It seems as if, almost on a schedule of some sorts, although our music is supposedly ‘regional’ and ‘underground’ even at its highest levels sometime, someone, some artist or some label just undertakes a project which would seem to be too big for the market of Reggae music. In other, more popular genres, it isn’t rare at all to see an album released simultaneously in two different forms as many adopt those ‘Deluxe’ or ‘Collector’s Edition’ labels which include either another disc of music or a DVD but what you’ve noticed in Reggae is that, while that does occur, ONLY the Deluxe edition will exist before ultimately being replaced on shelves by a single edition. The two are hardly ever released together and only AT ALL on the biggest projects. However, like I said, there are exceptions. Last year was an exception of EPIC proportions as one single label, Drop Di Bass, released THREE different albums of interest on the exact same day. A new Sizzla album is definitely a big deal in the Reggae world; as is a new Spragga Benz album and perhaps even more so due to the infrequency to which he releases and records; add to that FINALLY the debut album from one of the most underrated artists in Dancehall history, Madd Anju, and you’re really working with something near ridiculous levels. That’s exactly what DDB did when it released Sizzla’s Addicted, Spragga’s Prototype and Anju’s Mad Bwoy Anju albums simultaneously. In retrospect, none of them were really anything great (Addicted was AWFUL, Prototype was below average and Mad Bwoy Anju was pretty good) and the vibes were crazy and all over the place but my hat will forever be tipped in the direction of Drop Di Bass, even if we never hear from them ever again (supposedly they’re doing projects with veteran backing vocalist Calibe and Merciless of all people, coming up). Of course, I won’t include the usual matters of Sizzla, Jah Mason, Turbulence, Lutan Fyah and Natural Black releasing so many albums every year (because that’s slowing down these days) but what Midnite (Vaughn Benjamin) does each and every year almost has to be mentioned briefly. In short order from now, Benjamin will essentially be competing with himself when his next album, Ina Now, drops (if it hasn’t already, and it may have) not too long after the flawed To Mene and for the same Rastar Productions label no less. Benjamin, for the past few years has also done similar things in releasing three albums within a month of each other in the early months of the year and, in contrast to his ultra-active Jamaican peers, Benjamin produces, to the smallest detail, a few of his own releases. You also have quite things like VP Records well respected Strictly The Best being a double album release for most of its lifespan, Jet Star all of a sudden digitizing nearly its entire catalogue of its last few years of operation last year and to a smaller (and much more WONDERFUL) degree, last year, 2B1 releasing two different Lutan Fyah albums, Live In San Francisco and the MAMMOTH Africa albums. So we may not be as flashy as others and you may not think the market is there but, apparently, it is.
At least Culture Brown better hope that it is. ‘An album’ which has been on my radars for a couple of months now has been Brown’s new album, Poor. I’ve known the name Culture Brown for quite awhile now as one of Canada’s lesser known talents with the likes of Jahranimo (he actually appeared on Jahranimo’s 2008 album Praises) and I THINK he’s had an album before Poor but with this album, on premise ALONE, he changes the scope of his career IMMEDIATELY. The question has to be asked why would an artist with seemingly so little of backing and having not established his name on any of the typical Reggae avenues undertake such a project as a COMPLETELY OUT OF NOWHERE double album release, which is exactly what Poor is over its Disk 1 and Disk 2 (thirty + tracks). The actual answer may be in the question itself, in that he’s not actually of little backing. Apparently Culture Brown is quite popular in Canada and throughout Europe, particularly in France and in Germany where Poor is quite anticipated as well apparently. Culture Brown has been alluding the coming of such a project for quite awhile as well (whether we chose to listen or not). And although you won’t find too much Culture Brown music playing in the Caribbean, he also has a few places where the popularity levels for the Westmoreland native are quite high also. Quietly, Culture Brown has maintained a nomadic style of making his music throughout the prime of his career and even beforehand what you can see, simply by looking at the project in full is that he placed quite a high emphasis on bringing that same vibes of traveling to the furthest corners of the earth in order to do his work as Poor was recorded in many studios all over Jamaica, in Canada and in Europe also. That pattern has been somewhat successful for several of his peers (I.e. Mark Wonder, Queen Omega and Daddy Rings these days) and definitely Culture Brown now adds his name to that esteemed list of quality artists. Poor, I think, will b e largely a coming out party for Culture Brown to many fans and myself definitely included to an extent as I don’t think so many (especially not in the States) people have been exposed to his music much at all. So what will you find. Culture Brown DEFINITELY, in terms of voicing, registers in the style of artists who seem to have a base vibes somewhat derivative of the legendary Buju Banton. He fits into artists like Mega Banton (minus the Dancehall of course) and, more closely, Natural Black, who he greatly sounds like at times and Al Pancho. I would say that, overall, he has more natural talents than Al Pancho (although he does also exhibit that type of ‘rough around the edges’ quality which Pancho has made work for him) but Culture Brown isn’t a Natural Black (but then again, no one is, besides the man). And what he is, is put on FULL display on Poor, which although it all isn’t top notch material, in between the two albums, there is one VERY good project.
Poor comes via Akeel Records, which is apparently Culture Brown’s own label, and he, as well, takes an executive producer’s credit for an album which he has obviously spent such a great amount of time working on and getting out to the masses. The first disk, to my opinion is probably the more flashy of the two, although I have a nearly impossible task in deciding which of the two is ‘better’. Thankfully beginning the first disk is one of the best tunes on either album, as the two which follow it. . . aren’t. Groove On definitely isn’t bad , more like awkward. It kind of has an R&B vibes going on but Brown (which was actually a good idea on his part in my opinion) approaches it like an old school Dancehall tune but. . . It just sounds kind of odd. Sell Off, on the other hand, isn’t ODD so much as it seems FORCED. It literally sounds like he crafted in his head making something for the youths and something that would be catchy and while Sell Off may just serve those two purposes, it just isn’t very good. You often see artists, like Cocoa Tea for instance, who enjoy writing and singing about current events in the public sense (as opposed to what happens to be going on in their own lives) but recently, Culture Brown has to be the one who makes that commitment the most in my opinion. On the first disk of Poor alone he has the tune Obama which is okay I suppose but I’m SO tired of these tunes by now and Culture Brown’s ode to the US President doesn’t really break any new ground (although he does leave the WONDERFUL line “time to clear out the Bushes so the light can come in“). Tsunami deals with the event from a few years ago back (I THINK) and may be the only Reggae song I’ve heard entirely dedicated to it alone. Again, its not exactly the best tune I’ve heard either. And, also on the first disk, is Bail Out which is very clever and deals with The Bail Out in terms of the government helping out the business sectors as opposed to bail out, as in ‘of jail’. The song has to be considered one of the best on the project simply because of the approach and it does carry well to my opinion. Culture Brown goes STRAIGHT Buju Banton on one of the biggest tunes on Poor, With Faith alongside Johnny Diamond and the coolest old man in the world, Stranjah Cole. Reggae heads will hear the tune, like I did and IMMEDIATELY start singing Buju’s Til I’m To Rest, just as I did. The song is very well done. I also liked Rusty & Dusty which, to my ears, goes on the same riddim as Sizzla’s EPIC Woman I Need You tune, Brown doesn’t approach those levels but definitely leaves his impression on the riddim with the big social commentary. We Pray is another catchy one, although not as big but the lyrics on that one make it an attraction so definitely spin there a few times. More Responsible sounds like a Natural Black tune but it is in fact Culture Brown who works his magic on that one and after several spins it started to grow on me, the tune urging full scale upping of responsibility for the sake of the youths. According to the press for the album Hillary Clinton liked the title track, I’m not fond of it (its too cliché to my opinion) and NOT ONE of the tunes following it completing disk one. Gunnie Gunnie is annoying as hell! Hurted plunders the melody of Erykah Badu’s song You Got Me with the Roots. Of course, it worked for them (I use to love that tune), it doesn’t work for Culture Brown. Do biggup the ‘curious’ voiced Saina who checks in on Whoever alongside Brown, the two make an awkward duo but Saina is definitely a talented artist.
Where Disk One is more flashy of the two, Disk Two is more substance over style and straight to the point. Luckily, for the sake of my point, that is evident in the first three tracks, one of the strongest on the project: Zion Trod. The song isn’t really anything so SPECIAL, yet its solid (more on that in a bit) but the entire vibes are just set so nicely with a very free-flowing and drumming filled nature to it. Strong And Bless is my choice as the single best tune you’ll find on either disks of Culture Brown’s Poor. The tune is just BRILLIANT, it features veteran Canada based artist Ibo (who I believe is the same Ibo who dropped the nice album The Prayer a few years back, track name Morning In Zion was MASSIVE!) and these two deliver a very nice praising tune to His Majesty. Lot of chemistry between the two (Ibo also does some production on Poor) and I’d definitely like to see them take another go at it and I’m sure they will at some point. At It Again is another nice message track for the people as it strikes out against the world leaders (again, dealing with current events) and it really is a nice type of track, not the best, of course, but well solid in itself. After Strong & Bless, Culture Brown links another STRONG combination on the second disk and a pretty high profile one also, Thanks For Life alongside veteran singer and former Black Uhuru front man Andrew B(ees). I’ve always though that Bees, for his skill set was entirely underrated and he definitely gives a good showing on the tune. I also like Mama Africa, a very strong KNOWLEDGE track concerning the Diaspora in particular, just a solid track there. Road Safety (of course) is a tune about driving properly and cutting down on the accidents on the road while Caution is a tune for the Women of the world against the dangers of abortion and Culture Brown’s advocacy of PROTECTION instead. And the end of Disk two things fall apart again a bit as the tune More Love takes the melody of The Harder They Come and I really don’t like the song AT ALL. And I won’t bother you with the mix. Bringing together an album which. . .
Overall, I just don’t know! I wanted so very much to like this album as I had been looking forward to it for awhile and the cover looks so nice and all the song titles looked so nice and the clips I heard were nice but the album. . . Just. . . Its just kind of there. A lot of the tunes here which I may even like just aren’t really anything special inasmuch as they’re SOLID and what comes with that after awhile, (I SOOOOOOOOO HATE TO SAY THIS) is that over the span of what is basically two albums, it can get kind of boring. The songs don’t really go anywhere new for hardcore Reggae heads and really with the kind of music that it is, that’s the crowd that’s going to be looking at picking up Culture Brown’s Poor. Also, like I said its kind of hard to pick a favourite disk, there is a GOOD album here but in order to find it you’d almost have to pick tunes from both halves. Also, through listening to it quite a bit more and more, Brown almost sounds exactly like Al Pancho and that’s a good thing if you’re an Al Pancho fan but I’m not. We should definitely give big respect to Culture Brown for taking his time and pushing Poor out there for the masses and I’m sure he did his research and I’m sure it’ll sell well. However, for as much as I praise him for undertaking and COMPLETING such a project and with all everything that goes into it. . . Poor just seems to be missing something.
Rated 3/5 stars
Akeel Records
2009
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