Jah Cure - Ghetto Life (VP Records)
In 2003 VP Records delivered the second album from the ultra-mysterious Jah Cure, Ghetto Life. Outside of Jamaica at the time the Mobay born singer was known as little more than 'that guy who is in jail', however, Ghetto Life went a very far way as to revealing more of the man behind the myth. His first album. Free Jah's Cure from 2000, was very well received amongst hardcore Reggae heads and yet Ghetto Life was CLEARLY a better album. Being produced by the man himself, Beres Hammond didn't hurt things either as Jah Cure gave to the world what remains his finest creation to date, Ghetto Life.
#1. Every Song I Sing
This song is about as strong of an opener that you could hope for on ANY album. On an entire album which was, in effect, so wonderfully understated, Every Song I Sing itself was probably more understated than most of the bigger tunes on the album. The fact that it was amongst those big tunes in terms of quality was more than just coincidence also. This song was EXCELLENT.
Line of the song: “Every song I sing, I just got to hail my King. HE is the truth that lies within”
#2. King(s) In This Jungle featuring Sizzla Kalonji
Its so interesting that if you go back to the Every Song I Sing tune, you’ll notice that the very first voice you hear on Jah Cure’s Ghetto Life is, in fact, Sizzla’s. May that point either to the good relationship to the two once had or the coming of the MADNESS which was King In This Jungle. Oddly enough there are two combinations on the album and this one is by far the lesser profile and regarded of the two but from beginning to end over what was probably the best riddim on the album, the duo prove to compliment each other about as well as any other artist either has ever worked with.
Line of the song: Sizzla - “I run every stoplight at every street”
#3. Western Region
Western Region was one of the best written tunes on the album as Jah Cure delivers a tune which is essentially about the Afrikan journey and the journey of her children. The voice goes up a few registers here and there and I would LOVE to see him perform this one today (or even better, voice it in a studio). It was LOVELY from start and really, in retrospect, should really be regarded as one of the finer (and more underrated) efforts of his entire career.
Line of the song: “Warn the likkle ghetto youth man, stop shooting your Black brothers down”
#4. Zion Way
The vocals on this one would have to stay up following Western Region and going over as LUSH of a riddim as it does and the Cure doesn’t disappoint at any stop in its 3:10 duration. This song was also one of my favourites and if I remember correctly it was my absolute preferred tune for awhile (at least until I got to track 7).
Line of the song: “Zion way, higher trod. Jah Jah part the Red Sea with the rod!”
#5. Run Come Love Me featuring Jah Mason
Two potentially future big artists hooked up at Cell Block Studios more than a decade ago to give to the masses a tune which would trace their entire years and all these years later would still be amongst the best from both. Run Come Love Me (Tonight) was one SWEET ass tune! The song wasn’t understated at all, but it was at the same time (‘understated’ and Jah Mason just don’t work together well) given the combination of the two different styles: It just worked almost to perfection and it wasn’t the only time the two worked their magic together.
Line of the song: Jah Mason - “Cuz dem no waan no lady. No big belly man like him ahgo have baby”
#6. Zion Await
Another CHILLINGLY BEAUTIFUL piece of vibes. If you listen REALLY closely you can hear Beres Hammond himself singing backup on Zion Await, which is absolutely ASTOUNDING now, when you think about it just how much strength vocally was on this song. Apart from that, Zion Await was another of the stronger written tunes on Ghetto Life as the Cure somewhat metaphorically used the coming of Zion to represent tangible changes coming to society. It is a prophecy which we are still waiting on, in part, however, maybe the metaphorical ‘Zion’ he spoke of was in this song. It was that good.
Line of the song: “Open up your eyes and see what’s happening. My people be wise, its time for rebuilding”
#7. Hail To My King
EYE WATA! Hail To My King is one of the best songs I have EVER heard. PERIOD! The ridiculous thing is that with so many of the songs that the Cure is now doing which have registered and really throughout his career, songs like this get lost in the shuffle but its probably better than any of them. He opts for a vocal setting somewhere between the laid back typicality of the album and what you’ll hear from him these days and it works COMPLETELY. And in saying that I think that it also gave an audio forecast of what was to come from the Cure vocally speaking but this song was downright ENCHANTING! Giving an incomparable praise to His Imperial Majesty on so many levels and doing so with such a lovely style, Hail To My King was the best song Ghetto Vibes gave us.
Line of the song: “Selassie I! The fullness I found WITHIN”
#8. Trust Me
Without a doubt Trust Me has become one of the signature tunes from the Ghetto Life album and due in no small part to the overall quality of the song. This one just sounds so WELL DONE from every aspect as Jah Cure laments on himself for having done what pretty much every man in the world has done (your’s truly included DEFINITELY) which is to FUCK UP and lose a potentially wonderful woman. Of course you and I can’t go to the doorstep and sing songs apologizing like Trust Me and I hope it helped him in that department as much as it helped this album.
Line of the song: “Trust me! I will never pull another prank on you baby. Trust me! Cause I’m done with the hanky panky baby”
#9. Ghetto Life
The title track for Ghetto Life definitely had a very pronounced old school vibes, even when compared to the balance of the rest of the album named after it. It also showed a bit of versatility from the Cure which, with that voice, isn’t something we typically think of him as having but here he kind of jumps in and out of different styles and pacing on the tune. The song peaks when, about halfway through the tune, the Cure begins to vocally DESTROY the chorus as only he can pushing it near the class of this CLASSIC album (and again, listen for Hammond in the background).
Line of the song: “Jailhouse and dead they get for their pay. Some sell out and some betray”
#10. How Can I
Sweetness come back in with the lovely first note and melody on How Can I. But the song doesn’t really follow the ‘script’ by developing into the lovers tune you might imagine. Instead the Cure asks the question “How can I cease my prayers, when that’s all I have to carry me through these days?”. The tune is actually an EXTREMELY well done social commentary but on a spiritual level which is actually quite unique for Jah Cure’s catalogue and simply not to be missed.
Line of the song: “I can see clearly now. Captive must be free, someway, somehow. My people lets live in harmony, just like it used to be”
#11. The Love Of My Life
If you came into Ghetto Life expecting Run Come Love Me to DOMINATE as far as love tunes go I may very well have agreed with you. However, its reign, while likely, comes into SLIGHT dispute when you get to this tune, The Love Of My Life later on in the album. This song is so SIMPLE and is the type of song where the Cure (even more these days) is able to just work his magic because of what he can do with his voice. Even if he doesn’t exactly test his range here, its still a LOVELY song which is well within the full ranges of the album.
Line of the song: “Tossing and turning in my bed, feelings in my head, I couldn’t sleep last night”
#12. Hanging Slowly
Another of the signature tracks and main attractions from the Ghetto Life album, Hanging Slowly was a very uplifting tune despite its ever present negativity (I think part of that is due to Jah Cure’s style on the tune) of having tough times to go through. It’s a very relatable tune which kind of WONDERFULLY has different ‘moods’ as a different sound breaks out here and there, kind of how we do when experiencing life. Good and bad times.
Line of the song: “No, it no easy when pockets and the bills are high”
#13. Dung In Deh
Listen to the previous twelve tunes on Ghetto Life (like I just did) and come to Dung In Deh and notice how the vibes just change up right there. While, of course, those twelve tunes are BRILLIANT, the noticeable change is a welcome one as you enjoy the sudden change of vibes (particularly welcome is the nyah drum in the back). This one stays within the vibes of the latter stages of the album (and the album’s title for that matter) as it deals with the hardships faced with ghetto life and does so very well.
Line of the song: “And all who nah pay dem dues you gonna read bout the judgment in the news!"
#14. Vibes Man A Build
What a title! What a song! Definitely one of my favourites Ghetto Life has to offer altogether, Vibes Man A Build was a kind of a FRANTIC sung song, which is definitely unique for the album but it was excellent at the same time. It does that, again, while focusing on the social commentary style of this part of the album but I definitely appreciate the ‘press gas’ nature of the tune as it shows that even though we have to keep our heads, sometimes losing your cool isn’t a bad thing.
Line of the song: “Inna the western man a drill now! And a pure vibes man a build now! Tell Babylon be still now!”
#15. Keep On
Although this tune, perhaps more so than any of the others even has faded away into obscurity, it was one helluva nice way to end the album as it stands as almost like a victory lap for the Cure and a look forward to the future. The vibes here are just so nice and it definitely has a musical ‘shuffling’ style to it as well as it even manages to come across one of the few full on recognizable compositions on the album, the old Satisfaction riddim. What a way to go out.
Line of the song: “I share my joys with anyone. As long as they are free”
Synopsis: Unlike the first time I did this (which can be found HERE) Jah Cure's Ghetto Life album doesn't exactly roll in so nicely in terms of cohesiveness, which is really the ONLY gripe one could have with it as he was in prison during its release and didn't have the ability to make an entire album supporting a title of 'Ghetto Life'. However, that should only even more enhance the legend of this album as should the fact that, at least on the surface, as I mentioned throughout, Jah Cure doesn't give you what he does today on Ghetto Life. The voice his employs today is in the STRATOSPHERE somewhere and while he does give us flashes here and there and his voice here is something incomparable as well, he almost purposefully contains himself to deal with the more serious and less 'sexy' subject matters at hand. So how when you take the fact that this album came right in the middle of his prison sentence and would have been the one of his albums that he would have had the LEAST direct involvement in and add to that, that he doesn't have at his disposal (or refuses to use it) his voice at its best, does Jah Cure manage to deliver the best album of his 2003, the best album of his entire career and a Modern Reggae Classic???
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