Over the years I’ve come to see and appreciate the fact that there is a difference between making a good riddim and making a good riddim album. And there’s even a bigger difference in terms of making a great riddim and a great riddim album. Certainly one of the biggest qualities which can separate ‘good’ and ‘great’ riddim albums is one which isn’t even remotely important in terms of making a good or great riddim - Artist selection. While definitely hits are going to help with the longevity of any riddim, you can make an outstanding track and never actually have a vocalist go over it and still have an effect on the masses. We’ve even seen, in the hardcore Reggae community, riddims become even more popular and just better as Dubs and instrumentals (particularly with the older crowd), sans an artist at all. However, at the time when a producer or a label hatches the idea to take their project to the point of making an album for it, suddenly WHO you put that riddim in the hands of becomes one of the most crucial choices and, it also becomes important in terms of merely building the hype as well. How many times have you had a favourite riddim and when it released in an album form you jumped at the opportunity to pick it up and you’ve been disappointed? For myself, I can speak to one moment which always jumps into my mind in such a case. It was the Dreamweaver Riddim from super producer, Steven ’Lenky’ Marsden. The riddim itself? I find myself liking it even more and more these days because it was just so incredibly flexible that it seemed to be able to do almost ANYTHING. But it didn’t garnish nearly as much response as its super elder siblings, the Diwali, the Masterpiece and not even the Time Travel and justly so because so many of the tunes just didn’t do anything. What you have, as a result, is the Dreamweaver as an all but forgotten edition of VP’s Riddim Driven series - Sixteen tracks deep and only three tunes even remotely resembling lasting winners. That piece is very interesting considering the immediate recent successes by Lenky at the time and it didn’t do well, showing that (at least in my opinion), finding that proper connection of riddim and artists is very important. And I could give you further, unfortunate, examples of underachieving riddims which didn’t really hold together too well when people got a bigger listen to them and, subsequently, when they reached album form.
And just like we have underachievers - Failing because the riddim and the names on the riddim just don’t match too well, sometimes we have overachievers - For the exact opposite reason. Need a proper example? Check the Vitamin & Highlight Riddims album from (yet another) Frenchie label, Akom Records. This is a release which ‘simply’ seems to succeed on the strength of several EXTREMELY intelligent moves by my observations. The first thing you should know is that both of these riddims, the Vitamin and the Highlight, existed as solo entities prior to being combined by Akom. The former arrived sometime in 2008, while the latter popped up just last year and they both did what they did. It wasn’t to any small degree, they definitely did a damage (personally, for some reason or another, I paid less (I.e. very little) attention to the Vitamin and was definitely happy to get a second opportunity to give it the attention it obviously deserved). The riddims didn’t have very much in the way of vocalists (four for the Vitamin and seven for the Highlight), so, despite the fact that they were collected together, digitally, they were more like riddim EP’s and not necessarily full blown riddim albums. So, what do you do? You just kind of let them fade away? Hell no! In Akom’s case their next stroke of genius (after making the riddims themselves, of course, more on that in a bit) was to jam the two together. That’s it? Of course not. On top of that, the label would go on to, on the now double riddim album, add more vocalists and a few other twists and turns so taking the five tracks from one and the eight tracks from the other (including clean riddim versions, which are, thankfully, still included) did not max out at a mere thirteen track set, but instead has now swelled considerably to a TWENTY-ONE set two-headed monster. The ‘extra’ vocalists? I’ve built this review, at least somewhat, on the notion of the strength of proper artist selection being SO central to making a good or GREAT riddim album and that is the smartest of smart moves that Akom Records has. Not that they had a problem with the original releases, but when I first saw this thing come through and got a look at who had been added, I seriously began to turn my mind to the point of dealing with a release which could have a nice claim as being THE best riddim album of the year and as it develops it turns out that my initial thoughts weren’t totally unfounded. Whether you like the actual compositions or not, you’re definitely going to be able to acknowledge that, within the frame and context of Modern Roots Reggae music, which is what this is, The Vitamin & Highlight Riddims albums has one of the most impressive lineups of the past . . . I don’t know how many years. And most of these tunes REALLY work. They work excellently and it’s so refreshing to be able to say that on a project this big which is done so well, despite the fact that names such as Sizzla Kalonji, Capleton, Anthony B and Luciano are nowhere to be found (directly) on the roster. By its end, having now spun this release for quite some time, I’m STILL having a very hard time not calling it the single best riddim album (and one of the best compilations, period) of 2010.
The way the album is split is that the first portion [eight tracks] is reserved for the Vitamin Riddim, while the next ten tunes are over the Highlight. For its part, the Vitamin Riddim is a very strong and upful sounding, high-stepping riddim and the artists who voice it definitely put it through its paces. Taking the first shot at the Vitamin Riddim, and thus the very first tune on the Vitamin & Highlight Riddim album from Akom Records is the WICKED Jah Mason whose equally WICKED ‘Journey To Life’ quickly proves to be one of the ‘highlights’ (no pun intended) on not only the riddim, but the entire album, for that matter. You could say such a piece is right up the Mason’s alley, but as ‘moody’ as the chanter is, he doesn’t have a certain scope, at least not in my opinion and what he does with this piece reflects some of the most solid material that you’re going to hear on this ROCK SOLID album. Did I say solid? The SOLID voiced craze which is Wild Life delivers the more than solid ‘Dem A Fight’. I don’t pay a whole heap of attention to Wild Life and never have, but the first time I spun this tune I heard a flow which sounded a lot like Merciless at the absolute height of his powers and it is just IMPRESSIVE! His tune is about those who fight against righteousness, fight against His Majesty:
“Di wicked dem no like I
Di wicked dem ah fight I
But dem caan stop Rastafari love”
The tune is a bit on the short side, but it is outstanding. Speaking of outstanding, next up on the Vitamin Riddim is Captain Outstanding, Lyrically Outstanding - Lutan Fyah who delivers the outstanding ‘Word Sound & Power’. This tune isn’t the typical well crafted brilliant gem you have come to expect from Fyah, but instead, it’s this very nice and free-flowing type of EDUCATION which becomes reason# 7,981,654 why I’m high on this artist and will continue to be so.
Also chiming in on the Vitamin is up and coming singer Tony D (who sounds a bit like Anthony Cruz, to my ears). His tune ‘Good Old Girl’ isn’t amongst my favourites here, but it certainly isn’t a total loss and definitely keep an ear out for Tony D’s other works (which includes a full blown album, ”High Grade”). Anthony John is also on board, going on a ‘Meditation Spree’ across the world.
“Mi seat up under our big mango tree
Drinkin a cup of eucalyptus tea
Smoking a spliff of the good good collie
While meditation a flow continually
Just searching for good energy
Mother Nature give us alla dat for free
Mi caan tek babylon animosity
No way!"
HUGE! Anthony John pushes a very intelligent set and if you haven’t already made the connection between ARTISTS SELECTION and the quality here, then go back and re-read this review.
Still, with all of that being said, arguably the Vitamin Riddim peaks with the remaining two vocals. First is Natty King who buns out everyone who appears to be ashamed and unsatisfied with the way that they are on the MASSIVE ‘Sell Out’.
“If wi tell dem bout Afrika
Dem no waan hear dat
Bleach dem skin colour
Dem no waan wear Black
Dem tek di bleaching simple
And neva know it coulda mek dem skin wrinkle”
And then, there’s ‘Evilous Ways’ from whom? Achis Reggae favourite, big time chanter from out of Montserrat, Jah Marnyah (who immediately biggups Faya Wurks on his tune). Marnyah continues to burn out nasty and disgusting living people and does so with a bit of EDGE in his voice that definitely brings across the urgency of the message here. This tune is MASSIVE!
“How excellent, is thy name throughout the earth?
Jah live inna you and me, stop treat people like dirt
Listen the punchline and mi verse
From you badmind grudgeful ways, you must revert
Fyah! Unda dem blouse and skirt
Claim seh dem a big man find out dem ah big pervert!”
SCATHING! SHIT!
After, thankfully, a very nice clean version of the Vitamin Riddim, things turn over to the Highlight Riddim which takes center stage. This piece is bit slower, but to my opinion, it is the bigger vibes of the two with its hypnotic one-drop sound. So who starts off the Highlight Riddim portion of the album??? Yep - It is ANOTHER Jah Marnyah tune! The very strong tune ‘Life’ gets us going on a nice foot and while it doesn’t jump in quite as stirring as Marnyah’s first effort, it is a very very nice tune and the idea, whoever’s it was, to included two here from Marnyah (who wasn’t on the original drop of either riddim) was just damn smart. Next up, casually shuffling in is none other than Pressure Busspipe (impressed yet?) who has come to ‘Hail Fari’.
“Jah Jah show me a sign
Nuff ah dem have eyes to see, yet still dem so blind
Some ah dem have ears to hear but dem no inclined
Dem nah know seh love and righteousness fi combine
Black man just know yourself inna dis perilous time
Babylon only waan fi nyam out yah skull like swine
Tell Queen Elizabeth mi need back everything that’s mine
Only Emperor Selassie mek di people feel fine”
On an album chockfull of brilliant lyrical efforts, the VI superstar makes a claim for the album’s most proficient moment on his big big tune. Obviously on a trip to Irie Ites’ studios Lorenzo made a wrong turn somewhere along the trip and ended up at Akom Records. Thankfully, since he was already in the vicinity, they got him in the studio to voice the nice social commentary ‘How Can I’. The vast majority of Lorenzo’s best material has been reserved for Irie Ites, but we’d love to see him run out and do more and more works like such for others as well.
To my knowledge Antonio West and Stikki are pretty good friends and they both do nice tunes on the Highlight Riddim. West chimes in on ‘Rude Bwoy’ which is definitely worth checking, but he’s outdone by his friend Stikki whose ‘Leaders of the World’ is one of the real highlights here and certainly do keep an eye out for both artists (but Stikki especially - Very multi-talented artist). Also playing on the riddim is veteran Edge Michael (Peter Tosh’s nephew), who brings forth ‘Higher Meditation’. This tune is a bit uneven in spots, but do pay attention to the song in its entirety to full grab the magnitude of its vibes.
Thankfully, along with Jah Marnyah, Akom also brought back Jah Mason and Natty King from the Vitamin Riddim, to voice the Highlight as well. The Mason doesn’t do as well here with his effort, ‘Jah Cause The Light’, which could have used just a bit more in the way of EDGE to it, but it is still a pretty big tune to my ears. The King, on the other hand, has absolutely no troubles at all laying ruins to the riddim with the sublime ‘Still Have Love’ and outside of Marnyah; he has to be regarded as an MVP candidate for this album. Still, it’s definitely the one remaining tune ‘Beginning & End’ which grabbed so much of my attention here and didn’t disappoint at all because it happens to feature eternally SEVERE South Afrikan chanter Black Dillinger alongside another big Afrikan artist, Jah Seed! This tune is just like an icing for the cake (proverbially speaking, of course, icing is disgusting) that is this album and I was SO happy to see such a combination for the riddim and just to see Dillinger, alone, is a treat, but Seed is nearly just as impressive (and there's also a clean version of the Highlight Riddim as well).
The final three tunes, which are remixes of the aforementioned ‘How Can I’ from Lorenzo, ‘Jah Cause The Light’ from Jah Mason and ‘Hail Fari’ from Pressure, kind of serve as a showcase for what is apparently the next thing Akom Records is at work on, the Relight Riddim, which is somewhat of a Hip-Hoppified version of the Highlight Riddim. Of course it isn’t too much on my vibes, but I probably would have said the same thing before REALLY listening to the Vitamin, so until they deliver it full on, with new tunes (if they do), I’ll reserve a final judgment (although I will say that my favourite of the three is probably Mason’s tune).
Overall, have I mentioned the importance of proper artist selection yet??? SERIOUSLY, if you read my work to any degree you know full on that a single album featuring the likes of Pressure Busspipe, Jah Marnyah (twice), Black Dillinger, Anthony John and Lorenzo is going to be pretty big for me. But to add on top of that veterans like Jah Mason and Natty King - At this point you’re dealing with something damn near special for me! Furthermore (as if you needed more) (and you didn’t), you then have not one, but two at least solid riddims and THIS is how you make a good riddim ALBUM. No ifs ands or buts about it. From beginning to end, the Vitamin & Highlight Riddims album is a winner and in a couple of months I’m going to have a very difficult time not declaring it the such release of 2010. Well done.
Rated: 4.85/5
Akom Records/Zojak Worldwide
2010
CD & Digital
blessed love .more music rasta way
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