'In-House': A Review of The Dance Drop Riddim by Various Artists

Given the fact that I still find myself not only encountering new labels on at least a bi-weekly basis, but encountering labels that already have a history behind them; I would say that the state of Reggae entrepreneurship is relatively healthy these days, at least in terms of activity. Sure, some of these labels will be looooong gone come this time next year, but the very fact that someone actually spent the money and went through the processes , and who knows how long that took, is very interesting and a boost to the genre in my opinion (and even if they don’t stick around someone will replace them). It is, however, the ‘responsibility’ of the biggest and the best names in the business of Reggae music to, at least in some respects, advance the general state of the music. Of course, this is done and accomplished by various means: Be it busting a new artist or taking an established artist to the mainstream world - or even just doing something different with a production and exposing it to ears and fans who typically wouldn’t hear them - this is what, ostensibly, the powers that be in Reggae music are charged with doing and whether they realize it or not, I think it’s pretty clear that, on many levels, they’ve been successful - in advancing our music (which is obvious if there’re that many new labels and there are). Another way is apparently the route taken by Kemar ‘Flava’ McGregor, which has gotten so interesting as of late, that I’ve been thinking of ways to write more and more about it (and lo and behold his latest release pops up at the perfect time). McGregor IS the best Roots Reggae producer in the world at this point, I’ve said it before and I’m almost certainly going to find a way to say it again in this review. Simply going through his catalog and that of his label, No Doubt Records, is a very very interesting task and that’s even besides actually just listening to the music itself (more on that in a second). If you’ve been paying attention over the past month or two, Flava has taken more and more to his website, FlavaMcGregor.com as the avenue to release his material and on the various digital sites as well. About a month ago, the label seemingly ERUPTED with a never ending string of compilations, instrumental albums (which was just a WONDERFUL idea in my opinion) and EP’s from its vault - It was almost like Flava was trying to make up for lost time. Now that is one thing. But what I said would be the KEY in showing whether or not this was THE new step for his music was if the powerhouse producer would take something NEW and push it in the same fashion.

Well he did. Perhaps the first sign of Flava’s commitment to going digital should’ve come a few months ago when Flava pushed an album which flooded my email with messages of ’where can I get that album’ - Ginjah’s ”Never Lost My Way” - a release which, seemingly, could’ve generated quite a bit of attention from other labels and was exclusively available on the website until very recently. Now, Flava and No Doubt Records have gone a most interesting step further by releasing their ‘latest’ riddim strictly digitally at this point, the Dance Drop Riddim. I’ve thankfully learned over the past couple of pieces from Flava just how popular these compositions are, even in album form (there clearly aren’t as many riddim albums these days as there used to be, but No Doubt has NEVER had any trouble getting them out in recent times) and because the Dance Drop comes with a bit of a ‘built-in’ popularity, I’m imagining that this one may be one of the label’s most popular to date. Okay so, you absolutely know this riddim, it is somewhere within your memory and should you happen to make it through the very first track on the album and not recall where you know it from, definitely track two will take care of that. If you travel back in time with me to a few years back when Flava was doing a TON of production work for a label by the name of Bogalusa (which I’m pretty sure was German), you’ll remember a number of albums being released on the label in the span of three years or so. There were albums from Anthony B, Luciano, Turbulence and, of course, Sizzla Kalonji and in retrospect they were fairly decent altogether. They certainly weren’t the greatest (although at least one of them may’ve been, see Turbulence’s ”Join Us” album) (I don’t care what you say, I still absolutely LOVE that thing), but in the digital era where picking and choosing is King (and Queen), they should become more valuable to the more casual of Reggae fan. And should you consider the task of going back and picking through all of those albums, I’d direct your attention (after ”Join Us”) to an album by the name of ”Speak Of Jah” from 2004 by Sizzla. The album was pretty good, had some nice tunes, and was also highlighted by the fact that the label apparently forgot to put the album’s name on the cover so what you got instead was a STICKER stuck onto the album as if to say ‘oops’. The highlight of this album was a tune which would go on to become a pretty nice sized hit by Sizzla and one which, even now more than six years later, still resonates with fans such as myself. The riddim backing this tune has turned out to be the Drop Dance and while you may catch yourself thinking that all Flava did was to dig up an old ass riddim from his collections and have it almost instantly filled because he made album after album from artist after artist, that isn’t the case. Instead, he’s managed to do what he usually does with his WICKED compositions - He’s lined up some of the biggest, best and most fascinating talents to voice the piece. My own interest with this project went up INSTANTLY when I saw the artist roster and . . . As if there were any questions, Flava McGregor’s first riddim foray on completely his own terms proves to be a full on winner by its end.

Has it been that long? This riddim turns out actually to be the first from Flava and company since the label pushed the Classic Riddim (still one of my favourites from 2010), which I remember writing about for United Reggae wayyyyyyyyy back in January. While that excellent piece centered on the fact that it sounded like . . . Well it sounded like a classic riddim, this piece, however, has a very interesting sound. Probably the highlight is the occasional electric guitar sound, but for the most part, this thing is so brilliantly minimal that at times you get songs which go for extended stretches sounding a cappella and when the riddim does strike in, you also get this very FULL sound, so while I still favour a few other riddims in Flava’s bag, this has to be regarded as one of his most colourful and interesting. “This”, of course, is the newly expanded and ‘renovated’ Drop Dance Riddim from Kemar ‘Flava’ McGregor and No Doubt Records and “this” gets going in a most interesting and unexpected of ways, Reggae superstar veteran Wayne Wonder (becoming a surprising staple on No Doubt productions), who comes in seeking a ‘Piece A Da Pie’. A few dozen listens deep into this tune and I’m relatively sure that I’ve heard it SOMEWHERE before (still not quite sure where however), but that aside, Mr. Wonder is only going to help the quality of anything he’s on. His tune here is one just inspiring the masses to get a ‘piece’ - There’s something for you in the world, most likely, help yourself to it! And then there’s the BOOM!

“SOME HOW
Jah Jah just keep on, blessing dis place!
And SOME HOW
Rastafari just keep on showing us his love and his grace!”

The aforementioned alluded to tune from Sizzla Kalonji, now curiously renamed ‘Blessing Us’ [bka ‘Somehow’], is up next. This song is the best moment to be found on the whole of the Dance Drop Riddim, just as it was on the ”Speak Of Jah” album, as Sizzla delivers one MAMMOTH piece of praising tune which, quality aside, is definitely going to be the signature track from the riddim and is probably why Flava thought that he might be successful in passing it around more so many years later. He was right. Charged with maintaining such high vibes, fortunately, is the most fitting name here to take on such a task, Anthony B, who demands ‘Change’. Not only is the tune one of the riddim’s most impressive altogether, lyrically it is also amongst the very best and it also carries the same type of giving thanks vibes from the tune immediately preceding it. Speaking on the words, it just may be one of the best recent tunes that I’ve heard from Anthony B in regards to the lyrics, but at this point you’re not surprised by the veteran.

Speaking of veterans, Flava taps quite a few, expected and unexpected to voice the Dance Drop Riddim. Right in the middle of the album there is a very strong stretch of four established names, all of whom just so happened to have recorded full blown albums for Flava over the years (and I don’t think I‘ve heard any of these tunes except the final one). First is Chezidek with ‘Extradite’. The funny voiced singer (from out of ST. ANN!) has been absolutely flaming in 2010 and it well extends to his BIG and DAZZLING selection on the Dance Drop Riddim. The antiviolence piece ‘What A Heat’ from Luciano comes second in the lot and it may even be better than the tune preceding it. I almost never have these moments anymore, but when I first heard the tune (with my face well away from the screen) I was pretty sure that it was Bushman doing the singing (has Bushman EVER done a No Doubt riddim???) (Hmmm). It’s the kind of tangible type of vibes that Bushman does and not so much on the spiritual, so it got me from sound and lyrics, but regardless of who does the singing (and it is Luciano), this is another big song on the riddim. Then Lutan Fyah tells all about the very flawed and fucked up nature of ’The System’, a social commentary. The Fyah would probably have a DIFFICULT time going wrong on such a tune and he’s not going wrong at all here - Easily one of the best tunes to be found on the album and that is saying something. Finally, Turbulence brings forth a tune which appeared on his own Flava produced album back in 2005, ”Triumphantly”, 'Gun [Crazy]'. This was one of a few similarly vibed tunes that I remember him doing at the time which expressed his complete and utter DISGUST in many men who seemingly obsessed and carried on about the gun SO MUCH that it seemed as if they ‘preferred’ it over their own woman. . . Yeah. It was a nice song and sentiment back then and not having heard it in some time, it definitely brought back its quality levels this time around. While not in this same stretch, I also almost have to mention Chuck Fenda, who comes with, 'Money', a tune from his most recent studio album, ”Fulfillment”, which was also helmed by Flava. I remember having to ‘tinker’ with this tune a bit to REALLY get into it, but when I did it was very impressive and not too far on from first dealing with it (just a year or so), I’m not hearing any depletion and I’m well looking forward to hearing Fenda on a few future No Doubt riddims as well. And also there’s probably the MOST tenured veteran on the Dance Drop Riddim, Everton Blender who wants to know ‘Did You Pray’ this morning (and if you didn’t he probably wants to know why not). I can’t actually recall the Blender doing a No Doubt riddim at anytime in the past, so if this is a first it is a very impressive first. Despite the tune’s title it is another social commentary and a nice one at that. We can only hope that when the Blender tried to exit the booth after singing this song, Flava locked him in and DEMANDED an entire album’s worth of vibes.

As for some of the younger/newer/not so constantly familiar, three in particular impressed me. The first was Honourable, whose ‘Never Give Up’ made me get up to see who it actually was SMASHING the Dance Drop Riddim in half because I didn’t recognize the vocals. This is a strong effort from Honourable (love the very straight forward delivery) as he goes all Freddie McGregor (winner-style) on the people and hopefully he comes back again. Later on, the biggest Dutchie artist in the world, Statian Ziggi Recado, comes back to No Doubt following his tune on the Ghetto Riddim, telling us all about ‘Street Life’. Despite the fact that it (literally) takes the tune awhile to get going (Ziggi doesn’t say a damn thing for about ten seconds at the beginning of this song) and when it does, it STILL isn’t Ziggi at his best, there is a certain very plain quality about this tune which just struck me for some reason - It almost sounds like he’s thinking of the next word as he’s recording the tune. And also there’s another artist who’s been scalding as of late, VI superstar Pressure Busspipe, with one of the riddim’s finest moments, ’World Is In Trouble’.

“Work for what you want and envious people no like it
Tell me ‘bout vision and all now dem no site it
Di works of King Selassie bigga than your satellite dish
All now dem caan tek Rasta loving and kindness”

I don’t know if I wasn’t paying attention before (I WAS), but the man has been on an absolute tear lyrically in 2010 (actually since last year, from his album, ”Coming Back To You”) and he’s taking no shortcuts or wrong turns on the Dance Drop.

Khago is also on the riddim with ’Talk’. The song is pretty good, but I have to say that Khago is an artist who, because of his unusual delivery, typically does better with the more animated of backings, at least to my opinion. There’s Nikesha Lindo with ‘Gotta Let You Go’. Had Lady Lindo not been here I was definitely going to say that the riddim could’ve used a bit of a feminine touch and while not in the most impressive of manners (the tune is basically an R&B song), she does satisfy that. And the final vocal act here is Sadiki who almost seems to be having TOO MUCH fun with his new position as the ‘Night Boss’. This one is still growing on me (I think it might be one of those songs which are unintentionally funny to some degree) and following his own recent album, ”Lifeline”, Sadiki has also been on a roll as of late. Finally and thankfully there is a clean version of the real star of the show, the Drop Dance Riddim. Producers if your riddims are not garbage, give us a clean version of them - EVERYTIME. Listening to this one you can hear the ‘spaces’ in it - It literally stops a few times and you go back and hear artists like Kalonji and Anthony B making the most of those seconds with big and proper lyrics.

Overall, for Flava’s first attempt at taking one of his riddims exclusively digital, I’d say that the Dance Drop is a rousing success. While it isn’t his best release (that is, of course, the Triumphant, until further notice), it does prove to form one of his better albums to date and I can think of a couple of No Doubt Riddim albums which aren’t as good as this one, but whose riddim may be and that, in both cases, is saying a lot. I am very curious as to what the goal here is. I’ve read quite a bit on Flava’s takes on certain aspects of the business of Reggae music and his unhappiness with them, so maybe he is planning on turning No Doubt Records into an even bigger unit and if he is . . . That would be EXTREMELY interesting to see how it goes. Still, McGregor is a producer and as evident by the Dance Drop Riddim, regardless of his business aspirations, he hasn’t forgotten that as he pushes the latest release from the best Roots Reggae producer in the world. Period.

Rated: 4.35/5
No Doubt Records/Flava McGregor Records
2010
Digital {Available exclusively at FlavaMcGregor.com}


Flava McGregor