It’s gonna be a long road But oh Mama, I’m strong I’ll put up the fight, I’ll carry this heavy load They love to hate I, dem can’t eliminate I Covetousness - Mi fling dat overboard It’s gonna be a long road But oh Mama, I’m strong I’ll put up the fight, I’ll carry this heavy load They love to hate I, dem can’t intimidate I Filthiness - Mi fling dat overboard
Well dem ah try slander mi name, try put mi to shame But mi neva get weary yet Stumbling block inna mi way, try turn mi astray But mi neva get weary yet I give thanks for mi life, for mi health and mi strength Cah mi neva get weary yet boom! Nuff ah dem ah hate and ah discriminate But mi neva get weary yet All dem ah go down and ah send peer tricks And mi neva get weary yet One ah dem try perpetrate war, dem instigate But mi neva get weary yet Dem ah come inna mi face and ah intimidate But mi neva get weary yet I man ah keep up di pace and ah hold up di faith Cah mi neva get weary yet Blakkamoore caan get crackin if mi don’t set straight Cah mi neva get weary yet Trust in The Most High HE’s the defender! And always remember Alright. Yow. Hey!
It’s gonna be a long road But oh Mama, I’m strong I’ll put up the fight, I’ll carry this heavy load They love to hate I, dem can’t eliminate I Filthiness - Mi fling dat overboard It’s gonna be a long road Oh Mama, I’m strong I’ll put up the fight, I’ll carry this heavy load They love to hate I, dem can’t intimidate I Covetousness - Mi fling dat overboard
So what’s your reason - fighting good people down? You take away their rights and now they cannot be found You’re destroying their communities, dem gone underground Soon, anywhere you go you ahgo hear the gun sound! Still no peace nowhere to be found yeah Yow
It’s gonna be a long road But oh Mama, I’m strong I’ll put up the fight, I’ll carry this heavy load They love to hate I, dem can’t discriminate I Covetousness - Mi fling dat overboard It’s gonna be a long road But oh Mama, I’m strong I’ll put up the fight, I’ll carry this heavy load They love to hate I, dem can’t discriminate I Filthiness - Mi fling dat overboard
So make a joyful noise And give thanks for life, you definitely raise me right I represent the truth and mi bun out antichrist I put a message in my music bringing insight Wi revolutionary come to pay the sacrifice So neva you worry, I’m protected by The Most High HE leads the way and IS my guiding light Well Blakkamoore him sing and mi seh
It’s a long road But oh Mama, I’m strong I’ll put up the fight, I’ll carry this heavy load They love to hate I, dem can’t eliminate I Filthiness - Mi fling dat overboard It’s gonna be a long road But oh Mama, I’m strong I’ll put up the fight, I’ll carry this heavy load They love to hate I, dem can’t intimidate I Covetousness - Mi fling dat overboard
It’s a long road But oh Mama, I’m strong I’ll put up the fight, I’ll carry this heavy load They love to hate I, dem can’t eliminate I Filthiness - Mi fling dat overboard It’s gonna be a long road Oh Mama, I’m strong I’ll put up the fight, I’ll carry this heavy load They love to hate I, dem can’t intimidate I Covetousness - Mi fling dat overboard
I think it’s the case with most serious collectors of music that we tend to try to catalogue and then categorize, within that catalogue, our collections. However you accomplish it, be it by genre or artist or year or maybe even by form, it is the built-in nerd inside of all of us who finds such things interesting and insists on doing so every once in awhile. In my own case, I once again undertook this most ridiculous of processes recently and, in doing so, I started to notice that there’re just a few artists who, when you really break it down and the proverbial light on their work, seem to have a very ‘antisocial’ standing when compared to their peers. Fittingly, it was just a few months back when an American artist by the name of Toussaint introduced us to ‘Soul Roots’ which made a lot of people like myself have to reorganize things and accurately so - his album, ”Black Gold” was thoroughly impressive and one of the best releases of the year. Surely it is a coincidence but, featuring on that album was another artist who is going to have music fans attempting to Feng shui their collections, the sharp Jahdan Blakkamoore. I could pretty much start anywhere in his case, but I think one of the most interesting tidbits of information about the artist is that he has now won “Reggae Album of The Year” honours from iTunes twice consecutively for albums which . . . Well they weren’t really Reggae albums. Last year there was absolute carnage when the premier digital music service gave the downright bizarre ”Buzzrock Warrior” the distinction and in 2008 Jahdan also earned the award as part of the group, Noble Society, for the album, ”Take Charge”. The latter of those two was far more Reggae-ish than the former, but that isn’t very hard to be. Previously, Jahdan was known, primarily, as being a member of said Noble Society group (with whom he apparently continues to tour) and although they reportedly had a very healthy following which stretched all over the world (and I remember constantly seeing their name associated with this wonderful label that I’m about to tell about and while I pretty much checked EVERYTHING this label did (including that strange EP with the Vaughn Benjamin and Lutan Fyah combination on it and a few very strong riddim albums) something about Noble Society just ‘told’ me not to go there just yet). That group, to my ears, was a Hip-Hop group who mixed in a lot of Reggae music and mainly - It was too much Hip-Hop for me. However, over the past two years or so, Jahdan Blakkamoore has begun to do more and more straight Reggae and in the process has shown himself a truly DOMINANT artist.
So, if we could somehow and someway manage to ‘borrow’ Jahdan’s talents and mix them in with just a little more Reggae music consistently (and by “just a little more”, I mean WAYYYYY more than is to be found on ”Buzzrock Warrior”), that would potentially be something truly big. How big? Thirteen months ago I called his forthcoming album, ”Babylon Nightmare” from Lustre Kings Productions, something to Look Forward To in the last sixty days of the 2009 - So, I have been well looking forward to the album’s release for more than a year at this point and over that same time, with exception of Buju, who found a way to remain in the news for other reasons this year, I haven’t had a greater response from you wonderful people who read this blog, about any other artist who hadn’t had a project out or who I hadn’t otherwise found terribly enjoyable (biggup Sara Lugo). Well here’s something to keep you talking as FINALLY one of my favourite labels delivers what is to be regarded, in some circles, as one of the most anticipated albums of the year from one of the most talked about artists of the year. So presumably, with Jahdan on a very Reggae-themed titled album such as ”Babylon Nightmare”, for such a label as LKP, known for doing full blown albums for the likes of Lutan Fyah, Norris Man, Turbulence and others (reportedly Perfect coming in April as well), what we’re going to get here is this Bambu Station-esque piece which is only 100% Reggae and nothing else. Right? Wrong. As I said, the material Jahdan did with Noble Society was somewhat Hip-Hoppish and of course the label I alluded to at that point was also LKP so obviously they had no problem with it at that point at least. Also, something I noticed fairly early on in ”Babylon Nightmare” just highlighted itself for me throughout the album (and kind of made me feel a little dumb that I hadn’t spotted it prior to the album) it - Adding the Hip-Hop flares . . . It’s just kind of Jahdan’s style. Reportedly born in Guyana and having spent a great deal of his formative years in New York City, it is no mystery at all to how Jahdan may’ve developed his vibes as such. Sometimes he reminds me, vocally, of Wyclef Jean to a degree who would be a next artist with a very similar set of origins and I wouldn’t at all be surprised to hear that perhaps the two have worked in the past at some point either. With me not being the biggest fan of Hip-Hop music, it clearly made me have to focus in even harder on what was being said and in doing that I found something else which was a highlight for the album, but this came as no great revelation to me and honestly, I feel that it probably has a great amount to do with why my interest in this release has grown so much over the past year - Jahdan Blakkamoore is a WICKED lyricist. The man says some MIGHTY things and while we, as fans, may prefer it to be delivered in a certain fashion and over a certain backing, I’d like to think that I am able appreciate good words when backed by NOTHING at all whether it’s rapped, chanted or deejayed (and Jahdan does all three here). Also, it does help that the album never really moves too far away from the ‘shadow’ of Reggae music as well. By its end ”Babylon Nightmare” manages to once again prove its authour to be an original as it dually manages to both satisfy the wishes of people like me, while not drifting too far from the artist’s obvious natural sound. Let’s examine!
'All Comes Back To One'
As expected, production on ”Babylon Nightmare” by Jahdan Blakkamoore comes courtesy of not Lustre Kings Productions, but also the roll of labels with which they associate. So you can expect to hear compositions from the likes of I Grade Records, DJ Child from Project Groundation and others as well. And I have been paying attention to Jahdan’s recent output (obviously), so there’re more than a couple familiar moments for me during the album. Such is the case with the opener, the funky ‘We Won’t Break’ . . . Although I cannot (AT ALL) tell you where I know it from, but it definitely sounds familiar. Whatever its origins, the tune is a SUPREME example of the good in the mix of Jahdan’s style of blending the Hip-Hop with Reggae because it is a hybrid of sorts. I hesitate to call it a ‘social commentary’, although that is the direction of the tune, but it’s such a vibes wrapped into something else and right off the top of the album Jahdan manages to set a BOOM for listeners (and that riddim is RIDICULOUS!). He chases the opener with the first official single for the album, ‘All Comes Back To One’. I’ve had a very interesting ‘relationship’ with this one because I have to admit that the very first time that I heard it, and associated it with this album, I was kind of worried because it isn’t the full-on one-drop backed type of tune that I was looking forward to hearing. But it’s also pretty good. Such a set of circumstances generally tells me to focus on what is actually being said, as it did in this case, and strange as it may be, the tune gets better (and much better) each and every time I hear it.
After the opening two selections, ”Babylon Nightmare” then does something fairly unexpected by placing my two favourites in sequence and I am utterly IMPRESSED! The album’s finest moment comes in the form of a very familiar track, ‘Flying High’. I believe I asked Tippy from I Grade Records his favourite tune on the compilation album he released last year ”Joyful Noise” (which you certainly have by now) and he said it was this song. I ultimately found ‘better’, but I was wrong. This is the best song on that HUGE set and it is the best song here as well.
“Back from mentally overcoming the psychological stress of post traumatic slavery syndrome Like a fish out of water, we’ve been transplanted and still come fi burn down babylon kingdom”
“Babylon ah fight fi control over natural things Them forgot all the blessings that nature brings”
WHAT!
The song comes in even stronger here as it is now more than half a minute longer than on the ”Joyful Noise” version and the riddim does noticeably play on after the final lyrics have been told. Then comes a very FRESH and vibrant tune, ‘Soul Survivor’, which is the first of the album’s two official combinations, this one featuring Princess Menen (nice name), who is a next artist to keep an eye on from out of New York also. BOOM!
“No matta how hard dem ah try dem coulda neva eva eva keep I down Beast coulda neva come tek I crown What goes around comes right back around Well hot! Chant two psalm and bun up dem spot! Blazing fyah man ah walk through dat Barefoot lak mi name Shadrock Rastaman ah chat and stand pon lateral Beast dem ah come fi yah soul on collateral When you speak out dem call you ah radical Haffi return to mi home lak Prodigal If mi haffi sail pon di sea lak nautical Or fly high in a plane, aeronautical I’ve got to live natural Protect your soul, it’s all about your survival”
For her part, Menen more than holds her own alongside Jahdan, providing equal parts smooth delivery and FYAH in her impressive delivery.
Prior to the release of ”Babylon Nightmare”, there was a very official looking mixtape (called a Podcast) by the name of “Global Warning“, which (you people sent me about forty copies of) contained tastes of a few of the tunes which ended up on the album so definitely listeners who paid attention there will be looking forward to the full meal of some of these tracks even before the album comes through for them. Definitely one of the most interesting finds Jahdan taking a ‘Dim View of the World’. I GUESS I can call the tune a ‘gal tune’, but it’s kind of weird because how it actually sounds is that Jahdan has a number one woman in his life, but it doesn’t stop him from staring at potential number 2’s (and 3’s and 4’s) through the ‘cover’ of his sunglasses (thus the title). The song clearly isn’t the best on the album, but the course it takes is definitely ‘different’, to say the least. A version of ‘Songs Of Love’ was on that same mixtape and now, hearing the full version, I am impressed. The song utilizes what appears to be the same Pure Vida Riddim from Dean Pond that backs Pressure Busspipe’s EPIC ‘Pure Life’ tune and Jahdan well takes on the lovely creation to stirring results. ‘Down In The Ghetto’ is another recognizable piece as it not only appeared on the aforementioned “Global Warning” release, but it was also one of a handful of highlights on board a mixtape created by DJ Child, also named ”Down In The Ghetto”, from early last year (and check the ‘feature’ from Eek-A-Mouse as well). And there is also a remix to Jahdan’s riddim title track from LKP’s Proverbs Riddim last year (this time around it’s on a more Hip-Hop set), ‘Right Way’, which is a REALLY big tune and another track which is easily one of the album’s biggest choices, the moodily intoxicating ‘Red Hot’, which was Jahdan’s cut of the Grasslands Riddim, also from the ”Joyful Noise” album.
On the tracks which are new work to my ears, ”Babylon Nightmare” continues to impress. One which caught my attention in a very nice way was ‘Highest Region’ which comes over one of those strange and spiky sounding riddims that Vaughn Benjamin used on the ”Infinite Quality” album LKP released in 2007. Typically such compositions should be reserved for (and only for) Benjamin who . . . doesn’t really care what’s going on behind him very much and while this piece had “complete disaster” written all over it, Jahdan SHINES on the riddim because he basically goes after it. The results are so good it ends up being one of the best tunes on this big album. I could say the same about the tune which precedes it, ‘All Over the World’, which may be Blakkamoore’s attempt at a ‘dance song’, but as usual it comes out as so much more.
“All over the world Everywhere you go the people feel the vibes I love to see poor people shine
All over this world Say they struggling to stay alive And they’re playing Reggae music day and night”
I really like the basic NATURE of this tune because while it has elements of speaking on cultural and societal matters, it does it seemingly purposefully with a very upbeat backing to it and what I came away from it with, sonically speaking, was that the song is one on which Jahdan REALLY injects his own personality and mannerisms into. Very big tune and surprisingly ripe and complex as well. The inspirational ‘Mountains To Climb’ is apparently an older track, but it’s one which I don’t believe that I’d heard. The song kind of surprises on the surface because it comes equipped with the same sublime Kingdom Riddim which backs Chezidek’s big hit, ‘Call Pon Dem’. Jahdan tears down whatever Chezidek left with some of the finest lyrics to be found here. Again, the tune has a very free feeling to it and it still rings through firm enough to solidify a point which you simply have to dissect on your own - If you can’t focus on the lyrics on this one - Skip it. ‘Against All Odds’ features “Noble Society” (which I take to mean the group’s other two members, one of whom I believe is a giant named Delie) and is the most Hip-Hoppish on the whole of the album as the other two vocalists are straight forward rappers with American accents. I don’t hate this song. Like I said, I can appreciate it when good things are said and the lyrics here are strong, particularly from the first guest vocalist in my opinion who does a very good job.
'Mountains To Climb'
And as the album winds down we get another tune which sounds very familiar, ‘Long Road’. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard this tune in some form (probably on one of the other 900 mixtapes I’ve heard with Jahdan on them), but I’m even more certain that it’s never sounded this good! This song is absolutely sublime!
“Well dem ah try slander mi name, try put mi to shame But mi neva get weary yet Stumbling block inna mi way, try turn mi astray But mi neva get weary yet I give thanks for mi life, for mi health and mi strength Cah mi neva get weary yet boom! Nuff ah dem ah hate and ah discriminate But mi neva get weary yet All dem ah go down and ah send peer tricks And mi neva get weary yet One ah dem try perpetrate war, dem instigate But mi neva get weary yet Dem ah come inna mi face and ah intimidate But mi neva get weary yet I man ah keep up di pace and ah hold up di faith Cah mi neva get weary yet Blakkamoore caan get crackin if mi don’t set straight Cah mi neva get weary yet Trust in The Most High HE’s the defender! And always remember It‘s a long road!”
At the end of this review I’m going to place my own distinction (granted I’m not as much of a genius as whoever makes the decisions at iTunes) (clearly somewhere there must owe Jahdan money) on this album and it’s largely because of not ‘songs like this one’ - Meaning plural - But this SONG. It his HUGE! Jahdan takes a well traveled course of telling the masses to hold firm when times get hard, but I don’t know that I’ve ever heard that messaged carried like this. DAMN! The HEAVY ‘Are You Ready’ and ‘Rewind’ close out this top notch set. The former is really strong and kind of ‘delicately dynamic’. What I mean is that the song comes off as being really big and fast paced, but it isn’t as fast as you think, but if you slow it down and hear it as it is, it isn’t as slow as you would think either. Somewhere in the middle of it all, ‘Are You Ready’ is still a big tune. ‘Rewind’, meanwhile, almost sounds like a total freestyle (and it kind of sounds like poetry at times also) across the same riddim which backed Messenjah Selah’s (remember him???) ‘Their Story’ tune. The song has some special effects energy to it that I’ll save for your ears to go through (not very hard to predict with that title), but I will tell you that it and thus the entire album comes to its end with a sweet dub effect over the base riddim: Music on top of music.
Overall: Yes. I am THOROUGHLY impressed and it was well worth the thirteen or fourteen months that I spent waiting for this album to release. As I said I was going to: I’m thinking that in 2010 I’ve yet to hear a better WRITTEN album than this. I‘d typically say such a thing about an album from Sizzla or Lutan Fyah, but ”Babylon Nightmare” is the best lyrical experience to be found in modern Reggae in 2010. Jahdan says so many really powerful things and the way he presents it, for the most part, is very ’resourceful’. To that end, he kind of reminds me of perhaps a more adventurous version of someone like a Junior Kelly (whose “Red Pond“ album is also very strong in that context) when both are at their respective bests and hopefully that is a quality which I’m not overstating and the masses really respond to this album from the lyrical aspect. As a whole, it’s also very well presented and while I’m no greater fan of Hip-Hop for having listened to and enjoyed ”Babylon Nightmare”, when this artist does it, I can do more than simply tolerate it (I do wish they would have stuck one pure Dancehall riddim on the album however) (oh and can someone get me a Jahdan/Capleton combination???). In reference to the premise of this review, after listening to the album I think it’s pretty clear where to place the music of Jahdan Blakkamoore - You are to keep this album in the same area where you keep your material marked “EXCELLENT”. Very well done.
Rated: 4.90/5{got REALLY close to giving this a 5/5} Lustre Kings Productions 2010 CD + Digital
Okay so, I was supposed to be writing about homophobia in Reggae music today, but I had my brain locked on what I was doing at the time (writing a review for Jahdan's new album) and it didn't allow for such a drastic deviation (at least not if I wanted to continue to write the review after I was finished with the other), so stay tuned to that for next week - Probably on Wednesday. Instead for today, I noticed that there was a little bit of new stuff from quite a few people who I really enjoy, so I thought that I'd take a brief moment and tell all of you beautiful about it all most informally.
Destra & Swappi - 'Middle Ah De Road'
First, of course, is the matter at hand that Achis Reggae all-time favourite, the incomparable Destra Garcia, has released a new tune, 'Middle Ah De Road', featuring Vybz Kar . . . . I mean Swappi. LOVE IT! I'd probably say "LOVE IT" if she walked up to the mic and simply hummed a little something, so take that into consideration in my recommendation of the tune, but I really really do like this one.
The Electricity Riddim [Tiger Records/Zojak Worldwide]
I can't really give as strong of a recommendation, however, for this next piece, because I haven't really listened to it as of yet. The Electricity Riddim is another effort from another of my favourites, Sherkhan an company at Tiger Records. I've only perused the opening track 'Another Day', which features Teflon taking a very Sizzla-esque unfortunate turn. Still looking forward to hearing the second song I've ever heard from Tiger Records' 'secret weapon', Bazil, 'Celebrate' (listening to it now - NICE - Sounding like Nasio a little).
Shelly G [Vizion Sounds Records/Zojak Worldwide]
I probably don't have to tell you that ANYTHING involving former Guyana Soca Monarch (still undefeated), Shelly G, has my support and DEFINITELY that support extends to her . . . You know . . . Just releasing two digital albums at the same fucking time! The Soca release, "Socadisiac" features some of her previous well known material such as 'Touch Me' and 'Swing It' and 'Work It' alongside the brand new 'Iyan' and a very nice tune in 'Wine Up'.
"Just A Text" is an album named after a previous single and it is the much discussed Reggae album (more like an EP with eight tracks, but good luck finding them elsewhere) from Shelly G that was reportedly coming via Vizion Sounds (who orchestrates it all) late last year and certainly it's 'better late than never'. Here, you'll find the big title track, 'Mr. Right', the sultry 'Rastaman' and a big tune I don't believe I've ever heard, 'In Love'. ENJOY! I know I will.
Skinny Fabulous - 'Mash Up Fete'
Here we have a new tune from three time consecutive reigning Vincy Soca Monarch Skinny Fabulous by the name of 'Mash Up Fete'. There is some STUFF at play here because the song comes over what is apparently called the Rankin Riddim, which is better known as 'that thing which set up the HUGE 'Pas Mele' by DJ HP' who captured both Lucian Soca Monarch and Road March in 2010 with it. So, should you be able to get through this tune without singing 'Pas Mele' in your head, consider yourself armed with a far more formidable attention span than I am (or maybe you just haven't heard that song). I do REALLY like this tune, but when Skinny brings ENERGY, I almost always am going to enjoy the results.
Patrice Roberts - 'Jack It Up'
The wonderful Patrice Roberts has dropped the first of what is certain to be half a dozen or so 'bumpa tunes' for the 2011 season already and it is 'Jack It Up'. I'm not overly thrilled by this tune and really I post it because it's almost always the case with her early tunes that I won't like them so much, but by mid- January or so, I'm HOOKED. Expect similar results in about five weeks with this one.
The Everlasting Riddim [Pow Pow Productions]
And lastly - Big big and bad German label, Pow Pow, didn't make my recent list of my favourite labels today and it was largely due to the fact that I pretty much just FORGOT them. They hadn't been up to much in 2010, but just like last year (if I recall correctly), with the Surfer Riddim, they've waited until the year was almost gone to offer their big set and here it is, the Everlasting Riddim. Certainly you see the names on the cover, most of which would have gotten my attention: Gentleman (whose tune is the title track for the riddim and can be heard on his "Diversity" album from earlier this year, Natural Black, Ginjah, Perfect and the others. What you don't see, however, is that two of my up and coming favourites and two artists who I've featured as 'Artist of the Month' are also on the Everlasting Riddim. There's Smiley with the more aggressive than usual 'Bad Minds' and apparently Pow Pow has caught on with what people do when in Germany and wanting to attract Achis' attention.
YOU VOICE SARA LUGO! The delightful songstress is dropping 'Bombs of Love' all over everything even remotely important and if you get hit . . . Like it. It is a big tune (you can hear it, in its entirety, on Juno) and I just might review this one before the end of 2010.
So there you have it! I had a next tune I wanted to post from Alison Hinds, but I just might save that for my tune for Sunday (biggup JP and Ben for pushing tunes this week (who will be #3???)). The Everlasting Riddim releases on December 10. Shelly G's albums and the Electricity Riddim will be coming soon (probably very soon so keep an eye out) and we'll see you tomorrow with the review of Jahdan Blakkamoore's "Babylon Nightmare".
We’re going to call this one a matter of ’hiding in plain view’. While certainly not being a complete unknown and definitely not so around these parts, Ras Shiloh is an artist who has spent the vast majority of his career existing, as so many of our artists unfortunately do, in a place where he isn’t necessarily going to get the credit he is due. In his case, of course, some will say that it has a great deal to do with the fact that he is so vocally similar to the late and great Garnet Silk and while that most likely does have something to do with it (who knows how many fans are still referring to some of his work as late or unheard work from Silk), I’d also suggest that Shiloh’s career and the standing of his career represents one of the greatest MISHAPS on the part of Reggae fans in the modern era - EVER. While all of his output isn’t stellar (all of no one’s output is), Ras Shiloh has been SO consistent in his career that not only will briefly listening to some of his work impress a listener educated in Reggae Music, but it would also impress them to the degree that they would very much want to hear more. Example? In 2007 Ras Shiloh had what has to be considered, in terms of albums, one of the best years of any Reggae artist of all time as he dropped not only one, but two potential ‘Modern Classic’ level releases. Incidentally, both of those albums came from two of the greatest producers of all time and can via the two biggest Reggae labels in the world also . . . And no one talks about it anymore. One of those albums was the gorgeous ”Only King Selassie” release, which was produced by the legendary King Jammy and distributed by Greensleeves and the other, which we’re now about to take a look at, ”Coming Home” from VP Records, linked Shiloh with Bobby Digital. It was the more dynamic and ‘beautiful’ of the two and an absolute DIAMOND of an album.
The Music
1. ‘We Need More Love’
The opening tune of Ras Shiloh’s ”Coming Home” was one which, maybe more than most others on the album, required just a second of ‘musical digestion’. It didn’t leap off of the track and the listener, it slowly took them over instead. What grabs you here is just how the tune kind of gradually wraps itself around its title and becomes it. It would be one thing to write the lyrics around the concept, but after thoroughly listening to the song, you do far more than simply HEAR what is being said. You kind of start to feel it. Don’t you? Best Lyric:“Tired of walking the streets being scared of my shadow. Some people are living for today with no investment in tomorrow. Brothers killing brothers for no reasons, no special time, place nor seasons. Why can’t we show some brotherly love for each other?”
2. ‘Let the People Be Heard’ featuring Morgan Heritage
After warming you up properly with the opener, Shiloh and Digital take things really spicy with the second tune in, ‘Let the People Be Heard’, the first of three official combinations for the album - This one featuring the siblings of Morgan Heritage. This track was one powerful social commentary and call to the ‘powers that be’ to make just a bit more room for the poor and to hear their concerns. Shiloh often kind of fades into the background with so many different voices but, on the whole, what a link!
Best Lyric:“All dem waan do is incarcerate we. The world dem give poor people is like slavery. On di pay give wi caan feed pickney. Don’t even mention educate di pickney. Dem sen dem soldier in di street fi shoot wi and paramedics fi come clean up body. Hiii it ahgo get too bloody, best dem try I help di people make some money”
3. ‘Give A Little Love’
Next is a tune which slows us down just a bit and somewhat builds upon the subjectry of the opening track, but (and this is obvious when you check the vibes of the tune) it’s definitely one which will give you more if you pay it a more than superficial amount of attention. That is, of course until the end. ‘Give A Little Love’ comes with a ‘small’ built-in surprise as, in the tune’s latter stages, Ras Shiloh loses things just a touch and throws that incredibly voice to all corners of the room most impressively.
Best Lyric:“Never say ‘no’ when the children them are in need. Show them love and Jah blessings you will receive”
4. ‘What Have You Done’
TEARS! ‘What Have You Done’ is a tune which was seemingly one geared after my own heart (particularly in the last week or so since I began to dig back into this release). It is absolutely GORGEOUS! The vibes are nearly perfect and while Shiloh doesn’t throw his voice to its peak, he comes fairly close to doing just that and he goes about pushing a message which just reminds all to be righteous in your ATTEMPTS and to take into account the words of His Imperial Majesty at all times.
Best Lyric:“Testimony. I’ve been to hell and back, calculated the score. And now I’m sure!”
5. ‘The New Rising Day’ featuring Bascom X
Remember Bascom X??? There was a time when the chanter was looked upon as having just as much potential as peers such as Lutan Fyah, Fantan Mojah and Turbulence, but it just hasn’t (at least not yet and it doesn’t figure to anytime soon) (ever) materialized as such for him. Still, he most certainly has offered flashes of brilliance in his woefully under-active career. None were too much more SMART than this link with Ras Shiloh for ”Coming Soon” where the two made a WONDERFUL duo on one of the most ‘scenic’ of tunes on a very scenic album.
Best Lyric:“Searching to find some peace. UNITY. Spread some joy amongst the youth today”
6. ‘Need Your Love’
Ras Shiloh takes ‘Need Your Love’, a bonafide love tune, in a very familiar direction and one which turns into this kind of ‘crystallized’ vibes. What I mean is that this one was definitely one made for a purpose and while it surely isn’t the finest moment on the album, it clearly accomplishes what it was intended to do. Sweet sweet love song? Check.
Best Lyric:“They say love is blind, but I bear that in mind. Rasta knows everything is sealed and signed”
7. ‘Are You Lonely’
Even sweeter love song? Check. Between the two ostensible love songs pushed right near the middle of this album, the second of the two, ‘Are You Lonely’ is the better and more inventive of the pair. This song - My Wife loves - and after having had in playing on the house radio for more than a few spins, I’m sure you can imagine what her question was. “Garnet Silk?”. Not quite, but a lovely tune nonetheless.
Best Lyric:“Go to sleep with pictures of you hanging in my mind. I recall sweet things we used to do all of the time”
8. ‘Volume of the Book’
“They act like they don’t know”. BOOM! Here it is, the best song on the album. Unsurprisingly Shiloh finds himself on a biblical level taking this one to the proverbial next level and stepping such in such a HUGE way. I can remember first hearing this song and having such a powerful and IMPRESSED feeling of it that it kind of stopped me, in a sense, from listening to the rest of the album. Of course, had I actually done that, it would have been a damn shame, but ’Volume of the Book’ just might be one of the best songs I have ever heard in my entire life.
Best Lyric: “It was written in the volume of the book, under a cool meditation while the whole earth shook”
9. ‘It Will Be Over’ featuring Natural Black
Had I just left ”Coming Home” alone following ‘Volume of the Book’, I would’ve mentioned my favourite combination on the album and probably my second favourite tune altogether actually, ‘It Will Be Over’, featuring Natural Black. This tune came in signaling that a powerful change was on its way because going along as we were, the world is headed for disaster. It also provided the necessary lyrical boost as well, with one side being so undeniably powerful, but so ‘serene’ at the same time (and it isn’t the way you‘re thinking either).
Best Lyric:“What’s the use to be killing great men that’s teaching the world the right solution. Makes no sense to mislead the nation from the captivity of civilization”
10. ‘Rebel With A Cause’
Easily one of the finest riddims on the entire album backs ‘Rebel With A Cause’ and Shiloh uses it to somewhat build on the sentiment of the previous track, but in a slightly more aggressive and IMMEDIATE manner. “Here I come” is the lasting declaration for me and it is also one which helped me to come to the ultimate conclusion I did for the entire album because Shiloh certainly doesn’t appear to be calling US to action, instead, he’s coming to initiate the ACTION himself.
Best Lyric:“They are evil, in high and low places and deceivers trying to cover their traces”
&
“HERE I COME, here I come again. I’m a rebel with a cause. Mystery babylon must fall”
11. ‘Coming Home’
Surely there is great insight to be found in the title track of a great album, right? Surely. Lyrically speaking, this may just be the finest moment on the album because, at least to my completely over-analytical brain, it’s a song which very much carries a dual meaning. I’ll elaborate more on this in my synopsis, but what I’ll tell you here is that you essentially LOSE half of the vibes of the tune should you just look upon it, categorizing it as a ‘repatriation anthem’. It is so SO much more . . . Or is it???
Best Lyric:“I can’t wait to get home to Mama, to feel her warm embrace. I’ve been longing to touch her and see her smiling face”
12. ‘Come Down Jah Jah’
Ras Shiloh’s take on this proven winner is a . . . Well it’s a proven winner. I really like songs like this where I can kind of drift away in my brain and just sit back and be entertained and doing that here, Shiloh absolutely rules this tune. I really like the way it builds itself up and while he doesn’t take the voice off the register, he pushes it just far enough to satisfy the big tune. Dazzling.
Best Lyric:“Out there is a battlefield. No one trust no one. Trying to be humble, but still, you can’t be a simpleton. Raving dog will take your bone, leave you stranded in the cold. Upful in this yah gideon, you can’t let them steal your soul”
13. ‘All What A Go On’
I don’t know if I’ve ever REALLY heard anyone dig very deeply into ‘All What A Go On’ (and I’m not about to here either), but it is MASSIVE! It is a HUGE tune! I suppose you can kind of call the tune a ‘social commentary’, but it also seems to have some type of spiritual overtones to it (maybe that’s just what I’m getting from it, however) and it sounds very unique and original - Just the way the tune is situated. So, I’m going to call it one of the highlights of the album - Make sure you give it a HUGE listen before disagreeing (and even if you do listen deeply and disagree, you’ll still be wrong). Best Lyric:“All what a gwaan inna di system, the more you give is the less you receive. And on, goes the system - Fighting the hands that feed”
14. ‘Voice of the People’
Heavy listening fans should recognize the riddim behind ‘Voice of the People’ as the same which backed Capleton’s mighty ‘Jah Is My Everything’ from the ”Reign of Fire” album and while Shiloh doesn’t quite reach the lofty levels set by King Shango, he does manage to come close. Unsurprisingly, the tune does follow closely the ideology expressed in ‘Let the People Be Heard’, but this tune well makes itself stand out because of its very urgent tones which, this time, fall all on Shiloh’s shoulders.
Best Lyric:“We will not surrender! Caste asunder (!) your evilous policies. Won’t be mobbed by numbers, we died from hunger. Screw your speech (!) we want food to eat!”
15. ‘Waste My Time’
‘Waste My Time’ is a tune which is most attractive because of the way in which it is written. What Ras Shiloh does is set up doing a variety of negative things as a ‘waste of time’. You don’t hear that very much. Certainly we’ve heard artists talk about the negative effects, both the tangible and the abstract, but for someone to look upon that type of behaviour and essentially say ‘I have better stuff to do with my time’, is very interesting and on top of that Shiloh is clever to point out that wasting time doing negative things is merely a ‘gateway’ of sorts to SERVING time.
Best Lyric:“Disagreement brings mis-unity. In this judgment you’ve got to face reality. My people we are one family, with one aim, one life and one destiny”
16. ‘All Of Me’
And finally (and oddly), Shiloh rounds up ”Coming Home” with another love song. 'All Of Me' is the second strongest on the album (after ‘Are You Lonely’) and it does take awhile to kind of blossom (on that sweet classic riddim), but after it gets up to speed it’s no problem at all. So sweet up someone special, grab them by the waist and do something. I just don’t want to hear about it.
Best Lyric:“All of me needs you. All of me - It’s true, you bring out the real man in me”
Synopsis
Although explaining it will almost certainly end up sounding very complicated coming from me (but I’m actually going to try to make it no so ridiculous this time), in my opinion, at the heart of comprehending the ”Coming Home” album is one simple question:
What does Ras Shiloh mean by “home”?
In order to find the answer, I believe that there’re two songs which really need to be considered. The first, as I alluded to, is the title track. As I mentioned, the song definitely has a bit of duality and you don’t even have to dig into too far to hear it. On one hand, there’s -
“We’re coming home Ethiopia awaits us We’re coming home And we’re burning babylon”
And
“I can’t wait to get home to Mama To feel her warm embrace I’ve been longing to touch her and see her smiling face I know she’s gonna welcome me home I’m no longer alone”
While on the other there’s -
“We’ve been drifting for too long Unable to find our way Asking Jah to lend a hand And protect us day by day We’ve been suffering for too long Help the weak to be strong”
Now think about that! In the very first passage, the concept of “HOME” is one which is even given a name - “Ethiopia” - and thus is looked upon as a very real and tangible and physical location, as in the simplest form, ‘I am going home’, meaning I am physically going to a place. Then we see “Mama” in the place of Ethiopia and surely one could just make the connection to “Mama Afrika’, meaning home, but like I said, if you stop there you lose half of what I believe is the prevailing message of the album. The final batch of lyrics ties it all up neatly for me. Here, home is looked upon as a type of refuge from “suffering for too long” and a place where the “weak” can become “strong”. This isn’t necessarily a trait of “home”. Home can be a place where I simply lay my head, this place Ras Shiloh is referring to is a very nourishing place and when you take that and go backwards - Ask yourself who are the two greatest nourishers of the world - Of course there’s The Almighty (“Asking Jah to lend a hand”) and then there is the Mother (“I can’t wait to get home to Mama to feel her warm embrace”).
The other tune which I feel is very instrumental in overstanding the main premise of ”Coming Home” is actually the album’s very first track, ‘We Need More Love’.
“I’m tired of walking the streets being scared of my shadow Some people are living for today with no investment for tomorrow Brothers killing brothers for no reasons No special time, place nor seasons Why Can’t we show some brotherly love for each other”
“We need more love Love is what we’re searching for A place for the children to play Where is the sunny day?”
Once again we see familial terms thrown about, this time “brothers” and “children” and it is one of those, in particular, which definitely stands out. “A place for the children to play” is what Shiloh says (and you should already see this one coming now). That piece stands so far out to me because it doesn’t actually line up. Just before that he says, “we need more love, love is what we’re searching for”, but never does he say anything about a PLACE before the very next line. What is he talking about?
He’s talking about HOME. What is home? It is this very nourishing place. It is a place where His Majesty is present. It is a place where my Mother is. It is where I go for her “warm embrace”. It is a place where there is “brotherly love” and it is a “place for the children to play”. We can definitely stretch this to make it DIRECTLY mean the land of Afrika, but that’s not ONLY what Shiloh means and he doesn’t ONLY mean “HOME” is a concept either. Shiloh’s idea of “home” is one which is going to exist physically, but it has no specific location, it is wherever all of these can be accomplished for you at a given time.
‘Give A Little Love’ is another tune which explores this thought in my opinion and I’d like to mention what happens with both ‘Let the People Voice Be Heard’ and ‘Voice of the People’. These two tunes, to my opinion, quickly go about taking “HOME” and applying it to the entire world - As in, if we all are going to love here, it would be best if the largest man has a say AND the smallest as well - And that’s just a MIGHTY course of thinking if you follow it in that track of consciousness. What else is it??? It is the basis for one more glorious moments in a career which, although not full of much activity, is no complete stranger to such times. None too much more glorious from Ras Shiloh than “Coming Home”, a bonafide Modern Reggae Classic!
Definitely going last and seeing what all of the other ‘competition’ has to offer has its advantages. In the general sense, it obviously gives you a more direct objective in terms of what you have to do better than and what you cannot possibly do worst than and, of course, when you speak of sports and the likes (particularly sports), that can give someone a potentially very large edge. In music and most forms of entertainment, what it does it kind of give you your own ‘audience’ as your product/event/whatever becomes the most anticipated of that time and when you do that in a given year, at the end of that year, it can really carry quite a substantial ways into the following year as well. In Reggae music we have a few significant year-end type of occurrences which typically standout amongst the rest. Certainly no one will EVER forget that on Boxing Day, each and every year, there is potential madness and skullduggery afoot in Portmore at Sting (although said “madness and skullduggery” this year will most unfortunately not include a clash) and there’re a few other events as well. On the album side, Lloyd Brown has taken care of his obligations for us this year with ”Cornerstone” and we’ll see him again in about eleven months and, as is customary, next up is one of the highest profile compilations of the year, ”Strictly The Best”, also from VP Records. Outside of ”Reggae Gold”, ”StB” is probably the biggest named annual release that we have and it’s also one of the most interesting as it comes in pairs . . . You REALLY should know all of this already, so let’s get into the specifics. This year’s installments, #’s 42 & 43, respectively, do come with a bit of a personal twist for me because I was rather pleasantly surprised by last year’s #’s 40 & 41. Typically, while this series carries more of a hardcore fan’s vibes than does ”Reggae Gold” (that isn’t hard to do), it usually only does so slightly and I think that last year’s editions (particularly #42) were some of the best in some time. So, with just a tiny bit more lustre for people like you and me, we roll into this year. How does it all workout? Well, while it isn’t necessarily a ‘down’ year for the ”StB” project, it certainly isn’t as good as last year’s versions, but it does offer enough pieces to get more than a glancing attention from most fans.
Strictly The Best Vol. 42
The first thing that I noticed about the even number installment of this year’s ”Strictly The Best” set from VP Records was how much it seems to almost diametrically differ from last year’s [#40]. A year ago I was so happy to see just how much of a ‘new push’ there was in terms of who appeared on the compilation. Names such as Maikal X, Sherita, Jah Vinci, Million Stylez and Hezron certainly weren’t (and still aren’t) household names to any degree (and the average age on that one, with people like Gappy, Etana and Busy also on board must’ve been a lot lower). This year, while we still have such artists, they’re older people and perhaps that is some type of sign as far as the intended artists this year.
Whatever the case, while the artist who stars on the first ‘show’ on ”Strictly The Best #42” isn’t an old man, the thirty-two year old Jah Cure isn’t a rookie, but he is joined by one, (the incredibly hard to spell) his SoBe Entertainment labelmate, Phyllisia, on their well traveled but still strong single, ‘Unconditional Love’. I’m not exhaustedly tired of this tune just yet and if you haven’t heard it yet (. . . What is going on with you???), it’ll do wonders for you and if you take time and the ‘quantity’ of the tune, it’s probably one of the best songs here actually. Next in is a returning and very impressive Courtney John on ‘Love Is’. I always say that I need to pay more attention to this sweet voiced singer, but the fact that I haven’t begun to do so just yet always makes me happy to see him on compilations like such because even if it’s a big tune (and it is, as it is almost always) I’m not tired of it. Such is the case here with a song which is CLEARLY one of the best and should you call it the supreme tune here (and, thus, on both of the album’s), that’s fine with me. Lastly for the opening lot is a singer who is also not an old man and fairly new to this series (I think this is his first song on one of the "StB" albums), but one who is already a veteran, 2009’s BIG breakout name, Stevie Face, with ’In The Living Years’ from his outstanding album, ”Tell It Like It Is” from last year. It would have made more sense on ”StB40”, but I suppose ’better late than never’ applies on this song and should he remain active, you can probably reserve a spot on future installments of this compilation for Mr. Face as well (and hopefully VP will pick up one of his albums at some point also).
As I said, 2010 appears to be the ’retro-year’ from ”Strictly The Best #42”, so you can expect a whole heap of familiar names throughout and the ones which aren’t too familiar aren’t unfamiliar because of their lack of time in the business either. For example, there is a chance that you may not be very well acquainted with the music of veteran Ed Robinson, but he’s been around for quite awhile and this year he struck up with arguably the biggest hit of his entire career, ‘Our Heroes’ which, to my ears chimes in as also the biggest tune on this album (it’s the best song on either album actually). The tune takes the listener through every corner of the history of Reggae music and for me, it has become such a powerful and BEAUTIFUL song and I was so happy that VP placed it on this album in anticipation of Robinson’s own album supporting the tune which is scheduled for early next year. HUGE HUGE tune! Similar to Robinson’s own is the case of Andy Livingston, a Reggae veteran of well over a decade at this point, but one who may not be too well known to the masses. He also had a big year which was boosted on the strength of his big single, ‘My Promise’. I don’t particularly LOVE this song, but I’m well into the tiny minority on that so, definitely give it a minute to grow on you before casting it aside because it’s done a heavy amount of damage in 2010. And I suppose I could throw in this same string the far better known George Nooks who comes with a remake of ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’ as well as Fiona who brings back Stevie Face, for another remake, ‘Baby Come To Me’. Both of these tunes, sonically speaking, sound excellent, but I’m not too much of a fan of either actually and they definitely fit more precisely on VP’s fine ”R&B Hits Reggae Style” which dropped a fourth installment back in August on which the latter of these two tunes appeared. Of course, on the completely opposite end of that is a neophyte, by comparison, Tessanne Chin who returns to a VP album with ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ which is another remake of a song that I’m entirely too lazy to look up. I don’t particularly like this one either, actually, but I have such a GREAT feeling about Chin these days and I’m almost certain that either 2011 or ‘12 will see her doing big things on an international level, so stay tuned.
Apart from those names, the balance of ”StB#42” is full of artists who’re either very current or just very familiar and popular on the VP circuit, historically. Perhaps none are more popular than superstar Tarrus Riley who offers up ‘Superman’, the latest single from his 2009 album, ”Contagious”, which is a song which I enjoy more and more every time I vibe it. Of course, you knew Gyptian would be popping up in one way or another and here he is with ‘So Much In Love’. I don’t enjoy this one as much as I once did, but the ‘saving grace’ of the tune is and probably always will be the fact that the Jon FX licked riddim is absolute GOLD. From the current poster boy to the former, chasing Gyptian’s tune, sequentially, on ”StB#42” is Sanchez who returned with his first album for VP (or anyone else, for that matter) in a very long time early this year, ”Now & Forever”. His tune, ‘Feel Good All Over’, unsurprisingly is a remake of an older one, but it is VERY nice and the best such tune on the entire album perhaps. And also present is an artist for the future, the always OUTSTANDING Romain Virgo, with ’Dark Skin Girl’ from his self-titled debut album from this year. This song isn’t far from being HUGE and it is clearly one of the highlights of this piece. If Sanchez’ isn’t the most VP-familiar name on this album then that distinction goes to Gramps Morgan who, as a member of Morgan Heritage, has probably appeared on dozens of their albums and compilations over the years. Now still working on his solo career, he gives us the excellent ‘Come Back To Bed’ and it fits in so nicely (as it always does in his case, I really like this song). I can’t say the same about ‘Butterflies’ by Gappy Ranks, however. While it isn’t horrible, I’m just not quite sure what to make of it and I never have been.
And finally, joining Fiona and Tessanne as the female representatives on ”Strictly The Best #42” are a couple of VERY talented ladies. First is Alaine, now out all on her own, and scoring hits such as the angelic ‘You Are Me’ which is probably my second favourite tune on this album altogether. And fittingly closing the show is the legendary Marcia Griffiths who reminisces of times gone by telling us about ‘A Beer and a Girl’ over Penthouse’s so nice Big Stage Riddim. Between her tune and Ed Robinson’s I think we have that base well covered and simply adding Griffiths’ name to a project can inject some always welcome CLASS as well.
Strictly The Best. Vol. 43
Given the state of ‘Dancehall’ today (I.e. not really being Dancehall but . . . Something else), I wasn’t too hopeful about what we’d get on the odd numbered edition of ”Strictly The Best” this year, even before seeing the tracklist (and that’s generally the case for any non riddim album Dancehall compilation from me these days). However, although this release isn’t what I’d call stellar by any stretch of the word, I was pleasantly surprised to some extent.
Jr. Gong and Nas, having saturated the hell out of 2010, certainly aren’t going to surprise anyone by popping up on a compilation this year and the two, after having also appeared on ”Reggae Gold 2010” in June, are back to open up things on ”Strictly The Best #43” also. Their tune is the well worn ‘Land Of Promise’ which mines an old Dennis Brown tune (the ‘Crown Prince’s’ vocals are still intact) and . . . Yeah, you know that one by now. I don’t need to say anything. Okay, it is a big tune. I will elaborate more thoroughly on the next tune in, ‘How We Do It’, which links Bounty Killer and Ele across ZJ Chrome’s Mad Collab Riddim. This tune is part-WICKED and part-OKAY. The OKAY is Elephant Man who offers his usual flare, but Bounty Killer is downright DOMINANT on this track with the flow. Even these days, certainly past his prime years, when the Killer locks in on a riddim and is FOCUSED, no one can do what he does with the big voice ANGRY style of deejaying. And where you have Bounty, you must (you don’t have to, but they just do that) have a Beenie tune somewhere and on ”StB#43”, Beenie represents with one his biggest songs from 2010, ‘I’m OK’. I love this song and while I haven’t had the opportunity to mention it much this year, I’ve been very impressed with Beenie Man’s work this year and this tune was arguably his best, so definitely check it. And speaking of personal bests, I’ll also mention the fourth tune on the album, ‘Nah Sell Out’ by Khago, which rides the same Seanizzle built One Day Riddim that Beenie’s tune rode in over. I’m still pretty unsure of what I actually think of the funny voiced Khago, but he definitely shows moments of brilliance occasionally and this offering may just be his most intelligent showing to date (and good luck getting it out of your head also).
The biggest surprise on ”StB#43” came in the form of Achis Reggae favourite I-Octane who gets in two different tunes on the album, neither of which, musically, probably ‘deserve’ to be on this album (in terms of style). The first is the most fitting, ‘Puff It’ on the Orange Hill Riddim. It’s not one of my favourites from Octane, but it’s still pretty good actually and with that riddim (which is just STRANGE), I’m pretty sure it’s going to catch some big attention from some who haven’t heard it yet. And Octane also returns to wrap up things on the album with ‘Think A Little Time’, which is a song that I really do like, but isn’t Dancehall or even that freaky shit people try to pass off as Dancehall these days. I don’t why it’s here actually, but I’m not going to complain about good music and this is a good tune and one of this releases best to be perfectly honest (albeit out of place) (hopefully VP is trying to tell us something) (album!).
“Dem kill mi friend along di way So bloody trigger spill back But no! I just chill back An hold di meds a hilltop Criminal dem waan fi tun di I inna, I will not Marcus Garvey words dem I fulfill dat”
It may, in fact, just be the best song on the album, but thankfully my sanity prevents me from designating it as such. And the other surprise is the showcase of the MAD Basik Instink Riddim with a couple of tunes, ‘Wifey Anthem’ and ‘Video Light’ from Taranchyla and Delly Ranx & Froggy, respectively. Neither song is much, but that riddim is fucking ridiculous and probably has enough PURE Dancehall vibes in it to make up for the much misplaced ‘Think A Little Time’. And Charly Black shouldn’t be a surprise at this point, but he isn’t very familiar and I suppose we can honestly still call him ‘up and coming’. His tune on ”StB#43”, ‘Bubble Again’, is and always has been SERIOUS and in terms of actual skillfully done and deejaying it’s one of the best tunes here and in terms of anything actually it is the same case. Black is a big artist so keep an eye on him.
Apart from that, you pretty much know what to expect here. So let’s cover the bases. Vybz Kartel??? Check. Kartel, of course, gets two tunes and they’re actually two of his better efforts of 2010, ‘Better Can Wuk’ and the Smokin’ Riddim laced ‘Dumpa Truck’. They’re good songs, I prefer the former to the latter (‘Better Can Wuk’ is REALLY good) and that’s what I’m going to say, I’m sure you can find a million sites with people declaring them the greatest in the history of sound, so happy hunting. Mavado??? Check. He also gets two spins. His first, Di Genius produced ‘Nine Life’ was a very big hit from him earlier this year. I’ve always found that tune to be decent, nothing too special on it, but I’ve heard it trashed a lot over the months and it is not rubbish to my ears. And the next time we hear from Mavado, he’s with the artist he essentially ‘replaced’ as THE Dancehall singer of the moment, Tessanne’s Brother in-law, Wayne Marshall, on ‘My Heart‘. I don’t like the song, never have, but I can see a value in it and with anything regarding Wayne Marshall - Unless it’s six years ago (and it isn’t) and he’s on a track with Kartel (and he isn’t), I’m probably not going to enjoy it, so have a listen for yourself. Don’t take my word for it in his case. Sean Paul??? Yep. He’s here too with his own tune on the Smokin’ Riddim, ‘Turn Me On’, which might be the best tune on that riddim. He gets a cool little mix of the riddim and he absolutely dazzles right over it with old school style of Sean Paul deejaying. And of course Gyptian is here again with his bubbling ‘Nah Let Go’, as is Busy Signal with the infectious insanity that is ‘How U Bad So’ from the infectious insanity which was his album, ”D.O.B.”.
And finally, with all of that being said, hopefully you knew which was my favourite tune on ”StB#43” because Assassinis on the album after all. Anytime the man does a track these days, I’m WELL impressed and I’m never more impressed on this album than on the Stephen McGregor vibed ‘Hand Inna Di Air’ from THE MOST TALENTED PURE DANCEHALL ARTIST IN THE WORLD - Assassin . . . And it isn’t even him at his best.
Overall, while I’m not anywhere in the neighbourhood of being as enthused about this project, in full, as I was last year, I’m not disappointed either. In cases like this I always start to think more could have been done and I would’ve liked to see the youth movement of last year continue in the instance of #42 (especially via bringing back Hezron who has been flaming in 2010), but they’ve done very well with bringing in Ed Robinson. As for #43 (and I don’t know if I said it, but #42 is STILL the better of the two, as the even numbered edition usually is, but maybe less so this year), it is what it is. Dancehall is SO fair-weathered these days that you get the good with bad (probably more bad) and the album reflects that. Still, it does get good marks in the cases of Khago and I-Octane (Bramma VP! BRAMMA!). Altogether, I don’t have any problem recommending this one to newer heads in the physical. You can pick this one up and you might actually enjoy all thirty-two songs. Older fans, you fly down on this digitally and pick and choose what you want. 2010 isn’t a great year for ”Strictly The Best”, but it’s always so nice to see coming in and we’ll definitely be looking for it in 2011.
Rated: 2.999999/5 VP Records 2010 CD + DigitalVP Records
'Long Road'
