Tuesday, March 9, 2010

"Mine. All Mine" : A Review of Rooted In Inity by Blaak Lung

I have to admit that sometimes I do actually feel greedy when I think about just how impressive some of our artists are and how most of them will never gain a solid following outside of heavy and hardcore Reggae fans. It is definitely unfortunate just how many of these very skilled and just BIG names will ultimately go largely unrecognized for what they do in terms of the ‘mainstream’ music world and at this time there doesn’t seem to be very much which can be done about it which isn’t being done already in most cases, although certainly more of ‘it‘ couldn’t hurt. That being said, however, my feelings of greed are usually quickly replaced with the feeling of just how fortunate I am to hear SO MANY of these strong artists who aren’t even household names in the Reggae community, as the feeling becomes - If the rest of the world will not do it, then it is all the more reason for me (and YOU) to celebrate them even more. Case in point would definitely be a name who has become familiar with my readers as of late (and should’ve been already), Tuff Lion. The absolute genius Virgin Island producer has been around for years and has been making music with (and for) some of the biggest names in the business and his is a name which carries a great deal of weight and resonance, yet within a very small community, those of us who LOVE Reggae music, which is unfortunate, but fortunate at the same time. Now, to make this connection, if you look at Tuff Lion’s standing and that of some of his peers in production such as Batch, Ishi Dube, Tippy (from I-Grade), the Lustre Kings Productions and a few others as well (speaking of these labels and producers who are very prevalent in the Virgin Islands and in the California area as well), you may get quite deep on that list before you get to the somewhat mysterious name of the one Blaak Lung. And although you may get further down on that list before you get to his name, that in no way means that he’s less of a producer than his peers at all. Quite the contrary, when you look up and down at what Blaak Lung and his Greensphere Records label have done through the years, chances are good that you’ll be pretty surprised as Lung’s resumé, as a producer first and foremost and in and of itself, is EXTREMELY good and well underrated. So, whenever he’s doing something, if you’re one to REALLY pay attention, then certainly you’d do well in paying attention at that specific project.

Like right now. So what exactly has done Blaak Lung done? Well first of all, one artist who I’m VERY fond of, Ms. Malika Madremana, has worked with him extensively. He has helmed both of her two releases to date Healing and Elixir, so it goes to state that if you love Malika Madremana’s music (and you do) then partial credit definitely would go to Blaak Lung. It’ll certainly impress you, my longtime readers, that I won’t dwell on that point much longer (even though you know I want to), because of just how strong his resumé is. Blaak Lung was also the mastermind behind Arkaingelle’s BIG 2008 debut album O’Pen, which would mean that to his credit goes (another after ‘Just Jah’ from Madremana) simply one of the greatest tunes I have ever heard in my entire life, the downright DEVASTATING ‘Manifess Joy’. That year, 2008, followed a year in which Blaak Lung and his Greensphere Records definitely made their biggest impact with simultaneous releases from the aforementioned Batch (I-Ver Strong) and Ras Attitude (HUGE album, Trodding Home) which followed the also aforementioned Elixir from Malika Madremana earlier that year. So with his skills as a producer and a musician now unquestionable (and probably as a project coordinator as well), we’re here to examine Blaak Lung as a vocal artist primarily (as the music, as you’ll quickly notice, seems to almost fall into place as expected) as he now delivers his brand new album Rooted In Inity. From what I was able to ascertain, this album is actually his forth studio project to date as the lead vocalist, following Aspire (which I did know about) from 2008, 2006‘s Frontline (which I also knew about) and To The Souls From Old from either 2005 or 2004 (which I had no idea existed). Having perused two of those three, I’m going to feel rather confident in stating that this new album is his masterwork thus far (because I’m confident that had I heard something which sounds BETTER than what I hear on this album that it would have signaled to me that it was something which I had to get my hands on and keep, I couldn’t possibly be that dense) (could I???). Of course, working on his own piece, the music here is absolutely sublime throughout. I was actually trying to kind of reach a point where I could categorize Blaak Lung’s style of production against someone like Tuff Lion’s (more on him in a bit) and what I’ll say about Blaak’s style is that it definitely seems to focus more on the melodies. Tuff Lion, an absolute genius of course, has a style which finds and strengthens its vibes on the quality that they are these beautifully FULL and RICH type of sounds, but it doesn’t seem like Blaak Lung minds too much kind of sagaciously ‘stretching’ and ‘conditioning’ the proverbial box in his music (Tuff Lion, on the other hand, just seems to IMPROVE “the box”), to an extent. But as I said, his musical chops are unquestionable at this point. His voice? There’re certainly better rootical singers in the arena than Blaak Lung, but his voice actually matches his output very well and you definitely shouldn’t have any problem with it as it translates his messages quite well in my opinion (he has a kind of a chanting/rapping/spoken word type of delivery at times). So, after adding all of that, what do we have? In Rooted In Inity we have a very interesting and POWERFUL album which so wonderfully comes from an individual who seems as if he had a lot on his mind and even if you and I are the only ones who take heed, it makes it absolutely no less crucial.

The way I’m going about listening to albums these days for the purpose of reviewing is to give a complete, but cursory listen to the entire project before REALLY digging in and on that initial listen, I was grabbed by a sense which I still have for this project - The feeling of PARITY. I don’t mean that every tune here sounds the same or that it is mechanical, but it seems as if Blaak Lung and company DEFINITELY exercised quite a bit of quality control and each tune here seems to well fit into a similar range in terms of very strong quality (and a uniting message as well which I‘ll also tell you about).

That quality control is WELL set into motion by the very first tune you’ll hear on Blaak Lung’s new album Rooted In Inity from Greensphere Records, ‘Standing Tall’. This tune caught my ears IMMEDIATELY via its BEAUTIFUL sound and its subsequent message - Standing ‘tall’ with His Majesty - kept my attention. It is a nearly perfect choice for an opener in terms of setting the tone for the album, definitely. Next, Blaak Lung goes all Peter Tosh on the people with ‘I Was Born An African’. For me, this tune speaks of the Afrikan Diaspora and how, although it may (is) certainly cluttered at the moment, the truth still prevails and that an Afrikan is still an Afrikan. As he says, “my big nose, lips and my nappy hair, my dreams, my reality, gives me my culture - An identity”, in an absolutely gorgeous stretch in the tune, one which is even stronger, arguably, than the opener. The next tune, ‘Dem A Chameleon’, despite its subjectry, comes in sounding SO lovely and ultimately sets the stage for a later tune which I feel is the album’s greatest (in terms of that sweet sound). The tune itself speaks to the kind of ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’ (despite my disdain for clichés) - those amongst us whose true intent isn’t what it appears to be. Blaak Lung, very nicely, attempts to destroy their “masquerading” on the tune.

The body of the Rooted In Inity, as expected, features quite a few big surprises throughout, especially in the way of guesting artists. First of all, I was definitely surprised to see that Ms. Madremana wasn’t on board, but in her stead are definitely a two or three names certain to make waves in the same circles as her own would. Such as the name present on ‘10,000 Chariots’, the aforementioned Guyanese chanter, Arkaingelle. This SPECTACULARLY vibed tune rather easily stretches to the top class of the album and I have to admit that it’s been awhile since I’ve heard something new from the Arkaingelle and this BIG and inspirational vibes on the forthcoming revelation was a wonderful way for him to come back onto my players. Next in is??? Of course an artist who I’ve written extensively about Messenjah Selah, on ‘Rise’. This one is still working on my tastes actually and I think I may even grow to hold in higher esteem than ‘10,000 Chariots’ at some point in the future. The tune is HAILE lyrical and you should well pay attention, particularly later on when the tune musically seems to explode. Now if you can’t have Malika Madremana on your album, who would be the most fitting replacement? Definitely it’s the very youthful sounding Empress I-Sheba, who features on the very laid back, yet very colourful, ‘Free Up Your Mind’. Call me too much of a fan, but I literally got EXCITED when I-Sheba jumped in on the tune. She has a very distinct and unusual way of chanting and one which I’ve so much grown to LOVE and still I’m hoping someday she can have her own album. As expected, she compliments Blaak so well on this tune which he dominates and pushes as kind of an inwardly inspirational vibes (like a motivator I should say actually). And the final vocal combination on Rooted In Inity comes on the high stepping ‘Get Up, Get Up’ and features Mahad Mahan and Unda P. Mahan comes in with so much power on the tune and it is a very mighty moment and I love how the vibes change on his segment on the tune. Unda P (who also featured on Healing from Madremana) also does well and of course Blaak Lung does also on one of the best and most exciting moments on the entire album.

Still, I have to say that the two tunes here which stood out for me personally are two solo efforts featuring Blaak Lung on his own, ‘In Di Steps Of Jah’ and later the finest tune I hear on the album altogether, ‘Roots Man Come To Change’. The first of the two just has a nearly DIVINE vibes which comprise it and it has such a powerful message of submitting (and being STRONG in that decision to submit) to the will of His Majesty. And, as I always like to attempt to find tangible usages for this wonderful music, I’d take it even further and say that it is really a tune about TRUST and trust in oneself and one’s friends and family as well, because when those entities are strong and righteous, they are extensions and manifestations of The Almighty. But that’s just my interpretation and it’s such a huge tune that I’m sure you’ll come up with your own as well. ‘Roots Man Come To Change’! Tears! I love this song because it, to my ears, speaks so directly to how the music is a mirror of life and Blaak goes on the tune with an almost spoken word type of delivery at times. He speaks of how the natural order of things has been changed and how Roots music has been replaced by nastiness and ridiculousness, but how things are slowly shifting back. It also speaks to part of the direction I’ve chosen for this review, as he seems to acknowledge what he’s doing isn’t going to make him the most popular, but that it isn’t the intent to be the most popular - only to RIGHTEOUS. I love the vibes on the tune, the message and it is just such a wonderful tune and I hope many people get the privilege of vibing the tune as well.

And don’t let it be so powerful as to not give you the opportunity of listening to BIG tunes like ‘Which Road In Life’ (that riddim on that tune is ANGRY) and the very clever ‘Would You Hold On Please’. These two tunes have a similar sound and ‘texture’ and they go in the same direction lyrically to some degree as well as they both attempt to focus the energies of the masses on doing what is right. The latter is distinctly more socially conscious as where the former is more spiritual and conceptual, but both are lyrical champions of the album in my opinion, showing yet another talent of Blaak Lung’s (as if you needed to get this far in this review to figure that out). The very upful title track was another big one on Rooted In Inity for me also. It speaks also, like ‘I Was Born An African’, on the Afrikan Diaspora and the struggles placed on Afrikan people by the oppressors and it speaks to the successes of that plan, but also of the failures (the INHERENT failures) as the place of Afrikan people in the world is still evident and achievable given the proper set of circumstances and conditions such as LOVE! This one just put a big smile on my face and I’m sure I won’t be the only one who’ll say that about it. I also got a pretty nice vibes from the quality of the three remaining tunes, ‘I Won’t Pretend’, ‘Something Haffi Change’ and Burn Out Di Wicked’. All three definitely are not to be missed and have their sticking points (the first of the three is just so well arranged that besides making a very important and palpable point, that it just sounds good). I have to say that it was amongst these three that, when you take them in combination with a few of the other tunes here, the over-analyst in me starting to see prevailing and overlying messages for Rooted In Inity. And to me, it’s certainly no great coincidence that the PURGING ’Burn Out Di Wicked [Rejoice]’ (whose riddim sounds VERY familiar) is the final original vocal tune on the album, before the obligatory acoustic track which is a very well done remix of the title track.

To speak of the music here briefly, it is also no coincidence that is absolutely EXCELLENT throughout and no great surprise that both TUFF LION and BATCH play EXTENSIVELY on Rooted In Inity, so you really know what you’re dealing with there. Every backing track is a five star track. Period.

Overall, there’re several things going on in my mind about this album, not the least of which is going back to my original premise for this review. However, what I’ll start with is my allusion to their being some sort of a grand idea behind Rooted In Inity. There’s a way of writing and presentation in music which I feel is so great because it allows for the listener (you and me) to get a hold of a message, but not to the point where it is CRYSTAL CLEAR and that it just kind of jumps off the page at you, it leaves room for interpretation (like a regular conversation) and Blaak Lung definitely seems to have that on this album. I could tell you what my thought is and it probably wouldn’t be the same as yours and neither would probably be the same as Blaak Lung’s intent, but all would probably be quite close to one another. For me, that is golden! On top of that, there’s the fact that Blaak Lung’s is certainly not a household name in Reggae or in the ‘mainstream’ definitely and he seems to know that, but with an album so powerful, again, I’m feeling kind of greedy that this music almost ‘belongs’ to the hardcore and heavy Reggae head who will at least LIKE every tune here. Fortunately I’m one of said “hardcore and heavy Reggae heads” and for me and YOU also Rooted In Inity is near magic and extremely well done by an artist and producer whose history denotes nothing less is to be expected.

Rated 4.75/5
Greensphere Records
2010

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