The Best Reggae Album of 2010: "Long Journey" by Naptali

Naptali - Long Journey [Oneness Records - 2010]

With the final word on 2010 still to be written, what we can most certainly do is to analyze who had a great year, a poor year and who . . . .didn’t do much of anything at all. What I’ve done, or attempted to do, over the past couple of days is to look at those artists who, out of hundreds, if not thousands of possibilities, have managed to distinguish themselves based on the quality of their albums. Well, now we’re going to look at someone who has even managed to set himself apart from even that class of his peers again, in terms of albums, The Great Naptali. Previously an only slightly known name to me, the Clarendon native, much like the creator of my favourite album of 2009, Lion D, seemed to pop up from out of nowhere and when he did, he did so with such a majestic sense within his vibes that it became downright impossible for me to ignore.

When I think of albums which I rank as great, although there’re exceptions, I try to put them into ‘normal’ categories in terms of the overall sound and the riddims and the lyrics and delivery and everything like that. When they score high in most or all of those, I then look for something EXCEPTIONAL which makes it them standout. Naptali himself is a standout, even before you get to the music, but when you are so fortunate as to dive into his vibes, what you hear is such an odd set - Naptali, at his best, makes absolutely NUMBING music. Although it can be quite simple and very straight forward, he makes a type of music where you can play his album from the very beginning and simply lose track of how many songs you’ve heard and not due to lack of attention either. That, amongst many things is what makes him standout and it’s also what makes his debut album, as it has been in my opinion since the day it dropped, March 12, 2010 - The Best Reggae Album of 2010. ”Long Journey”.

The Music

1. ‘Show Dem Love’

While it’d be nice if you could pay a close attention to the opener of the album, ‘Show Dem Love’, I’d overstand if you’re more interested in the RELAXING nature of the tune which prevails here. From the very first sound here (and thus on the entire album), Naptali, with his sing-chanting type of style, just develops this wonderfully serene type of vibes which, for my clearly overactive mind, makes perfect sense when tied into the message of the tune (and the album itself later) - Showing love isn’t hard. It’s easy.

Best Lyric: “Rescue me from my enemies. Oh Jah please save my soul. You put food upon my table, give me faith to take control”

2. ‘What Goes Around’

While not as straight laced as the opener, the second tune on ”Long Journey”, ‘What Goes Around’, still has an abundance of power which comes largely due to the way the tune is delivered (and, of course, what is actually delivered). It’s almost straight chanted at points, but by its end, the song becomes this quietly BRILLIANTLY mixed selection of a praising track. The album isn’t exactly lacking in such things, but if I were to hold this song up as an example of the type of music you’re going to hear on the album, you’d probably be pretty damn interested, especially when I told you that there were two or three tracks which were even better (but not by much).

Best Lyric: “Rastafari, the King of all things. HE always protect I, under HIS wing. No tek Rasta life fi joke, ah serious ting, HE guide us through thick and thin, oh Most High”

3. ‘Long Journey’

The title track for the album probably and fittingly offers its signature lyrical moment as well (see below) and one which clearly is so significant in taking in the album as a whole. Besides being so impressive lyrically, again, the sound here is just SO NICE. The word ‘vibe’ is one which is overused (by me) in Reggae jargon by just about everyone, but in this instance it is so fitting because the VIBES of this one are literally jumping off the player and right at the mind of the listener - Just as it should be.

Best Lyric: “I am on a long journey. This journey that I trod it only filled with poverty. I know JOY awaits me, so I hold the faith and wait patiently”

4. ‘And They Cry’ featuring Sara Lugo

Who knew??? These days, the notion of a Naptali - Sara Lugo combination would be absolutely mouth watering to me before I’d stop and realize . . . Oh yeah, I’ve already gotten that, haven’t I. ‘And They Cry’ meshes together two talents which seem so PERFECT together in Naptali and Lugo as both aren’t necessarily the most excited types in the world and with these exquisitely melancholy riddim underpinning them, they work a MAGIC together which was not to be missed (and hopefully Naptali can return the favour in May when Sara Lugo reportedly drops her debut album).

Best Lyric: Sara Lugo “Why. Why! They ask you lord, do there have to be wars with guns and swords. If we are human with minds and thoughts, people have to learn how to use their words”

5. ‘Grandma’ featuring Arofat

Quick - How many ‘Mama tunes’ have you heard in Reggae music? To answer it myself I could probably say well over 500 at this point and while Naptali is no different in that respect - He kind of is. ‘Grandma’ is his ‘Mama tune' which is his apparent ode to his Grandmother (duh!), who I believe has passed on (I THINK I saw a picture of Naptali standing besides what was captioned as her grave). I never knew the woman AT ALL, but I’d be willing to guess that she’d not only be very proud of her grandson today, but she’d LOVE this song as well.

Best Lyric: Naptali “Cuz if you miss me, don’t be worried, worried. Cuz it’s my time, to complete my journey, journey. Know that I’m leaving, leaving tomorrow, tomorrow. I’m just a pilgrim passing through”

6. ‘Fire Bun’

Quick again - How many ‘fire bun’ tunes have you heard in Reggae? In this case, I’d probably estimate at upwards of 300 or so and . . . While Naptali is no different in that respect - He kind of is (sound familiar?). This tune might be the most identifiable on ”Long Journey” because it actually uses African Beat’s 2009 update of the unforgettable Bad Boys Riddim. While the song won’t capture the world’s attention in the way as the riddim’s namesake has, it’s an excellent track and one which ‘fuels’ itself over it’s excellent duration.

Best Lyric: “Dem warring, for money and powah. Dem don’t care, for the people weh ah suffah. Dem sale di ghetto people like rice & sugah. Ah righteousness mi use light dem like fyah. Mi bun dem out (!) cuz dem don’t care fi wi. Dem neva set di tings so mankind can live free. Hey you! Look around, tell me what you see. I see all di brutality whoa”

7. ‘Seven Miles’ featuring Luciano

After learning just how much of an influence and a mentor legendary Roots Reggae singer, Luciano, has been in the career of Naptali, it would have been such a big disappointment if ‘The Messenjah’ didn’t check in on the debut album of his disciple. Fortunately that isn’t the case because not only does he appear on ”Long Journey”, he does so on what is CLEARLY one of the album’s main attractions and not just because he’s here. ‘Seven Miles’ Listening to this BEAUTIFUL song which speaks on Black redemption and Black unity in the name, honour and works of Marcus Garvey, you can really tell how similarly vibed these two artists are to my ears and hopefully this isn’t the final time the two link up like such (and I would think that Luciano would be pretty happy to see me claiming an album from Naptali the best of a year in which he himself had two releases, although he probably would’ve wanted to be in the top ten).

Best Lyric: Luciano - “Black is the foundation of the human nation, the origin of civilization. There’s no doubt or any question”

Naptali - “I saw seven miles of Black Star Liner, sailing in, by the children of the Father. Seven miles of Black Star Liner - It’s not about race, it’s a Blackness mi refer”

8. ‘What They’re Fighting For’

Chasing the combination with Luciano is a pretty un-Luciano type of song, but one which definitely demonstrates a certain difference between the two (if you needed more evidence). On top of that, ’What They’re Fighting For’ is just a big tune and damn interesting also. What happens here is that, besides the obvious anti-violence rhetoric, Naptali kind of projects this wonderful imagery of just how special it would be when we’ve achieved an anti-violence state of things. The first is so common that alone I probably wouldn’t directly comment on it (unless the tune was special) (and it is), the first and the second together is something different and in this case it’s a real winner.

Best Lyric: “So tell me what we‘re fighting for and taking life? Equal rights we need to all unite in a time like this. Listen oh please, let’s live in love and let the violence cease”

9. ‘More Love’ featuring Lutan Fyah & Arofat

Building on the subjectry of the tune before it, ’And They Cry’, as well the opener is the third and final combination on ”Long Journey”, ‘More Love’. Featured here alongside Naptali is his apparent good friend and talented chanter, Arofat and a “talented chanter” of the highest order, Lutan Fyah. I’ll speak more on this later, but if you read my work to any degree, I’m sure you can imagine how my face must’ve LIT UP when I saw that Lutan Fyah was also on this outstanding album (and of course I didn’t actually see it, so I’ll imagine with you). Fyah adds a very nice bit of spice to the album and specifically on this good natured tune and although he doesn’t steal the show completely (and it is better that way in my opinion), both and he Arofat do excellent work alongside the star here on Oneness’ General Key Riddim.

Best Lyric: Lutan Fyah “Ah no money we did cry fah, we need a betta living. Hungry belly pickney deh yah street side chilling without education to utilize. Hey we need to share and finalize”

10. ‘Rise Up In The Morning’

The riddim on ‘Rise Up In The Morning’ is just so HEAVY and dominant that it almost sounds like a changeup, but when it gets going you can kind of start to see that nothing really does change, but it’s just a BIG song. Naptali almost seems to revel in having such a composition at hand because he uses it to deliver an INSPIRATIONAL message of living each and every day and each and every moment within the care of His Imperial Majesty and he also uses it to set the stage for the album’s biggest moment which follows.

Best Lyric: “Some lost dem way and can’t find direction. The Most High Jah is the ONLY solution to save mankind from that evil illusion. I see dem headed for destruction”

11. ‘Redeemer’

The boom. The first song that I actually heard from this album and knew that it would be on this forthcoming album was ‘Redeemer’ and I loved it when I heard it and going on a year later, I STILL love it and probably even more so these days. Of course, as I said, the title track and a couple of others would definitely serve this purpose and do it well, but if you REALLY want a prime example of Naptali at his remarkable best, you’ll check ‘Redeemer’, a tune on which the artist gives MASSIVE thanks and praise to His Imperial Majesty. There’s also a very ‘smooth’ nature to the song, but it’s also obviously a very natural vibes to it which makes me think that it wasn’t planned out and crafted to the smallest detail, but Naptali just went into the studio and gave the listener HIMSELF. VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY nice to meet you my friend.

Best Lyric: “What’s the problem with mankind? How dem so ignorant and so vile? For simple thing dem try to take away your life, why dem don’t learn to live upright?”

12. ‘The Law Of Attraction’

‘The Law Of Attraction’ is somewhat of a deceiving track as, over the months, it’s grown to become less and less WEIRD to my ears. When I first heard it, I pegged it as the ‘love song’ of the album, but it really isn’t and, given it’s kind of ‘worldly’ feel, you wouldn’t even be led to think that in retrospect. What it is, instead is a BIG sounding anthem for the world and Naptali’s idea of the ‘law of attraction’ isn’t one which is shared between you and I, but it’s one which is shared between every living human being presumably (as he says, “it is the power to your mind” - Meaning LOVE of course).

Best Lyric: “Do you believe in faith and circumstances, in your destiny and your ? I have to tell you that it’s all about creation. Creation of your mind”

13. ‘We The People’

As if this album were short on ‘feel-good moments’ (and it wasn’t) here’s another VERY impressive on in ‘We The People’. This song is actually a bit of a social commentary or a social observation as well (because despite its title it does have a detached sense to it in some instances) and it is STERLING in both cases. This song I feel could’ve did a major damage if it were afforded the opportunity because, again, the vibes are just so nice and so quietly upful and IT JUST MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD which can definitely be the story of the album as a whole.

Best Lyric: “Mankind - Don’t be so greedy. Show some love to the poor and the needy. Over the world, people are feeling. Feeling the wrath of the enemy”

14. ‘Seven Brothers’

And, surely in a move approved by his mentor, Naptali goes biblical to wrap up ”Long Journey” with ‘Seven Brothers’. He also does it with the obligatory Reggae move of ending the album with a Nyah drum backed tune (and it‘s acoustic also). For me, this excellent tune reaches on levels of unity and coming together and how, despite the fact that everyone is different in so many ways, it is well still possible to come together and make things happen. It sounds amazing and places a very fitting cap to an even more amazing album preceding it.

Best Lyric: “Seven brothers. Seven different minds. Seven different thinking at the same time. Seven times rise. Seven times fall. And neva you end up with your back against the wall”

Synopsis

Usually when I do these things I immediately begin to attempt to find the ultimate and prevailing meanings and sentiments behind the messages of the album and while I am going to do that here (although it’s pretty obvious in this instance) I would like to speak on ”Long Journey” in the prior sense - Before the album was released. I was SO looking forward to getting this album and largely because of my feeling going into it - Something just told me that it would be a truly SPECIAL project and looking back on it, even with that much anticipation, it most certainly didn’t disappoint and months later it’s still impressing. Also it should be said that, at least in part, this album definitely gave me one of the biggest ‘gifts’ in Reggae of 2010 which was the priceless Sara Lugo and, again if you read me to any extent, you know how much of a fan I am of hers these days and it also gave me a reason to take an even more interested look at Arofat as well.

So! On to the business at hand - As I alluded to, in my opinion ‘sizing up’ Naptali’s ”Long Journey” is fairly simple work, particularly when you look at it as I just wrote it - NAPTALI’S LONG JOURNEY. The album, at least for me, is one which is ultimately centered around the notion of self development, self confidence and the ‘power’ of one’s self and believing in it and utilizing it. The one kind of ‘frill’ mixed in there, however, is the acknowledgement that this is a current process. We’re not looking back on it as something which has already been completed, it’s still ongoing through the duration of this album and the presumption is, almost, that this process has neither a beginning nor an end, on the whole.

I said that the title track offered the greatest glimpse into the meanings of the album named after it and, directly it also contained THE signature lyrics of the entire album in my opinion on the tune’s chorus.

“I AM on a long journey
This journey that I trod it only filled with poverty
I know joy awaits me
So I hold the faith and wait patiently”

The word “am” certainly does place the tune in a very current and ongoing state. I also think that the very nature of the song has something to do with its meaning as well. It’s a very lively and attention-grabbing selection, but at the same time there is no sense of urgency or terror in the song. What happens is that it ends up conveying that while certainly this message is crucial and important, it’s not going to hurt! You’ll be okay with it. Embrace it!

Two very significant aspects also join in and make appearances on this long journey of Naptali’s. The first, of course, is His Imperial Majesty and exactly how important Naptali feels that it is to make this trod in honour of HIM. Since you knew I was going there - ‘Redeemer’.

“Yes we need to keep on doing
The positive that we always doing
King Rastafari never go down
No, dem coulda neva take His crown
When I look at The Motherland
I see my people facing starvation
The younger girls getting molestation
Why the innocent head ah buss like bomb?” “I know that my redeemer leads
I know that Jah Jah never leave us alone
I know that my redeemer leads
I know that Jah Jah never leave us alone
And I will keep on -
Giving thanks and praise, always”

The problem presented is always a current one here and even after Naptali offers a sight of the true wickedness that exists, he still writes the solution to the problem as a very current one. And you’ll go back to what I said just before about this process - it has “neither beginning nor an end”. What else do you know of with such traits??? The song just before ‘Redeemer’ also does a great job at conveying this message as well, ‘Rise Up In The Morning’.

“As I rise up in the morning
First thing
The Binghi youth keep yanting
Unto mi King
For the giving of life
RASTAFARI LIVE AND NEVER DIE”

WHAT! Sometimes it’s just too simple. And you’ll hear similar things on tunes such as ‘Seven Miles’ and really throughout the album as well indirectly.

The other crucial feature of Naptali’s journey is LOVE. Firstly (and obviously), there’s the opener, ‘Show Dem Love’ which, in such a beautifully balanced way unites both that message with a fitting style of vibes as well.

“Stick around, give a helping hand
Try fi help the weak even though you are strong
Di youth dem in di street, dem need motivation
With opportunity so they can find food fi nyam”

“Show dem love
That’s what they need
Lots of opportunity so they can achieve”

This tune has a VERY interesting lyrical development in the second verse which begins with -

“Rescue me from my enemies
Oh Jah please save my soul
You put food upon my table
Give me faith to take control”

If you take that and go back and look at the first passage I printed from the tune, you’ll see how the focal point of the tune has shifted from “them” to “me” which is an excellent way of either DIRECTLY personalizing a tune (I.e. ‘I need some help’), or even showing solidarity with those in need (I.e. ‘I am one of ‘them’).

And there’s also ‘More Love’ -

“We give more love to the ghetto youths dem
We bring more joy to the hearts of our children “

And later ‘We The People’ which was the song which I remarked was a bit detached and observational so as to denote, again a process which is ongoing. And to sum up that final point, it appears that Naptali is saying that this long journey would be so much ‘BETTER’ if someone cared and LOVED enough to help one another.

Surely, I’ve pounded those points adequately and would love to continue (and I just might someday) but hey all have a purpose here don’t they? What Naptali managed to pull off on ”Long Journey” was such a LOVELY statement of his talents as an artist and I didn’t hear a more compelling thing in 2010. Was it a modern classic (of course it was), that remains to be seen, but it was The Best Reggae Album of 2010.