You can take the world’s wickedest producer and give him/her an entire year to come up with a single riddim, working tirelessly to perfect the piece to their absolute vision and then several things can go wrong, preventing it from scoring with the public at all. Going with those same parameters, we have to assume that the riddim itself will be top notch: Not only is the producer the best in the game, but this riddim is getting every opportunity to be crafted as close to perfect as possible, so again, we can go as far as to say that everything about it from a technical aspect will be great and that it will be creatively and sonically pleasing as well, so that part is taken care of. We can also assume that this piece will be well promoted as all the entire Reggae world generally will keep an ear to ’their’ output, so the very next time they bring a something, it will get proper spin and get it all across the board. So what can go wrong? One of the most crucial aspects of building a riddim actually occurs AFTER the entire process has been completed - choosing the best artists to voice it. It is completely impossible to go back throughout history and see which riddims rather anonymously ‘came and went’ without making as much as a scratch on the industry, simply because a producer, or whoever, chose the wrong artists to voice it. Kemar McGregor is probably my favourite producer going anywhere in any style right now and I’ll, of course, be keeping an eye out on each every one of his projects, but I’m sorry, if the next riddim his label, No Doubt Records, drops features the likes of Red Rat, Bunji Garlin and Elephant Man, it’s probably not going to do very much damage. Interesting? Sure. But it won’t reach up to the levels that his work typically does and deservedly so in my opinion. You do, somewhat smartly, tend to see labels and producers come up with a group of favourites which is both somewhat mundane to a degree and smart as hell to a next degree. Whenever Shane Brown’s Juke Boxx Productions releases a next riddim you can be almost guaranteed to hear from not only the likes of Peter Morgan, Busy Signal and Timeka Marshall (Juke Boxx artists), but also most likely there’ll be Lutan Fyah, Assassin and others who have become staples of recording for the label. The same could definitely be said for the resurging Penthouse Records. Despite not having many (if any at all) official artist under his wing at this point, veteran producer/label head, Donovan Germain, is wise to run his riddims across the players of a certain core group including Beres Hammond, Buju Banton, Queen Ifrica, Tony Rebel, and Assassin (all of whom are clearly ridiculous in a good way), before turning it to a more varied group of names, if ever doing such at all. Almost every label and producer of any note tends to do this, which is probably why we get the hits that we do and they avoid the pitfalls of selecting artists for a riddim which they just don’t blend with very well.
But doesn’t it just make you feel good when someone takes a chance or two? The aforementioned No Doubt Records is actually pretty good at this in my opinion. McGregor has gone through a process of raising his name across the board which makes it so the handful of big names in Roots Reggae who DON’T voice for him tend to stick out because of it, but he is certainly special (at least not for now) in that regard. Still, when someone really, I mean REALLY seem to go out of their way to record a very eclectic group of established artists and unknown likes, I appreciate it even before I actually get to the material. Just looking up and down and seeing that not only (at least potentially) the right type of artists have been chosen, but the producer didn’t just want to ‘play it safe’ but casting the usual cast of characters who voice similarly vibed pieces. Which is what brings us here. The coolest short man in the world, Reggae veteran Fragga Ranks (who I always maintain looks like Soca star Machel Montano’s brother), DEFINITELY caught my attention doing what I just spoke of and did so long before I had actually gotten my hands on it (and I think even before I heard any substantial portion of it) with his latest creation the Focus Riddim. The US based Ranks has been on the scene and has been well regarded for probably longer than I even know and for me personally, he’s dropped at least one album (Things Kina Funny) which I definitely enjoyed. So, although I may not be the biggest fan of the chanter from out of Kingston, the name Fragga Ranks is by no means foreign to me. Also (incidentally), he’s actually done a riddim for his Raw Moon label prior to the Focus, the Turn Me On, from a few years back (which actually included Sizzla). All that being said and with respect to his other material, in my opinion, the Focus Riddim becomes the highlight of his career and something which also seems to portend what is to come from Fragga and Raw Moon in the future. So what caught my eye here in terms of the artists? Every base is covered on the Focus riddim. You have a HEALTHY mix of well known and established current artists (gotta sale the thing after all), complete unknowns (at least to me), very talented up and comers and lesser known veterans and thrown in for flavour something which always helps in any situation, there’s also a bonafide Reggae legend on the riddim. And for me personally, two of the “well known and established current artists” are amongst my very favourites (and another one and I are from the very same place), one of the up and comers is someone that I’ve had my eye on for awhile (been telling all you wonderful people about him for a few minutes) and I’ve now come to learn of some very strong talent that I hadn’t known of prior to the Focus riddim (and all of that certainly helps to overlook the fact that also present is one of my LEAST favourite artists, who actually does a pretty good job). OH! And the riddim itself? It’s stellar. It’s a very good piece and it ultimately births one of the stronger Roots Reggae riddim albums of 2009 altogether.
Apparently the Focus riddim, a BIG trumpeting one-drop riddim with a bit of spiraling vibes to it, is a collaborative effort from Fragga Ranks’ Raw Moon label as well as a next outfit by the name of Top Tier Records (and is distributed digitally via the fine people at Zojak Worldwide). And both labels are well represented musically throughout the project also. Such as on the very first tune, actually, for the Focus Riddim album which SHOCKINGLY (sarcasm) features the title track from an individual by the name of Fragga Ranks. This tune is definitely one of the best on the riddim and I LOVE the way it comes through on a lyrical level. Fragga doesn’t just build it off the title, but instead, he subs in “waste time” (thus losing FOCUS) and speaks on all of the ills of society which a person who loses his way can encounter. BIG tune and probably one of the better that I’ve heard from Fragga, period. Next in is SHOCKINGLY (sarcasm again) the Top Tier representative Tom Laing, who I’ve NEVER heard of before. I don’t know if Laing actually runs Top Tier or is an artist on the label, but whoever he is, he sure does make a nice impression on his riddim with his tune ‘Heavy Load’. The singer comes through with one of the bigger vibes on the riddim as he seeks a higher source to help ease his burden. Then there’re a next two artists who I’ve never heard of chiming in with the very nice ‘Pain Cry’ - Lori Lava and Ras Faracon. I’m going to assume Faracon is the gentleman who introduces Lori Lava (because if he isn’t then. . . I don’t know who he is), but Lava and her WONDERFUL voice are the star attractions on Pain Cry definitely. The tune for many, like me, will serve as an introduction to the songstress and that VOICE and hopefully we can hear her on some future projects also because the song is nice, but the woman can SING! Seriously. All in all, although Fragga is saving the biggest guns, the start is very strong, even without them.
With the way it’s situated, Fragga doesn’t roll in said biggest guns on the Focus Riddim album until track eight when Lutan Fyah’s bigtime tune ‘Bugu Yaga’ comes in. Of course, you know I’m a huge fan of Fyah’s and tunes like this, which are seamless, are the exact reason why. The piece comes through with every single word sounding as if it were carefully crafted before being said and in his case, you can be sure it was with this beautiful Rasta uplifting tune. Fyah’s good friend and former mentor Jah Mason doesn’t reach until track twelve with his very well done ‘Life Has Been Good’, which is fairly typical for the extreme Mason. In his typical ’moody’ approach Mason declares that despite the MANY problems laid down by the corrupt system, life has still been good. And then there’s Bigga Haitian (new album, Sak Pasé in e-stores now), the only vocalist to reach the Focus riddim more than once. First is his solo effort ‘Love Life’. This tune is one of the best on the riddim altogether and it is so (to my opinion) in part because of its unapologetically straight forward nature. At times Bigga doesn’t even seem to care of being musical (and he remains so anyway), it’s just about making his point on the tune and for me it is punctuated when he says (rather casually), “Betta you make a life ah with your kids and your wife, no bodda be no badman, no walk with guns and knife”. BIG! And three tracks on Bigga Haitian returns on ‘All Things’ an excellent combination alongside WELL underrated singer Rob Symeonn where the duo declares “all things” possible through the light of His Imperial Majesty. I’m struggling to decide which of the two I enjoy more, but it’s ALWAYS so nice to hear from Symeonn and alongside Bigga Haitian no less, that’s just a huge linkup. There’s also ‘Zion Await’ a tune from (BROWN’S TOWN NATIVE!) Ras Myrhdak which is FIRE. This tune is one of the better that I’ve heard from Myrhdak over the last couple of years or so, as we wait for the well talented artist to return to the prominence he CLEARLY deserves (and more importantly, the CONSISTENCY), this is a nice step. And as far as the current artists, I’ll also mention ‘A Wah Dis’, a true testament to the Focus because it can make one of my least favourite artists (BY FAR), in Anthony Cruz, sound pretty good to my ears. Then there’re two elders (leaving no stone unturned is Fragga). The name Cherry Rock may not mean much to you (and I’m not even sure why I remember him because I had to do some research to name an actual tune from him), but he is one SWEET singer and he’s been around from forever and I always like to see names like his (and his in particular) on random modern riddims. His tune, the very poignant ‘Realms of Life’ is one of the best I hear on the Focus. Still, from a historical perspective, the biggest name here is that of Freddie McGregor, a legend, who lends his legendary vocals to the Focus riddim on the big call to action styled ‘Struggle’. Also, I suppose Rhonda Schuster qualifies as an elder as well and the bluesy folksy singer, in a ‘one of these things just doesn’t belong here’ type of situation, bucks the trend and delivers one of the stronger tunes with ‘It Don’t Really Matter’ and good on Fragga for linking such an artist here. Still, ALL OF THAT being said, it is a very new artist (and not the one who I talk about all the time), Shanti Reblah who, to my opinion, delivers on the Focus riddim’s finest tune, ‘Be Not Afraid’. This tune is somewhat written as the title track is from Fragga as Reblah doesn’t use the title, but replaces it with “I AM MYSELF, I COULDA NEVA WANNA BE SOMEONE ELSE”, and in kind of a lyrical twist (but one which is CRYSTAL CLEAR) Reblah basically says the masses to be ‘be not afraid’ to be yourself! HUGE take on a tune which seemed so clear just from the title, but takes a wonderful turn (and in doing so offers the line of the riddim when Shanti Reblah says “no bodda ill yourself, just go build yourself and low babylon caw dem ah kill demself”) and twists itself to the biggest vibes I hear on the riddim. Lastly is LEOPARD an up and comer who is WICKED! His tune ‘Trodding’ is another statement in a slowly growing bunch which, at least to me, seem to forecast greatness in his future and definitely keep an eye and two ears out for this potential star (the man says, “I’m trodding slowly but I’m getting there. With Selassie inna mi heart I no have nothing to fear. Alla di trial and tribulation weh di Binghi Man bear, I’m going there, I can somewhere”). And wonderfully included is a clean version of Focus Riddim, sans vocalist and it just sounds so nice and we always love it when they throw in the instrumental definitely.
Overall, I want to go back and stress the very nice variations shown on the artist selection on the Focus riddim. In retrospect, quite a few of these artists, including Bigga Haitian, Cherry Rock, Rob Symeonn and who knows who else, are based in and around New York, as are Fragga and Laing, which may explain their presence (and if that’s the case, I appreciate it even more and apparently in New York, the term ‘local artist’ doesn’t mean the same ‘lowered expectations’ situation as it does in many other places). But regardless of the circumstances, I think Raw Moon and Top Tier are to be commended, not only for making a big riddim (and the Focus is a big riddim), but for also swimming against the current and thinking outside of the box for a change. Sure, big artists are big artists and they’re always welcomed, but when someone can infuse a bit of common sense and still pick up names which FIT their project, you’ve got my attention and my gratitude. The Focus riddim album has done just that. Well done.
Rated 4/5
Raw Moon/Zojak World Wide
2009
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