'The Push Up': A Review of "Jah Bless Us" by Ras Indio

There comes a point in the life/career of an artist when, if he or she is going to truly make an impact on the music, it becomes the time to make the necessary step-up to the proverbial next level. To place that thought into some perspective, I would tell you to think of some of some of your favourite artists and, probably in every case, you’re likely to be able to pinpoint some time when they went from being just kind of ‘there’ to really gaining your favours. Within the scope of Reggae music (which is why we’re here) that very moment could come in a variety of ways (so much so, that we could even point to certain songs and riddims from producers). For an artist, of course there remains the very elusive catch of the first undeniably BIG hit: The scoring of lacking of which can simply make or break your career, particularly in that middle ground after people have come to learn your name a bit. Even more impressive than a big tune, although even more elusive because of the way the genre works, is that kind of statement-making album which, although it may not gain so much in terms of popularity initially (but it may), reveals an artist to be more than just your ‘run of the mill’ and average name. The greatest example of this, clearly, is Sizzla Kalonji who did the double dip back in 1997 with two legendary releases, ”Praise Ye Jah” and ”Black Woman & Child”. Those were the chanter’s second and third albums, respectively, and while his debut album, 1995’s ”Burning Up” was certainly decent, I don’t think it even came remotely close to accurately forecasting what the youth was ultimately capable of, just a couple of years on. On a different scale, we can also look at the ”Halfway Tree” album from Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley which went to re-put the King’s youngest song in a category much closer related to what was going on in ‘terrestrial’ and non-royal Reggae levels and I remember all of the buzz surrounding that release actually being higher in Reggae circles than international and ‘mainstream’ ones. Also there’re albums which showed and proved for a variety of artists such as Tanya Stephens and even Capleton, to a degree, which showed that maybe there was even MORE that was previously thought of to those artists (although admittedly much much different in Capleton’s case).

So, in addition to that very esteemed group of artists, I’d like to give you another artist who just accomplished the same feat last year - Belizean Reggae star, Ras Indio. To make this point crystal clear, the album I am about to tell you about is, in fact, Indio’s FOURTH to date and while I do know the titles of his previous three (because I looked them up); I probably couldn’t name a single track on either of them. Yet, when I’d found out that he had released his fourth, I was almost immediately interested. The very first time that I can recall really given the artist a listen was with the impressive tune ‘Healing Of The Nation‘, which appeared on Itation’s big big Show Love Riddim back in 2008. The tune caught my ears definitely and while I wasn’t SUPREMELY impressed with the kind of ’gruff’ sounding chanter, I was impressed on a level that signaled to me that his was a talent which, given the proper opportunity, could really be something significant. Well, little did I know that it wouldn’t be long at all when such an opportunity would arise as bright and early in the following year, Ras Indio would release what is EASILY his most high profile album to date, ”Jah Bless Us”. Of course, it would take me most of the year to actually notice that he had, in fact, released an album (I believe it was following Ras Indio’s appearance on the Standing Firm Riddim, when I, again, began to do research on him again) and when I did, I tried to get a copy of it STRAIGHT AWAY and tried unsuccessfully for the better part of this year before my Brother-In-Law finally got tired of waiting, himself, and bought it. And because the album was released at the beginning of last year and I finally get it at the end of 2010, one could well say that it’s been two years in the making and the prevailing question, obviously, was whether or not it was worth the wait. Oh yeah. Definitely. Having now spent quite some time on this MAMMOTH twenty-three track monster, I can easily say that it was worth the time in waiting. The album, very much like the release which I would go on to proclaim 2010’s finest, ”The Burning Melody” by Lion D (more on that later), exhibits so wonderfully Ras Indio’s interest in this wonderful music. I could name you artists more naturally gifted in certain areas (and that would be saying a lot, because I do surely detect quite a bit of natural gifts in Indio as an artist), but it would be rather difficult to say someone APPRECIATES their position more than he does and that is a quality which is, typically, reflected in the music through the PASSION involved. CLEARLY anyone who is going to make an album this big has a passion for the music first of all, but the way it is carried out, and given its size, it could have been an absolute mess, you definitely get the feel that a great attention was paid to the details of producing ”Jah Bless Us”. And the music? Like I said, sometimes there’re albums which simply find the artist ‘stepping up to the plate’ and delivering on a level which just wasn’t evident previously at all or at least not present consistently. ”Jah Bless Us” is GORGEOUS!

In terms of direction, the album well covers the ‘standard’ ground in terms of Roots Reggae music, but it does so in a very refreshing and COHESIVE manner. I would and have described this artist as ‘rough around the edges’ as far as his style but, as I said, it is clear that he, or someone else, spent quite a bit of time detailing exactly how this album would play out. Ras Indio’s latest album, ”Jah Bless Us” essentially puts it all on the line with the very first tune you’ll hear on the album, the title track. MAGIC! This song . . . I heard this one from a while back, when I’d first saw that the album was around so, for more than a year at this point I’ve been well enjoying it and putting into context of the entire scope of the album, it really encapsulates the prevailing sentiment that I found for the album. Thus, not only was it an excellent choice of a title track, but it‘s also the single best tune that I hear on this project. MASSIVE! The next tune, ‘Psalm 1’, obviously takes things on a biblical level and does so with an absolutely delightful vibes, in the process. This song is one which definitely shows off Indio’s style in a great light because, while it does sound so well produced, you can almost feel how great of time and how much joy he felt in just vibing this song and it comes through, like I said, in the form of so much passion for the message of the song altogether. And to skip ahead just a bit, we come to an even better tune (in my opinion) the pulsing ‘We Need Love’. The message on this song is excellent, but really I’ve been having a pretty difficult time getting around that DIVINELY colourful one-drop riddim and how Indio’s subsequent words virtually meld themselves to it (and had he wanted to just . . . Let this one play on by itself a little, I wouldn’t have minded none at all).

The very last tune on Ras Indio’s ”Jah Bless Us” album, ’Liberate’, an excellent tune, features what is apparently a band/group from out of Seattle, Washington in the States, The Dynasty Crew. It is definitely a very nice tune, but it is my LEAST favourite of the album’s six official combinations. Why? Let me tell you. The album’s very first link, ‘Digital’, features Indio alongside none other than LUTAN FYAH! The tune is dazzling in almost every aspect. It speaks about the harm of the world going into a digital age (even the mosquitoes, according to Fyah) and it borders on lyrical perfection, at times, to my ears (it’s also worth mentioning that in earlier 2010, Indio and Fyah toured Europe together briefly, so hopefully we can look forward to more links between the two in the future). So what do you do for an encore after Lutan Fyah exits the booth? Give CHEZIDEK a call! That’s the direction taken by Ras Indio and company for the next guest on the album. The singer joins in on the obligatory ganja tune, ‘Herbalist Song’. This is a bit of specialty for Chezi and, although this one doesn’t even try to take things to new heights (which you should’ve guessed by the title); it curiously becomes one of the best tunes that I hear altogether hear as the two make a MIGHTY duo. So that’s Lutan Fyah [check] and Chezidek [check]. Who’s next? Ever the gentleman, the next guest, legendary singer LUCIANO, phones in and says hello briefly before his piece, ‘Powers of The Most High’ gets going. I’m thinking that this one would probably get thought of as being the best combination for the album (and apparently I just read an interview with Indio where he, himself, said as much) and it is surely right up there as the two go on a praising message for His Imperial Majesty which is sublime and not to be missed. That song, however, is topped to my ears by the next guest spot on the album, the heavenly ‘Make Way’ which features who? RAS ATTITUDE! Why and . . . I just don’t know why you would even . . . I mean . . . Brilliant it was to link these two together and the resulting tune, probably about the second time through it literally had me in tears because that song is just so beautiful as it speaks not only to give thanks and praises, but to speak of how much Rastafari has gone through and how resilient HE has remained. POWERFUL! And finally is ‘Love Is Da Way’ which features TURBULENCE - In a good form. This most streaky (and one of the most talented) of artists is sounding EXCELLENT on the tune and that’s news alone, but the tune certainly is noteworthy as well. So that’s Lutan Fyah, Chezidek, Luciano, Ras Attitude and Turbulence on the same album and it isn’t a compilation? I’m about to give you some anyway, but should you need more convincing to know that you want this album then even as longwinded as I am, I don’t know what to say.

“Bushman ah say ’grow yah natty bongo Rastaman ah mek it come down’
‘All pon yah shoulder it fi come down’
Mi locks long so dem heart it ah twist
Babylon dem caan stop diss!
Sizzla him ah seh ‘Rastaman, Rastaman, have you any wool?
Yes I, Yes I
Mi turban full’
Caan sen mi pickney turn no pagan fool
Sen dem go Jerusalem school
Tell mi if you ‘don’t haffi dread to be Rasta’
How will we identify di imposta?
Haffi firm up now
Caan perm up now
Rasta youth wi nah bowwwwww!”

That WICKED passage comes from one of my favourite tunes on ”Jah Bless Us”, ‘Children of Israel’, which finds Ras Indio paying respects to some of his talented peers (LOVE that piece) in the midst of delivering such an excellent vibes, again, based on the perseverance of Rastafari throughout the years. ‘Rumours of War’, although it’s kind of the type of tune that I was just tired of hearing a couple of years back, also manages to make a nice impact. These days, I almost just take it as an antiviolence piece but, had I heard it a few years ago and the concept were less explored, it would’ve definitely been stronger (and still, the delivery on that song is probably one of the best on the whole of the album). ‘Dem A Fraud’ was apparently one of the singles from this album (as was, I believe, ‘Herbalist Song’) and as far as I can tell, it did quite a big damage in Belize and just listening through I can definitely hear why. The song is a great social commentary, particularly pointed at the leaders of society who make it as harsh as it is.

“All politician are di same
Si dem deh yah smile and wave
But after dem election
Si dem ah pass and none ah dem nah aid
Pure champagne deh pon dem campaign
But dung yahso di people still ah complain
Seh dem ah help di poor people
But si wi yahso still ah wait in vain

Politician dem ah fraud yeah
Dem no care about di people none at all
Politician dem ah fraud yeah
Si dem inna dem fancy suit and dem fancy car
Politician dem ah fraud
Talk about peace when dem ah push pure war”

I’d DEFINITELY suggest to listeners to take in that tune in full because the man really makes some significant points, it is just so interesting hearing such a tune, clearly one of Indio’s best and probably one of his personal favourites as well, in a manner in which is seemingly so carefully constructed, but ‘rough’ at the same time.

As ”Jah Bless Us” winds down it still saves a few surprises for the masses. The biggest, ‘Rastafari Calls’ is TRULY a big song. Sandwiched in between two cuts of speeches by His Imperial Majesty and the Most Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, the song is almost placed upon a pedestal in a sense and gorgeously so. It is reminiscent of the opener (and how long ago does that seem?) in terms of the natural pacing and course of the song, but this one is just so BRIGHT and it really just makes you feel good at its core, which I’m sure was the intent of the piece, besides making its point. I also really like the somewhat unusual ‘Never Keep Us Down’. That one has a riddim which I’m not necessarily thrilled about, but lyrically it is an ‘ear-catching’ experience. And speaking of things I’m not thrilled about, ‘Gyrlz Tyme’ is the excusable worst track on this album. It is a Dancehall song (certainly nothing wrong there), but from the moment I saw how the title was spelled, my hopes were low and although it proved to be better (slightly) than I thought it would be, that wasn’t hard to be and it still isn’t very good. The song is ‘made up’ for, however, in a couple of different ways. The tune preceding it ‘We Blaze Fyah’ is a much harder vibed tune also, but it is pretty good and the second verse is MAMMOTH!

“Capleton say MORE FYAH!
Sizzla say FYAH!
Fantan Mojah say fi welcome di FYAH!
Lutan FYAH!
And di FYAH Mumma
Chuck Fenda say fi gash dem and light dem wid di FYAH
I blaze di fyah
You blaze di fyah
Rastaman blaze di fyah

Yow wi bun vampire
Blaze up yah lighta
Rastafari inspire
Tell dem King Selassie -
Him ah di true Black Messiah”

And as for GOOD tunes for the feminine gender, Ras Indio does give two nice selections later on in the form of ‘So Many Places, So Many Faces’ and ‘Royal Queen’. I’m having a hard time saying which of the two I prefer, but both are strong efforts and perhaps show the proper direction he should pursue when tackling such subjects (although based on this album, the next time you hear a love song from Ras Indio, it’ll probably be a Dancehall track featuring . . . Oh I don’t know, Beenie Man or Buju - The man has links in the business!).

I should also mention that along the course of the album are five interludes. Besides the two aforementioned speeches there’s one which, just before ’We Need Love’, features Indio apparently teaching his daughter to spell numbers (and then making the mistake of trying to get a small child to say the word ‘Rastafari’, but she does make a superb attempt at it. Another finds Indio in his car receiving a call (maybe from Ras Attitude), on his way to Rootzville, listening to Jah Cure on the radio (obviously before ‘Make Way’). And there is another where Indio explains the concept of the ’fyah’, prior to ‘We Blaze Fyah’.

Overall, I’m most certainly am not going to do it, but I do feel like I should go back and change my Top Ten Reggae Albums of 2009 to make a space for this album. I alluded to it before, but now I’ll make the full point - This album reminds me of ”The Burning Melody”. They both have this kind of ‘raw’ appeal to them and you can tell that the music is just so important to the artist that making both of these albums was just a joy and regardless if they proved to be commercially successful or not (and I hope they both were) (and it is a coincidence that both albums featured Lutan Fyah???). In this specific case, I’m not as surprised because I’ve been well looking forward to this album and it’s more of a matter of vindication for what I was thinking - Yes. It is a powerful piece and thrown back into 2009, Ras Indio’s ”Jah Bless Us” is probably SO good that it was one of the top five best albums from that year. Excellent.

Rated: 4.99999/5
Indigenous Productions/Mi Yaard Productions
2010
CD & Digital




Ras Indio
Ras Indio @ Myspace