Making Papa Proud: A Review of The King's Son by Lutan Fyah

I try very hard to avoid overplaying or ‘over-selling’ when it comes to how I talk about certain albums, songs or just artists in general, because too many times I’ve done so with only a bit of information to go on, only to ultimately be disappointed and disappointed in short order (see Lexxus). Therefore, when I kind of find something which, despite my intentions to do otherwise, almost OVERWHELMS me to the point of me simply not caring if I risk sounding ridiculous or not, I definitely go with it. An example of this is the very fact that my choice for the leading candidate of the Reggae album of the year 2009, Nereus Joseph’s Real Rebels Can’t Die, remains terribly overlooked and underrated in my opinion and I really don’t care. That album is MAGIC and if you don’t think so then you and I can fight. I also do a similar thing when it comes to new artists. My constant readers can tell you exactly how much I’ve referred to both I-Octane and Bramma over the course of the last couple of years (and now we’re going to add Mr. Williamz to that list) and even though people either don’t catch on, or do so very slowly, I don’t have much of a problem being the only person on board of a bandwagon in that fashion. But sometimes I have to take matters even a step further. Besides declaring an album a full blown ‘MODERN CLASSIC’, which I absolutely love to do when I feel it is warranted (largely due to the fact that many Reggae scribes and music writers in general will have you believing that they stopped making classic albums in 197X) (I digress), I’ll also do the same thing, essentially, with an artist. So, that being said, I’m finding it increasingly difficult, if not downright impossible to figure out how eras from both the past and future would not and will not see Spanish Town chanter as one of the most SKILLED artists the Reggae world has ever seen. Period. No he doesn’t have the flare and pizzazz of several of his peers and that may always be what will holding him back from reaching the proverbial ‘next level’ in terms of popularity, but at this point, I don’t even know if that matters any more as the more and more I listen (even to the old stuff), I become progressively more convinced that the things this man is saying will continue to resonate for years within everyone so fortunate enough to hear them, as I have said countless times and will continue to say, lyrically speaking, the man is FLAWLESS at his very best. And just listening becomes a matter of an extended study, university level.

And if it is in fact an ‘extended’ study then Lutan Fyah has been a roaming professor of sorts in 2009 hasn’t he? I’ll spare you the details (because I do have at least one more of these to write, after all), but the man has seemingly engaged himself in a recording schedule over the course of the last few years which has now pinnacled with probably what is the ‘best’ year of his entire career on all fronts. Dropping solid single after solid single, with occasional hit of varying degrees and doing so for the best producers on the planet, Lutan Fyah has to be considered in some type of ‘artist of the year running’ and were I to personally hold such a matter (and I just may), he has already won it, guaranteed. I ‘d also like to mention something of a ‘maturation’ or just a slight IMPROVEMENT that I’ve noticed in Lutan Fyah as a lyricist in the past couple of years or so also. This brings up the potentially devastating prospect that, at a relatively ‘advanced’ stage of his career (I think he is thirty-four) and having already reach what should have been the edge of his developmental years, Lutan Fyah may be getting better and that is ridiculous. And in terms of ‘international time’, he now brings forth the latest in an increasingly OBESE line of shining examples why my rather lofty lauds of him are fitting, the incredibly unexpected and ‘poof-like’ (right out of thin air) The King’s Son. Upon seeing that it was coming (literally a couple of days ago) and after my face surely lit up like Rudolph’s nose, I REALLY got into the album and was very happy to see that one of my more recent favourites from the chanter had apparently caught on with more than just me and was chosen to be the title track of his brand new album. That song didn’t do much damage, in retrospect, but because of its rather ‘simple’ nature (and it was truly brilliant lyrically), it definitely made an impact on me and in some parallel universe of album making where Achis is unquestionable king, ‘The King’s Son’ is a tune which has an album named after it. Hooray for me. Not only present is at least one of my favourite tunes, but also it comes via the always dependable Byron Murray’s In The Streetz’ on the surface, which was wonderful in and of itself, but when you get into the production side of The King’s Son album, what do you see? You notice that it comes largely via the legendary King Jammy’s camp from the King, himself, and the Princes, his various well talented and decorated progeny. With credentials like that, even before you crack open song number one (and never mind the fact that much of this material I either hadn’t heard or didn’t remember hearing), on paper, you’re dealing with something potentially MAGICAL and while, by its end I’m not prepared to call the album magical, I might someday see it as such as I can definitely see The King’s Son growing on me and listeners worldwide over the course of a few years or so. The prevailing vibes here, to my ear, is all encompassing, but VERY pinpoint and focused at the same time because it seems to have been done (DUH!) in COMPLETE observance of His Imperial Majesty and all the virtues of his manner and teachings and I know you may be thinking, ‘Achis, that sounds like quite a bit of his music, doesn’t it’, of course it does, but to you I echo my own sentiments from the very first paragraph of this ridiculously long review: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and The King’s Son definitely ain’t broke.

It is VERY straight forward, however. So much so that I’d be willing to say that it was probably recorded a couple of years or so ago (although, for the sake of posterity, I should mention that lately, until the BOOM that was ‘Genesis‘, much of Lutan Fyah‘s output has had that similar quality), so if you’re expected rip roaring type of modern Roots Reggae, this may not be for you. Me, however? No such problems AT ALL. And certainly there’re no problems, if you have a little patience, with ‘My Love Is Running Over’, the very first tune from Lutan Fyah’s ‘where in the hell did you come from’ new album release The King’s Son. I probably had to listen to this tune about five times or so before it REALLY began to grow on me and while still not one of my favourites here, it is a well done piece of work and features an oft-forlorn and heartbroken Lutan Fyah’s approaching levels he established on tunes like ‘U Left Me’ and others. Decent opener and things only get better. Like on the next track, ‘Corrupt Life Style’, where the ‘pot’ begins to simmer on The King’s Son. Listen to the tune superficially and the classic riddim may just dazzle you a bit away from the message, but the actual lyrics of the tune are a SCATHING commentary of those living nasty lives and pushing their nastiness on the world to the degree that you just can’t ignore the matter anymore. Seriously, the man puts all in their place and DRESSES DOWN everyone in that situation (at one point, he says, “Yes equal rights and justice, yes ah dat mi a demand. No tell mi say mi worthless, look how much work we come perform”, one of many lyrical gems from the tune). The next tune is a familiar but very welcome one, ‘Motherland Calling’ which features Ras Shiloh and is the first of two combinations on the album. You know the tune from Shiloh’s DOMINANT King Jammy vibed Only King Selassie album from a couple of years back (has it been that long?) where it was one of the biggest tunes as ‘Mama Africa’ and it definitely still retains its power and is also a main attraction on The King’s Son also and you should know that already.

And then there’s the matter of that HUGE title track. ‘The King’s Son’, the tune, produced by Jammy’s son Chris James, is BRILLIANT: “Hey the wicked shall pay their penalty. All them silly ways and them stupid cruelty. Dem ah ask me how dem youths is so rootsy, Haile Selassie’s what the truth be”. The man drops crazy lyrics on the tune about just living upful and it sounds so nice and natural, which in my opinion, goes to make things ring true more: It’s EASY to follow His Majesty. HUGE song! That being said, you can imagine the joy I felt to find an even stronger vibes ‘lurking’ around the latter stages of the The King’s Son album. It would just so happen to be that ‘Hail Him First’ would not only be the album’s strongest offering, but its second combination (alright - second and a half) also as it features Fyah alongside Guyanese star Natural Black. This thing is . . . All the superlatives I can think of and then some and it is absolutely gorgeous (that one too). Besides being straight forward and top notch lyrically, it also just sounds so wonderful that it literally ‘stays with you’! Beautiful song and the best I hear on The King’s Son indeed. And while nothing on the balance of the album reaches those heights, the material that remains is definitely nothing to pass over either. The supersonically generic titled ‘Praise Jah’ isn’t the most varied of tunes to say the least, but it is one of the strongest lyrical masterpieces on the album and a vibes which has such a strong inspirational lean to it for all who walk the same path in life as Fyah (and I do). The obligatory anti-violence vibe ‘We Should Live In Peace’ might take a minute to grow on you (like it did for me), but again, if you grab a hold of the tune from a lyrical degree, it’ll fall onto your tastes almost IMMEDIATELY because the tune is anything but the unexceptional piece it may seem to be ostensibly. If you find yourself needing a vibe upliftment, or just a change of pace for The King’s Son, you’ll well find it on ‘What’s The Purpose’, which is one the best tunes on the album definitely. It’s actually another anti-violence number, but it has more general kind of social commentary aspects to it as well such as raising the kids and just family in general and there’s a point about halfway through the tune where Fyah kicks into high gear and it is well not to be missed! The same goes for the tune which follows it ‘Jah Works Must Be Done’ which, although it may not have as much ‘flare’ as the tune which precedes it, it’s arguably a better song and definitely one of the best on the album in the process. This tune is towards which I gravitated IMMEDIATELY (apparently dazzled by the title and it is cool), because of its kind of overall subjectry. As I mentioned in regards to the entire album, ‘Jah Works Must Be Done’ is a tune which is both very VAST, but also very focused and specific simultaneously and you walk away from it with vibes about PATIENCE and being strong and consistent as well, but all are dealt with on their own and together as one. Very deep song there and definitely check that one. ‘Save The Children’ here is not the very well known one from the Truth riddim, but is a very nice tune in its own right across a lovely Nyah backed riddim. Then there’s ‘Root Of All Evil’ which is kind of a half of a combination as it features the legendary Horace Andy singing his big tune ‘Money Money’ in a sample type of style. Fyah’s presence only makes the tune even bigger and the ONLY plus could have come in having Andy reprise his vocals as well, but as it stands it’s still one of the better tunes on The King’s Son. And going down the stretch are two other nice predominately love pieces ‘Love By You’ and ‘Memories’. The former is a tune I knew quite well because it is an older John John produced single and is probably the best love song on the album. ‘Memories’, on the other hand, is kind of a jazzy sounding tune which actually sounds quite gimmicky, but you’ll probably find yourself singing it after a couple of spins or so. It doesn’t strike quite as hard as Love By You, but don’t just skip over it because it does develop quite nicely by its end and the end of the album as well.

Overall, typically I’d go into the ‘ritual’ of trying to place The King’s Son on a scale in terms of how it ranks in the annals of Lutan Fyah albums, but I just don’t feel like doing that right now. Instead, what I will say that is that IF YOU LIKE LUTAN FYAH’S MUSIC, then this album will definitely do it for you. Because of it its aforementioned unwavering nature, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for newer fans (you guys should check out. . . Hmmm, maybe the You Bring Blessings album). For me personally, however, both because of its quality and the way it just kind of popped up, The King’s Son is almost gold. The album shows strength throughout and including on the tunes which I’m not necessarily drooling over and that, to me, indicates that sometime in the future, I may actually come to appreciate them even more. HOPEFULLY, I can say the same thing in regards to most of the world’s view of Lutan Fyah. It’s going on a decade now that I’ve been telling any and everyone who would listen just how POWERFUL this artist is. The King’s Son, although not the most resounding piece of evidence, is still yet another vibrant, living and breathing creation to prove my point: Lutan Fyah is really something special.

Rated 4.25/5

In The Streetz

2009

Lutan Fyah @ Myspace