{note: Despite the fact that the first drop is pretty Roots Reggae heavy, I'll be doing EVERY kind of video for the music I talk about in the future}
Tiwony - Viv La Vi [Directed by Kramé Productions]
First up is the video for the title track to what has become one of the most talked about albums on this blog, Tiwony’s MASSIVE Viv La Vi. Like most of the wonderful things that Tiwony has done, the fact that he makes some of the BEST videos in all of Reggae music has largely gone overlooked in my opinion (especially amongst English speaking fans). However, fans who’ve followed along have seen very powerful videos for tunes like Priye Jah, Longtime and Oupatébizwentousa in the past and Selassie I and Pagan’s Eye alongside Ras Zacharri, more recently. This tune definitely brings about a very powerful setting with IRONY being the main premise. A man finds two guys who have stumbled upon an apparently recently gun down individual. In the balance of the video we see one of the guys in the midst of attempting to hang himself and the other seemingly well on his way to an overdose on drugs. Still, the man who finds the two looking at the dead body himself is affected because the decedent is not only a friend of his, but just awhile before his death was trying to get the man to join him on a ‘mission’ which obviously cost him his life. Very powerful.
Video-Song Link: 4/5
Elijah Prophet - Smile Jamaica [Directed by Anju Val]
The always incredibly welcome Elijah Prophet apparently has something very nice brewing as he has dropped the second (to my knowledge) of two singles for Tru Muzik within a year or so (following ‘Rainy Night In Summer‘), ‘Smile Jamaica’. The tune has been very well received and has been a pretty nice local hit also. Hopefully, we can see this lead to a sophomore album release from The Prophet. Anyway, the video for Smile Jamaica, although fairly predictable and very cheesy at times is just honestly NICE. There’s nothing NOT to like here, just as is the case with the tune itself. A lot of happy faces on a lot of happy people, happy because they’re proud to be Jamaican and a cameo appearance from Prince Theo also make this one a real winner in my opinion and, of course, you don’t have to be Jamaican to appreciate it, all you need is a functioning set of lips with nerves and muscles to control them. Go ahead and try it, smile (unless of course you are the gentleman @1:45 who looks (really familiar) as if he’s. . . well I’m not going to say what he looks like he’s doing, when he smiles)!
Video-Song Link: 5/5
Black Dillinger - Realize [IMMusic]
South African future superstar Black Dillinger trod all the way to Jamaica to (record with Bobby Digital) shoot a video for what turned out to be the video for his forthcoming album, Love Life, ‘Realize’. This one is sans tricks and flare for the most part and, as the tune itself actually dictates lyrically, it’s more about pride and upliftment and interacting with the people. Thus, it isn’t too much of a surprise that the video is shot almost exclusively in the very humble ghetto area of Kingston (along with a few chose scenery shots), which ultimately proves to be a very powerful and quite the fitting backdrop to a tune which is increasingly growing on my senses by leaps and bounds.
Video-Song Link: 4/5
Fragga Ranks - Focus [Rankonilya]
Here we get to spend the day in New York USA with Fragga Ranks as he pushes the title effort from what is quickly becoming one of my favourite riddims of 2009, the Focus. I THINK Fragga actually oversaw production of the BIG riddim (thus giving him riddim-naming responsibilities) and the tune is well one of the main attractions on the piece also, which includes a very WIDE variety of different artists. The video seems to at least try to expound on the various notions and ideas expressed in the tune, which is always a plus as Fragga travels all around New York, seeing some people who have lost “focus” and now “waste time”. Although there are a few odd moments, such as the kids dancing while shooting dice and the woman whose store has just been robbed smiling when a friend grabs his gun to go after the offenders (@1:37), in the end, Focus proves to be very unique and well done for the tune.
Video-Song Link: 4.5/5
Lloyd Brown - It’s Not About [Riddimworks Films]
And lastly, just getting in under the wire is Mr. Lloyd Brown. I’m tempted to hold Lloyd Brown to a higher standard than anyone on this list when it comes to videos (besides Tiwony, and probably even including Tiwony, as I’m pretty sure Tiwony has never directed a video in his life), if for no other reason than because less than a minute into it, it tells you all you need to know regarding its origins with "Written, Filmed, Edited and Directed (and paid for, and planned, and security provided by, and catered, and clean up afterwards by, and records maintained by) by Lloyd Brown", which certainly isn’t the first time he’s done so and probably won’t be the last. Coming from the recently released album For Your Consideration is ‘It’s Not About’, a video which is pretty funny and somewhat strange actually. The piece features a rather comatose looking Lloyd Brown taking his own advice from children and it also points out to me my obvious lack of ability when it comes to interpreting the VISUAL, as I’m sure there’s some grand idea here, but I’m not too sure what it is. My thought is that what Lloyd Brown is attempting to say is that the message of the song: That people often unfortunately place too great of an emphasis on the material and vain aspects of life is (see audio, I have no problem dealing with), is so simple that it is best taught to older people by children who have yet to been convinced otherwise. And that is exactly what happens here with the children playing the role of children (and they're all WONDERFULLY credited as well) and Lloyd Brown playing the role of old people. . . At least I think that’s what’s going on.
Video-Song Link: 4/5 [I THINK]
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