'The Golden Years': A Review of "Messages" by Lyricson

As I focus so much of my attention on detailing and chronicling the current state of Reggae music, I do often find myself wondering exactly how future fans and historians will regard this present era of the music. Just as I and every other fan can now look back at years gone by and offer different opinions on just how strong or weak things were in those times when compared to now, the future years will also offer the same experience in regards to our music and I can’t help but wonder how younger people now or even people who have yet to be born will look at some of the people and songs we have so much of an affinity for today. And, if you break things down into specifics, such an inevitable situation becomes even more intriguing. For example, it is the state of Reggae music coming out of Afrika and from Afrikan artists - I am well of the belief that what we are presently seeing is the ’golden age’ of Afrikan Reggae music and I believe that years from now, this era will definitely be regarded as a strong foundation for years to come. WHY? Well while it is quite odd that I find myself saying such a thing a brief three years following the death of arguably the most popular Afrikan Reggae artist of all time, Lucky Dube, and years pass the prime of activity of the only other possible claimant to that title, Alpha Blondy, but based on the talent currently operating and doing so at the top level of their own abilities, respectively, I think it is an notion which is well founded. Arguably at the forefront today is Tiken Jah Fakoly who seemingly ‘inherited’ the mantle from his Ivory Coast compatriot, Blondy, but unlike Blondy and Lucky Dube, Fakoly has a much greater and much larger peer group. We can begin to look at others such as Rocky Dawuni from Ghana and the very well respected young Takana Zion who may someday grow to inherit the role from Fakoly, himself. And then you have this very new and very refreshing group of artists who were born on the Afrikan continent, but have seen their careers and their lives take them to various parts of the world along with their successes. These are people such as The Nazarenes, Osagyefo, Dynamq and of course the DAMAGING Black Dillinger and Rebellion The Recaller. It is in that same context that I think this current era, perhaps, will be most identified with the fact that it coincided with the musical prime of one of the most talented Afrikan Reggae artists of all time, Lyricson. It is, most thankfully, Lyricson who brings us here today as (not too long after Tiken Jah Fakoly also did) he releases his latest album, his ‘third’ to the masses. Lyricson is an artist who has impressed me from ever since I first heard his music and for various reasons. Back then, I can recall being so impressed merely because the Guinean born artist was one of the only (and maybe the only back then) of the REALLY talented Afro-French/French/French-Caribbean artists to actually voice in English. And then when you listened to what he was saying and HOW he was saying it - Lyricson was a very strong writer and he had this fascinating delivery which was somewhere between singing and chanting BUT when he sang the man had such a nice voice that I’d call it, at its absolute best, one of the greatest voices we currently have in all of Reggae music, without a doubt. Lyricson dazzled through two albums, ”Born 2 Go High” (which is an awful title, in retrospect), his debut from 2004 and its subsequently bastardized followup, 2007’s ”Keep The Faith”, which Lyricson disowned as being underdone and not very well presented (although I couldn’t tell at all and I wasn’t the only one as it was largely well-received by critics if I recall properly) and he also released a performance DVD in 2008. So, by the most technical (or perhaps most ridiculous) of standards, ”Messages”, Lyricson’s brand new album which I have been waiting on for more than a year at this point, is only his second album to date - Not that I care whichever is the case. What I do care about is the very fact that it is here. The album had a cover, press clippings and a video more than year ago and was, seemingly, well on its way sometime during the latter stages of 2009 and here we are with less than nine weeks remaining in 2010 and it’s just reaching the masses now. Almost certainly the record label for the album had something to do with that as ”Messages” comes via PJK Entertainment which is reportedly Lyricson’s very own label and while Reggae time seems to drag on and on sometimes INDEPENDENT Reggae time seems to even move backwards at times so maybe it’s even a wonder that we get the album even now and not later. So what exactly are we getting? Fourteen tracks (with an intro and an outro) of the latest from one of our genre’s most talented members regardless of origins. The album is very colourful and while surely we’ll get into a discussion later of where it fits in terms of Lyricson’s entire (tiny) discography, I’ll tell you now that the music on this album is the most well PRESENTED of Lyricson’s entire career to my opinion. What that means is that, obviously he’s grown over the past few years (and if he REALLY was unhappy with what was to be found on ”Keep The Faith” (and he was) then maybe it isn’t even fair to judge him on that material which makes this most recent period an unnecessarily long SIX YEARS LONG) and he’s become someone who can ‘present’ his music better - Meaning that while I don’t like every single song on the album (two in particular), I come away with the thought that there is probably nothing he could’ve done to make this album SOUND any better. It is truly as good as IT was going to be this time around. That being said, while at album’s end, I do come away thinking that Lyricson can still do just a bit better, I’m not in a hurry to hear it because what is here is going to be sticking with me for quite some time. Let’s examine! Particularly for an independent label, PJK Entertainment has done a very good job in promoting the album (even though they don’t answer their email). Besides running into the album in a few different places online, I also certainly managed to notice that they had not just one, but THREE videos running before the album even dropped, which is definitely impressive. One of those three videos happens to be for a song which is one of the finest I’ve heard in all of 2010 and proves to also be the finest on Lyricson’s big and bad brand new album, ”Messages” - it’s opener (following a lovely intro), ‘From The Beginning’. Following a swift, but firm, kick applied to the nether regions, I’d recommend playing this most dynamic and well presented of tunes the next time someone tells you that all Roots Reggae music sounds the same.

 

“King Rastafari ah open every door The love of Selassie is so true and so pure With Jah Jah by my side I’m so safe and secure My love for Jah just keeps growing more and more Jah bless I from the beginning! Until the end of my days, thanks and praise I ah give to The King Jah bless I from the beginning! HE provide I with means to survive and the powers fi sing Jah bless I from the beginning! HE’s the omnipotent Jah Jah rules over all over living thing Jah bless I from the beginning!”

The song is absolutely fantastic and it’s even gotten better (which is ridiculous) over the month or so from since I ever first heard it. It’s one of the best songs of the year, like I said and hopefully it continues to do REALLY big things for the album as well. MAMMOTH! Charged with creating a similar level of vibes is the second tune on the album, ‘Love Is The Answer’. Where the opener was clearly a tune giving thanks and praises to His Imperial Majesty, this tune is one also giving thanks and praises - to LOVE. Yes. It is somewhat cliché, but with the way this tune sounds it certainly isn’t a bad song and I don’t think too many listeners will get caught up into the fact that it doesn’t REALLY break any new ground on the subject. It’s still quite nice. And the final tune from the opening few is one which, I’m sure, is going to gain some big attention, ‘Revolution Start’. The song features the flaming hot St. Ann native Zamunda (who is sounding more and more like Jah Cure) joining Lyricson and the two produce a mighty duo, chanting down the oppressors of the world and showing that their time at the head shall soon end. This is the album’s only official combination and I really would’ve liked to see Lyricson pick on a few more (especially Queen Omega, Gentleman or SUGA MOSS!) because it is so nice and his style is one which I feel blends so nicely with another’s. Big opening still. Like I said, the buzz surrounding this one has been quite nice, so besides the opener I’d heard three other selections on ”Messages” over the last year or so before we picked it up. It took me a minute to actually figure out from where I knew ‘Those Without Love’ because I IMMEDIATELY found myself singing a tune by Saïk (which turned out to be ’Reggae Musik’) before finally remembering that the riddim, the Soprano from Bost & Bim, was actually released as well and that’s where I knew it from. This tune, indirectly, builds on the same vibes expressed on ’Love Is The Answer’, but it is a better tune, on the whole - Much better lyrically especially and, of course, it sounds divine. Immediately following that song is another which I definitely was familiar with, the syrupy sweet ’Glad You’re Mine’ from Special Delivery’s sublime Sugar Riddim. Along with Ziggi Recado’s ‘Gonna Leave You’ this one was a real star on that excellent and fittingly titled production. It should also be said that unlike any other tune on the album (with the possible exception of ‘From The Beginning, where I’m not sure yet), ‘Glad You’re Mine’ was a real HIT before the album dropped which definitely makes it more attractive or at least it should. And finally there’s what I believe is the album’s most recent official single, the HARD ‘Blessings Multiply’. I’ve been dealing with this one for a few days now and while I certainly do like it, I’m still trying to figure out exactly how much I do like it. It is maybe one of the better tunes, lyrically, on the album, but the sound is just so different from anything I recall listening. But with that being said, if you ask me in a month or two, I wouldn’t at all be shocked if I was deeply in love with it. Of the remaining eight tunes on the album - They contain some of the album’s finest moments, but also the two which I just couldn’t really get into very much. The bad news being first - The tune ‘Rise’ is the album’s obligatory (or so I thought), but it borders too much into . . . Folk sounding music and while I rarely say such things, I just think this one is a bad song and CLEARLY Lyricson can do MUCH better (more on that in a minute). And while I wouldn’t exactly call ‘Crush On You’ “bad”, it is entirely a mediocre love song and, despite its kind of old school demeanour, I can’t see this one having a great impact on any level to be completely honest. Now, if you look at those two tunes’ placement on ”Messages”, they actually come in succession, sandwiched between two really outstanding songs. The first is a WICKED and kind of ‘grimy’ Roots number ‘Wise Up’.

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“Cause we’ve got so much works to do And so much seeds to plant And the only way to achieve it is to do it on dem own See di ghetto people dem, they’ve been suffering for so long Si dem tired of di pressure, dem waan betta days fi come It nah easy to bear di life down inna di slum When you don’t even know when yuh next meal ahgo come When peer gunshot ah echo inna di air like drum Bill and tax ah increase and yuh nah have no income Still, you have to keep di faith Yes you’ve got to hold on Never worry yourself, just try your best and be strong Di love of Rastafari guide and keep you all along Jah protect us through di cold and through di storm”

The tune shows itself to be one brilliant piece of social commentary (but with tinge of a spiritual basis) and one which so finely makes its point while being entertaining simultaneously. And later on there’s ‘Provider & Guide’ which is also an acoustic set (with a Nyah drum on board), but unlike ‘Rise’, this thing works so perfectly. There’s nary a misstep to be found on the inspirational tune and as I spoke about Lyricson’s PRESENTATION being so strong on this album, besides ‘From The Beginning’, ‘Provider & Guide’ is most likely the best presented tune on the album. The presentation is also not lacking in neither the case of ‘Upright’ nor the very familiar ‘No More’. The former gets kind of Jazzy with the constant saxophone getting involved and it’s so nice, but the latter just may be my second favourite song on the entire album. I’m pretty sure I know it (probably just the riddim) from somewhere, but I can’t quite say where. It was in listening to this tune, that I started to get the feeling of being around something SPECTACULAR and while I can’t say that about the entire album, what I can say is that the best material on this album is just that - SPECTACULAR. ‘Life Is Not A Game’ isn’t quite on those top ranking levels, but it is another very good tune here and one which goes on both social and inspirational levels (although, somewhere, I Wayne is disagreeing with Lyricson). And there’s also the fine ‘Bless The Youths’ which is another very familiar (probably even more so than ‘No More’) sounding vibe. This song has a lot of substance to it in the way of lyrics and while it does sound great, it never really outdoes itself in the way of shining SO brightly in the sonic sense that it distracts from what is said, so do pay a nice bit attention to what is being said there. The album has an ‘Outro’ which is, essentially, the second part of the ‘Intro’, which is just Lyricson singing and giving thanks over a piano accompaniment. It’s a showoff for his excellent voice and while nothing great is being said (nor should it be on an interlude); both are nice touches in my opinion. Overall . . . I don’t . . . Maybe . . . Hesitatingly I can probably call ”Messages” Lyricson’s best album to date, but the fact that it is BY FAR the album most in my mind at this point makes it much easier to say. That is a question is probably best addressed again in a year or so down the line from now. But, to make the case right now, like I said, what is good on this album is EXCEPTIONAL and I can say that the best on this one is better than the best from either ”Born 2 Go High” or ”Keep The Faith” and that is definitely saying something. I can also say that I was quite happy to see that ”Messages” has been very popular, at last check (a couple of days ago by the time you read this), it was at the top of the Reggae charts on Frenchie iTunes (surprisingly that same chart also included ”Dancehall Anarchy” by Lieutenant) and I mentioned all the pre-buzz as well and Lyricson does have a history of being a very strong seller of albums anyway. I based this review on the notion that, in some way, we may be CURRENTLY experiencing a ‘golden age’ of Afrikan Reggae music and, obviously, I feel that Lyricson is a big part of that and this album is a big example of why. However, an even bigger example may exist in a couple of years or so because despite how much I enjoy ”Messages”, I have the thought that Lyricson can do even better and should he be able to do so, and do so WITHOUT A DOUBT, well then I won’t even listen to opposing views at that point. I’ll be completely convinced. Very good.

Rated: 4.35/5 

PJK Entertainment

 2010

 CD & Digital