Coming Soon: Extra Raw. . . The Best Of Lady Saw

01.Find A Good Man

02.Hardcore [It’s Raining]

03.Good Wuk

04.Give Me The Reason

05.Want It Tonight featuring Shabba Ranks

06.Healing featuring Beenie Man

07.Sycamore Tree

08.Na Nurse

09.Hice It Up

10.No Matta Me

11.Don’t Even Stress Dat

12.I’ve Got Your Man

13.Man Is The Least

14.Loser featuring Ce’cile

15.Chat To Mi Back

16.Me and My Crew [The Rae]

17.Silly Dreams

18.No Less Than A Woman

If ever you should get caught up by the grand strides being made by Women in Reggae music, here might be something to keep you grounded. In the Roots arena, things are quite a bit more crowded with Etana and Queen Ifrica sitting atop the pack in Jamaica and Dezarie, Queen Omega and a whole heap of others vying for similar respects. However, in Dancehall, despite moves being made by the likes of Spice, Timberlee, Tifa, Alaine and the addictive Pamputtae and older heads like Macka Diamond and the DIVINE Tanya Stephens still doing their things, there remains a clear choice as the Dancehall’s EMPRESS. On July 14th, VP Records delivers their second MASSIVE greatest hits compilation of Dancehall STAR Lady Saw, Extra Raw: The Best of Lady Saw. Saw can rather easily make the greatest claim of having more to do with the development of Dancehall as a functioning unit than any other woman in the game currently and probably ever as she is the one standing STILL without ever having taken a substantial break away from recording while some of her more popular peers, like Patra, haven't remained on course. Thus, to her go the spoils as one of VP's most significant and simply BEST artists over the years is once again given the royal treatment which she definitely deserves.

More than a decade ago VP delivered a similar project, the nineteen tracked Raw: The Best Of Lady Saw, which is probably one of the best greatest hits albums of the modern era. Way back then, the album was a testament to the amount of work and contributions the St. Mary native had made to the Dancehall and the fact that ELEVEN years later, she's still around and she's been around long enough to give us a sequel. The new album features, by my count, six tunes in common with the first, however, the balance of the twelve focus more on later efforts, like those from the Strip Tease album and the Walk Out album.

To my ears, one of the most AMAZING joys in Dancehall is to hear prime Lady Saw riding those almost old school riddims circa 1994 and the first album was FULL of those including hits like Hice It Up and, of course, Sycamore Tree, both of which wonderfully return on Extra Raw. It also WICKEDLY includes an underrated and not so well known combination with former Dancehall ace Shabba Ranking, Want It Tonight, which to my knowledge, has yet to appear on official CD. She also transitioned quite well and both the Strip Tease and Walk Out albums were full of very nice examples of how well Lady Saw has managed to 'upgrade' herself to keep up with the times. Songs like the moving No Less Than A Woman show that perfectly.

So! If you're looking for a bit of a history lesson definitely take a look at Extra Raw. . . The Best of Lady Saw. The album also includes a DVD, which I cannot WAIT to get my hands on, and is sure to become a collectors item as is the overall project in general. In stores July 14th, another BIG celebration of the undisputed Queen Of Dancehall Music (and TANYA has one coming too!).

Rated Potential 5/5 stars

VP Records

Releases on July 14, 2009