on one of the most events in the recent history of the Afrikan world.
Out of all the artists, throughout the Caribbean and the different genres, perhaps the one who scored with the biggest shot of all was one of the very first who jumped on the bandwagon, surprisingly, longtime Reggae veteran from out Clarendon, the very respect Cocoa Tea. I had read quite a few articles surrounding Cocoa Tea’s song named after the new President as early as the late beginning of last year, well before his own early September forty-ninth birthday celebration, at a time when the then Senator from Illinois had yet to even secure his own party’s nominee and was facing the heavily favoured Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. And while I do tend to disagree with MANY of the articles written about Cocoa Tea’s song, in the suggestion that it somewhat ‘reenergized’ or completely ‘re-birthed’ his career (as I don’t feel that Cocoa Tea’s career was exactly lagging, over the past few years he’s proven himself to be someone who remains solid during the time and every other year or so has a hit tune, nothing different happened here in my opinion), I do have to admit that the tune went on to be an obviously big hit for the singer, one of his biggest in recent years. So, the next step? Well, just like the aforementioned Mighty Sparrow and others such as respected Trinidadian Parang artist Eric Powder, as well as The Ranking Cobra from out of Antigua, Cocoa Tea released a full on Obama-themed project; Yes We Can, the album named after the would be President’s official campaign slogan in 2008. This album has been receiving quite a bit of attention since it’s release in early November, soon after the election, for obvious reasons. However, that being said, the Reggae purist in me cannot help but scream out WHO CARES WHY IT EXISTS, IT IS A NEW COCOA TEA ALBUM!, which is always a good thing. Yes We Can comes via Cocoa Tea’s very own Roaring Lion imprint and is distributed via Tad’s Records and Zojak Worldwide digitally. The self produced Yes We Can is the sweet voiced veteran’s first studio release since 2006’s VERY NICE and underrated Save Us Oh Jah release from VP Records and is his first release from his own Roaring Lion since 2004’s Tek Weh Yuh Gal which had the title track which would have been his last such ‘homegrown’ hit a few years back (showing exactly what I meant by Cocoa Tea’s career pattern basically since the turn of the century). Yes We Can is an album which, of course, receives the obvious attention via it’s connections to the new President (who has proven to be definitely the world’s greatest salesperson and most identifiable face, besides being a wonderful individual) and it contains the two singles which helped launch the album itself into existence. I, personally, look at albums like this as a good thing simply in theory. This album will and has received attention in circles which Reggae music, and Caribbean music in general, typically doesn’t receive and I don’t necessarily mean ‘mainstream’ attention, but eyes will be and have been on it which don’t usually surround every socio-political Reggae release. But, again, the Reggae purist in me has to analyze Yes We Can for it’s merits as an album. So, as those different sets of eyes and ears tune in to his most popular album to date, what they won’t be tuning in to is Cocoa Tea’s best.
The first thing which is certain to catch attentions of this albums is the wonderful packaging which features people of a variety of ethnicities and walks of life surrounded by flags from countries all over the world, all of which surround Cocoa Tea, himself. If this is your first venture into a Cocoa Tea album (and it may very well be) I’ll also tell you that he is probably the coolest man in the world, just keep that in mind. Getting things started on Cocoa Tea’s latest big release Yes We Can is the title track which was one of the two previously released BIG singles which got all the talking going. Thankfully, to go along with the hype surrounding the tune, Yes We Can is a fairly big tune. The tune, of course, has a very unifying vibes and, in terms of the sound, it has a very ‘sing-a-long’ style to it. I’m not going to go as far as call it the best on the album named after it, but it is definitely amongst the class of the album and probably the single most addictive tune on the album altogether (and I love how Cocoa Tea sings it with a bit of added strength to his vocals as well which is something he RARELY does). Next up is the first of several combinations and a few remakes as well, with Nuh Cut It Dung which is a take on John Holt’s CLASSIC Police In Helicopter. The tune features the singer alongside Beenie Man’s good friend and Shocking Vibes product, the talented and over animated Silver Cat as well as Cocoa Tea’s good friend, talented chanter (and backup singer) Culture Lion and young Jamaican rapper/producer Gammy D (the later two both being from Clarendon). The tune here is okay, decent enough, however, to my ears the song is destroyed after Silver Cat’s first verse which is never equaled for the balance of the song, except by Cocoa Tea’s (of course) well solid vocals throughout (although Culture Lion does come very close). Decent track. Completing the opening to Cocoa Tea’s Yes We Can album is another of the bigger tunes on the album really, War War. This tune is more along the lines of what you’ll normally hear Cocoa Tea sing in most situations and it is very well done, which is another thing you’ll normally hear from him. But definitely give this one a few deep spins because, although it may not be spectacular, it’s just such a nice vibes against the war and violence. Big tune and solid enough opening in full.
As you look down the tracklist of course the other tune which really sticks out on Yes We Can is the tune named Barack Obama which was the big hit which led to the existence of this album. The song was a big hit, however, most Reggae heads I know, myself included) weren’t very high on the tune itself . It does have a very nice old school vibes (and that’s the aforementioned Culture Lion you hear saying “Obama!”) but it was actually kind of corny at times and somewhat funnily written. But who cares, it was a hit and that’s really all that matters, just not his best. Not even close. What is the best on Yes We Can? That comes in one of the combinations as Cocoa Tea is joined by another legend out of Clarendon, his neighbour, Prezident Brown on the WICKED 119. Anytime you get two such artists together, you’re really dealing with something potentially special and that’s exactly what the duo delivers on the excellent anti-violence anthem, not to be missed, especially by the hardcore Reggae heads and I’d love to see them voice more tunes together or maybe even someday perform this one live. Big tune and the album’s finest. Of course you’ll be drawn to the other combinations which feature just as big and even bigger names. Check the very well done Real Man alongside the legendary Marcia Griffiths. This is an older tune which I do recall hearing a bit and is a very solid piece between the two vets, over Cocoa Tea’s cut of the equally legendary Equal Rights riddim. Longtime Cocoa Tea spar and Dancehall legend Shabba Ranking joins him on the decent enough Time Is Red which, considering the pairing, could have really been a better offering, not that its BAD, I just expected more. And on the bonus tune Tings Getting Tougher, Sizzla Kalonji joins Cocoa Tea on a song which was better than I thought it may be considering the combination the two had on the Tek Weh Yuh Gal album. On this one, Sizzla keeps his cool and delivers a winning effort alongside the usually strong Cocoa Tea. Nice tune and one of the album’s finest. The balance of Yes We Can finds Cocoa Tea by his lonesome and still pushing nice vibes. Check the remake of Dennis Brown’s tune (You And Your) Smiling Face. Cocoa Tea was made to sing SWEET tunes like this one and I’m sure the Crown Prince would be proud with his efforts. The same could be said about I May Never (See My Baby), a remake of a very old Horace Andy tune. This one is even better, to my opinion, than Smiling Face and Andy, who just released his own album, may have an opportunity to hear this one, and he is certain to enjoy what he hears, definitely. Going back a minute, check the very SMOOTH I’m Waiting. This tune is DEFINITELY one of the better ones on Yes We Can altogether and is probably the one which I hadn’t heard previously which I’ve spun the most since I’ve had it, nice lover’s piece there. Another nice piece is the tune I’m Not Guilty which was written, reportedly, about a dispute Cocoa Tea had in Barbados where he was arrested and actually charged with marijuana possession which prevented him from traveling to the States to tour. The matter was ultimately settled and he was permitted to travel, but on the plus side, it did give us this very fine tune. And as the album winds down we do get two very nice tunes in Love Is Not To Play and the somewhat corny I Swear which is still growing on me. Love Is Not To Play is the stronger of the two although it doesn’t go to the heights of the piece in my opinion; before turning it over to I Swear which, has a bit of building left to do with me still. Ultimately Sizzla chimes in to help Cocoa Tea on the aforementioned very nice ending tune, Tings Getting Tougher.
Overall, given the nature of this project, I’m certain that there are going to be quite a few ears listening this one who haven’t previously listened to him and while they’ll certainly get a well done project, I wish Cocoa Tea had stepped up Yes We Can even more. It’s difficult with the topic here because Yes We Can basically had a ‘deadline’ of sorts because then Senator Barack Obama still had to actually win the election and delaying this one, in case he actually didn’t win it, was a risk Cocoa Tea and company just weren’t willing to take. In retrospect, because Obama did win, it might’ve been nice to delay the release until his inauguration; as it stands Yes We Can was released officially on November 4, 2008, the actual day of the elections. What I do hope, however, from a Reggae standpoint is that those fans tuning in for the first time will seek out other Cocoa Tea tunes and albums and more Reggae in general, because, from a marketing standpoint, this one is for them. Hardcore fans, this one is pretty much a solid collector’s item for you, as if you have either of the Save Us Oh Jah or Tek Weh Yuh Gal albums, then you’re certain to rate them higher. This one, however, has a landmark feel and approach to it and what we can hope is that new fans tuning into Cocoa Tea’s C game, will come back for his A game. One of the best in the business taking on one of the most events in the recent history of the Afrikan world.
Rated 3.5/5 stars
Roaring Lion
2008 [CD Version]
No comments:
Post a Comment