Okay so, we have a couple of ANVILS this week and the first up is from someone who many would already deem a legend, the great Dezarie (who is, apparently, going by Dezarie Phoenix these days), who has struck with her first video clip EVER for the song 'Hold On'. The songs ranks as one of the biggest winners from her 2025 set, "Guardian". I actually remember a couple of other VI standouts, Vaughn Benjamin & Ras Batch, going fairly deep into their careers as well before doing a music video, so perhaps this comes as no surprise. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding its creation, the visual side of 'Hold On', unsurprisingly, matches the beauty of its audio. It's an amazing song with an amazing video from a very powerful human being.
'We Are One' by Arkaingelle & Fyahstone [Saj Moor Dub]
Next in is another big winner, courtesy a pair of old favourites of ours. The next [regular] review you'll read on these pages (there's an irregular one coming ahead of that) features work by Guyanese chanter, Arkaingelle who, as I have mentioned in the past, once made one of the greatest songs I have ever heard in my entire life (I'll remind you of that in the review). Now, Arkaingelle links up with a producer that we're well familiar with from out of Morocco by the name of Saj Moor Dub. You may recall his work on a label by the name of West Coast Studios, specifically (PROBABLY), with Ras Attitude. Back in 2014, WCS would set out the LOVELY Kif Kaf Riddim which would include offerings from the likes of Attitude, Perfect Giddimani and even Ras Indio. Also on the Kif Kaf was a tune called 'Rastaman Ah Chant' ["Kill dem wid di love, light shine so bright. Nyabinghi, no time fi no rewrite"].... from Arkaingelle, so this isn't the first time artist and producer have worked together and it doesn't sound like it from the level of musical chemistry we hear on 'We Are One'. Also present is gifted Trini veteran Fyahstone, with whom you are probably most likely to be familiar via his fairly recent work with Lion's Flow Productions, however (small world), about a decade ago, Fyahstone and the Arkaingelle made a song together by the name of 'Lion Can't Cool' so, again, to the surprise of absolutely no one given how well they sound together, the two vocalists on 'We Are One' also have some history with one another. Hopefully all three have some future together as well as 'We Are One' is excellent.
"We are all children of The Most High
Put away your sadness, don't cry
So stand up tall, be wise and use your third eye
Rastafari go before I"
The song is a unity piece and I do these things and attempt to place meaning into words but, delightfully, that is done for us here. Watch the video to the end and you will see the lovely message at its end. Hopefully there is much more activity from Saj Moor Dub as the maestro has relocated to California and placing himself amongst all of the seemingly never-ending Reggae activity in the area.
'Fling It Up' featuring Davido by Machel Montano [Monk Music]
Didn't take very long to get into the visuals for Machel Montano's 'Fling It Up' (which are exactly what you would expect them to be) before I... suddenly had no problem with it, despite it seeming quite random.The tune is probably coming up on completing its first year in existence and here's a video! Why? Who cares! The actual song, which features Davido, is CANDY, it is GORGEOUS Groovy Soca with a little KICK to it (check the surge about two minutes in) and from, arguably, still the biggest single name in the genre and on his own Monk Music label.
'Ginger' by Sean Paul [Dutty Rock Production]
Dancehall superstar, Sean Paul, may have a legit hit on his hands courtesy of his new tune, 'Ginger', which is outstanding and very OPEN as is Paul's tendency (at his absolute best, he's capable of making songs which fit entirely in Dancehall but are as accessible as anything that you will hear). 'Ginger' isn't quite there but I do expect it do some real damage. The video? The video for 'Ginger' is Ai'd to the gills and make no mistake about it: This video is creepy as hell.
'We Da Do It' by Boyzie [Wetty Beatz]
And lastly this week is a tune that is, easily, amongst the finest that I've heard from Soca in all of 2025, the delightfully over-chaotic 'We Da Do It' by Grenadian supernova, Boyzie. I've said it many times before, Boyzie is one of the 'best kept secrets' in all of Soca and that isn't true from the standpoint of actual fans of the genre but if you're more on the casual side, it's fairly likely, in my opinion, that you probably don't know who he is at all. Be that the case, now is a PERFECT time to become acquainted as he drops one of his finest efforts in years with 'We Da Do It'. Great workout song.
{Note: I don't know which label actually released this song. I know WB was involved, so I gave them the credit. Thank you and have a nice day}
Fresh off the release of her big and brand new album, "Guardian", Dezarie is already back with a brand new tune, via IzaYoung Boy Production, 'Snaking'...
Her. I think that history does a pretty good job of doing many things and, as technology advances, it will become even better at covering things that may have otherwise been lost to us and our descendants. The information and, increasingly, visuals that we have access to from years and years ago is amazing and that will only improve. With that being said, however, I think that one of the very few things that is difficult to convey through telling or even showing someone who wasn't around to be able to appreciate it in the moment, is EMOTION. If you watch footage of an old sporting event or a concert or whatever it may be, you may be able to appreciate the excitement and the passion of everyone involved at the time but the DRAMA of the moment is lost on you because you know that the result of what ultimately happened is only a few key strokes away. Try as you might (and you won't), you cannot actually put yourself in that moment (if you do, actually, you are a very strange one). You can enjoy viewing it, but it is gone. Music can be a bit different in that respect; as I'd like to think that the best of it will be around and being heard (and APPLIED) thousands and even millions of years from now. It will continue to go forth and create vibes and feelings within generations of people as, you would think, its creators had in mind while they were working. Its reception, however, or THE PERCEPTION of it during its release is gone and that can't be recreated, regardless of how many longwinded reviews you may come across about a particular piece. I got on to thinking about this because of learning about the new release of someone who I've long considered one of THE most fascinating artists in Reggae music today, Dezarie. MAYBE someone, living hundreds of years from now, could somewhat appreciate the level of reverence experienced by Akae Beka/Midnite during a large portion of his/their career; with the thinking being, perhaps, that such a level of prolificacy would not have been had there not been a rabid and sizable fan base waiting to listen to and support it. I don't think that the same astute individual from the year 2625 would have any chance at all in realizing in just how high esteem Dezarie was held in her day or anywhere near it.
When I first started listening to/hearing about Reggae music from out of the Virgin Islands there were a handful of names that were grabbing the majority of the attention. Of course, at the head was Vaughn Benjamin and Midnite at the time, there was Bambu Station, maybe Ras Army and Dezarie (there was also a healthy group of others that were footsteps away from receiving a big shine such as Pressure Busspipe, NiyoRah and Ras Batch). Surely, the case could be made that the spotlight that was being given to Midnite, at the time, had a kind of gravitational effect in terms of drawing fans to other artists (much in the same way that Bob Marley would have been indirectly responsible for helping to bring several of his peers to prominence), but that would not explain the subsequent and REMAINING levels of respect paid to Dezarie damn near a quarter of a century on.
2014
What would help to explain that is consistently producing music of an extremely high level... I think that might work. As is the case with Midnite to Akae Beka, I have encountered some of THE most passionate fans out of anyone in modern Reggae music for Dezarie (she seems to be wildly popular in South America, in particular). Now, when you take the level of adoration the masses have for her and take a look at the size of her body of work - I think I may be of the opinion that the spots of inactivity that Dezarie has experienced through her career have, perhaps, even added to her popularity. While she hasn't been super prolific, Dezaries has DEFINITELY made the most of the opportunities she has had to impress and to continue to carry and BUILD her fanbase. Vaughn Benjamin's way was different: He was far more like some of his Jamaican contemporaries, who were good for three -- and sometimes FOUR -- albums annually, in the not too distant past, but it's now early in the second third of 2025 and Dezarie had not released an album in over a decade; but the drought is over (although there was a Greatest Hits compilation, released just a few years ago)! In 2014, the Cruzan singer set forth the well received "Love In Your Meditation" (that album had a song on it called 'Download De Criminal' which was absolutely ridiculous! It's probably one of the.... 100-150 best song I have EVER heard) and now she is fully back with a brand new album, "Guardian". Though I had, delightfully, found myself more often bumping into her work over the past year or so, the notion that she might have an album in the offering did not pass my mind (which is odd for me). As it would turn out, some of the material was actually singles from what would eventually become "Guardian". The album comes through Dezarie's own label and is produced and everythingelsed by one Kardelle "Mr. Pr3z" President, an incredibly talented young producer from out of the Virgin Islands who, I predict, is about to become very busy as people began laying their ears on his work on "Guardian". Someday, I would LOVE to hear Dezarie work extensively with I Grade Records and the Zion I Kings but I am most certainly not complaining with what is to be heard here. "Guardian" is outstanding and I'd just love to tell you about it if you have a few minutes.... or like an hour.
Dezarie's style, for the most part, can be fairly complex. She does "SING" in the typical usage of the term but she also spends much of her time in an almost hypnotic type of a chant. She's a very talented chanter and while her delivery may not be the most dramatic (although I may challenge that a little later), what you end up with -- in style, alone -- is a very compelling and fascinating artist, beyond this incredibly fascinating figure. That figure carries a heavy hand throughout her new album, which gets going with the tune for which it is named. 'Guardian' is a very elabourate intro and a prayer, setting the table for what is to come. It's also downright gorgeous, hearing Dezarie absolutely lose herself in the track. One of the heaviest hitters, 'Back To the Future', rolls in next and though a semi-electric vibe brings it in, you'll want to pay a closer attention to fully tune in the ideas here. What I took from 'Back To the Future' is that it is a warning of just how easy it can be to lose oneself in the changing of the times and within just how quickly the world is modifying in so many different ways ["Can't wait to get chips installed - in your body, like somebody else in control"]. It's all put together exquisitely, making for, as I said, one of the definitive highlights to be found on "Guardian". 'Criminal' immediately efforts to also put itself amongst the class of the tune ahead of it and it not only succeeds but it also, arguably, goes ahead.
"Attempted murder with intent to kill
Dem food ah want to slow poison
Dem kill more as dem shoot to kill
Vicious, voracious firing
Armed & dangerous shooting
Pointed shot, shooting
Hate pon babylon
Hit and run, genocide and gone
Hate homiciding-
DECIDING TO KILL JOY WITH PAIN
Get out and get practicing
ON INMATES EXPERIMENTING
So...
You got the right to remain silent"
Sometimes the actual criminal isn't the one behind the bars is the heart behind this MASSIVE set as Dezarie sets flames to a most specific brand of oppression. Musically, it should also be mentioned that 'Criminal' soars (it has a very nice feel around it and if you listen to it, you'll know exactly what I mean by that. It isn't just a song playing that you happen to be listening to) and if you wanted to call it the single best song on the whole of "Guardian", you'd get not much of an argument out of me against it at all. BEAUTIFUL song. The familiar 'Breathe In Strength' then comes in and.... PROBLEMS! 'Breathe In Strength' ["breathe out stress"] is downright destructive and it is the single finest moment that I hear on the whole of "Guardian". The tune goes through the matter of de-stressing and de-cluttering the masses from years and years of heinous and unhealthy treatment. She deals with things on both complicated ["Complex and complexity to make man uneasy"] and more simple ["Dem waan exit yuh oxygen from outta existence"] while never veering too far from the centralizing theme of BREATHING and drawing in life while some seek to either interrupt or completely STOP that process, altogether. It is lyrically spot-on throughout and, simply, one of the strongest pieces of music I have ever heard from Dezarie. Wrapping up the first half of the album is another big winner, the LOVELY 'Hold On'. Here, the singer preaches both patience and perseverance (among other things ["You must hold on to your faith, just you holding your phone"]) to stunning results. 'Hold On' is golden! It shines from the second you hear it and by the time you're on to the next tune, it still isn't done with you. Also, though it may go without saying, I do feel compelled to say to pay special attention to what Dezarie says there as she stands up with some GEMS of information and ideas that are the genuine star of this show.
...speaking of things that shine; the second half of "Guardian" is brimming with them as well as, ridiculously, you could probably make a strong argument that it is even stronger than the first. In full, I'll also say that the vibes of the latter half of the album CLEARLY set out to provide a bit more in the way of a BITE and some FIRE, so if you thought she'd let you out of the door this time without slapping you around slightly, you were woefully mistaken (she's not sending you on your way with bruises and cuts, just a bit extra on the brain to think about the next time you cross her path). I'll skip ahead to the final two selections which do reverse course back to more of the moods from the early stages of "Guardian" and do so excellently, 'Snake Charmer' & 'Who Is Who'. The latter is VERY interesting when you contrast what you immediately hear with what is actually said. Everything is very light and were someone not paying a great deal of attention and they were to come away thinking that 'Who Is Who', on its surface alone, was a love song, you couldn't blame them for it, BUT IT MOST CERTAINLY IS NOT. The track is actually quite challenging and, lyrically, even bordering on harsh at times ["Haters and traitors and instigators"] as Dezarie says that not everyone is who they appear to be. Not too dissimiliarly routed is 'Snake Charmer' which comes through with this damn near DIVINE bounce of a riddim, which Dezarie pushes to its full capacity. Although this one does have more light elements to its sound -- and maybe it's just me -- but there is something very strict about 'Snake Charmer' and in finding my way around has been one of the most rewarding experiences that I've had in listening to this album.
On the other side of that are the three other songs that comprise the second lot of selections on "Guardian" which, as I said, definitely add some petrol to things. Check the first of them, the MAMMOTH 'Immortal Combat'.
"War 'gainst the woman melanin
Fight 'gainst fertility with sterilization
They bring drugs in the hood to bring down population
Guns in the hood to bring down population
Planned Parenthood to bring down population
Poison the food to bring down population
FREQUENCY TO CONTROL YOUR MOOD with dem babylon song
Men in prison to bring down population
Medical apartheid bring down population
MAKING MONEY DOING SO, AND GETTING DONATION
How much dem waan earn?
Several million
Plan already set in motion
GENETIC WEAPONRY FIGHTING GENEOLOGY
Like they want your penny and gone to pay a penalty
LOOK HOW DEM SCAM DI COLOUR OF SKIN OPENLY
Wi caan tek di energy, dem got no lobby
How wi looked and wi searched
THEY WERE EMPTY
PLOTTING TO SHORTEN OTHERS LIFE TO MAKE THEIRS LENGTHY
And want to try life first to try extend theirs
One thing for certain: DNA cannibal hungry
Spiritual war like Battleship Galactica
No afflection from none of the earth's afflictors"
The song is an older one that I've heard her perform in live settings once or twice so, as I was listening to it, it started to come back to me that I knew this tune from somewhere but this is almost certainly the first time that I've heard a studio version of 'Immortal Combat' and DAMN! Brilliantly put together as Dezarie drops several things (namely films) from popular culture ["Spiritual war like it is The Clash of Titans; as if dem waan mek di world a big boxing ring"] to make her point about this never ending war (people, literally, fighting over EVERYTHING) that we have been fighting and will likely continue to fight. I could happily sit here and keep talking about 'Immortal Combat' for hours but I think you'd also enjoy hearing about previous single 'Lion Is Lion' and its destructive chorus. It takes a second (more like around twenty), but when this thing really gets going, 'Lion Is Lion' is MASSIVE!
At its core is a huge sense of PRIDE instilled in the masses from all walks of life to the point where, should you NOT feel something from this tune, you're either living a REALLY FUCKED UP life or, I regret to inform you that you are actually deceased. Lastly is another one which is going to slap you around a little if you are not prepared, 'No Failure' (even if you are prepared, you might still catch a few).
"Who think wi soft and wi quiet make a mistake
When wi deh pon di battlefield, a kinda risk take
All who nuh down with depression, make a fist, make
Ganja is our vaccination weh wi inject
Judgment come snip-snip
Duppy dem get wings clipped
Devil is a liar, so wi bun a fyah quick-quick
Expect wi to sit with zipped lip
In injustice sit with-
On submission's guestlist
It's freedom and wi wish this!"
'No Failure' is another track that is trying to get you to get your pride together and, in this case with the words ESPECIALLY, you are certain to find something that brings something out of you if you are.... at least a halfway decent person.
I do want to go back and elabourate just a second on something that I mentioned earlier in regards to Dezarie's style. While she will never been confused with being THE most expressive of vocalists, I don't want to make it seem as if her music is devoid of bereft of drama or a very basic level of entertainment because it is not. Dezarie's method of conveying that isn't through yelling or pushing her vocals a great deal (though she does have her moments); instead, what she does is to seemingly enter a very comforting place where it almost comes off as if she's in a trance. She's either sang these words SO often or they mean SO much to her that delivering them is almost instinctive. I find joy in that and CLEARLY I am not alone.
Overall, though "Guardian" may not be the heaviest piece of music that we've encountered, coming in at just shy of forty minutes in total, it more than makes the most of its time. Like pretty much everything she does these days, I would expect the VAST majority of people who come into contact with this set to not only be more established fans of Reggae music, in general, I would think most of them are already going to be familiar with Dezarie's work. HOWEVER, if for some reason you are not either one (though I'm going to have a hard time completely believing that you aren't at least a fan of Reggae music to get this far into a review this long), "Guardian" is EXTREMELY digestible in my opinion. I think there is enough here for newer fans of both the music and Dezarie's to enjoy and, hopefully, open the door to the rest of her beautiful catalogue. It stands in line with everything that she has done to date and, with a legend as grounded as her's as, Dezarie digs her roots even deeper with another gem of an album... but you knew that already. OUTSTANDING.
Here's a question: When's the last time you've heard a new Dezarie song???
Maybe your mind is working better than mine is and you can recall a song the wildly popular Cruzan songstress has done from her last album, 2014's "Love In Your Meditation", but I am STRUGGLING. She's seemed to be quite reclusive in terms of new music in recent times but, most thankfully and increasingly reliable outfit has gone and found a star and brought her back.
Ras L and co. at Ras Elyment Records continue to do major work as they now bring forth a brand new tune from Dezarie, the scathing 'Trample Di Beast'. The track finds Dezarie looking for soldiers for the fight that is to come and doing so, largely, in a kind of a deejaying style, which was very unexpected although just as welcomed. With as active as RER have been in recent times (doing full albums for both Akae Beka and Ancient King), YOU KNOW what I'm thinking right now.... but that remains to be seen and I don't want to get my hopes up (or Yours). Until/unless/even after then, take a listen to the latest from one of the genre's most respected figures, 'Trample Di Beast' by Dezarie.
Several years from now I believe that we will look back at this current era of time in Reggae music as the development and emergence of quite a few different trends. Of course, the one which critics will most likely point to will be the level of violence in the Dancehall and, by extension, it’s influence on society and everyday life, particularly in Jamaica, by artists such as Vybz Kartel, Mavado and Aidonia. Some, perhaps will also point to the increased levels of sex and slackness, heightened by the ‘daggering’ sensation currently sweeping the Dancehall (and Soca) world. However, me be the optimist that I am, I would look at more positive situations: Such as the globalization of Reggae music. The fact that the number of ‘popular’ countries in the world without somewhat of a Reggae scene, or a beginning of one is dwindling by the year and with that comes, of course, an increased level of commercial viability as the number of Reggae fans grow with it. That being said, however, perhaps the most significant occurrence in Reggae music over the past few years or so has been the increased presence of the once not so in demand female artist. Both in the Dancehall (and not just in the ‘typically’ cast role of over sexed and money craven vixen, although sometimes) and in the Roots Reggae arenas we’ve seen a virtual explosion of feminine talents taking to the mic and doing so receiving much more attention and successes than they have CONSISTENTLY at any one single span than I can recall in Reggae history. 2008 in my opinion was a landmark breakout year for the women of Reggae, despite the fact that she who is STILL probably the best known of them all, Dancehall Empress Lady Saw, had what was pretty much a quiet year, as did her closest contemporary, Dancehall poet Tanya Stephens. The Dancehall wasn’t altogether barren, however, as Dancehall diva Ce’cile continued her wonderful streak from 2007 by dropping two more albums (just as she did in ‘07) this time in the west and both of them, Waiting and Worth It are reportedly amongst the best selling Reggae albums in the world right now. She was joined by [Lady] Spice who also had a breakout year mainly on the strength of Ramping Shop, her MEGASHOT with the aforementioned Vybz Kartel but she was just generally on point throughout the year (lyrically VERY impressive). The biggest development happened on the Roots side though as young Roots Princess Etana, marked her arrival on the scene with the release of her debut album, The Strong One, the Reggae album of the year. And, of course, she was joined by Queen Ifrica who announced a deal with VP Records of her own, to release her forthcoming sophomore album, Montego Bay. Simply put the ladies were ruling all over in 2008.
Even outside of Jamaica. In French/Creole Reggae, following a 2007 where WICKED Gwada DJ Lady Sweety was in control, Malkijah from out of Reunion (getting back to the globalization I was talking about) took over, ‘erupting’ on the scene in a major way. And Trini Reggae monarch Queen Omega released an album, Servant Of Jah Army (and even in Soca, a woman, Faye-Ann Lyons, for the first time took a Soca monarch title in Trinidad), which is always a good thing. One of the most significant occurrences for women in Reggae for 2008 also took place outside of Jamaica, but in the far more familiar Virgin Islands. Besides just this, however, there were also smaller pieces of accomplishments for women in the region as well, such as Mada Nile releasing an album, On My Way, on her very own label, also The Positively Nelsons checking in with not one, but two full length studio albums for the masses. And there was development for some of the younger and up and coming VI female Reggae talents, such as Omo Lioness and Empress Nyingro. The single largest revelation of female artists in the Virgin Islands in 2008 and one of the single largest, period, across the Reggae board was, of course, the long awaited return of the most popular woman singing His Majesty’s music in the Virgin Islands, St. Croix EMPRESS, Dezarie. I don’t even know in what category or to whom I can draw a comparison to match the popularity of Dezarie, perhaps the best (and fittingly here) would be to Midnite (and by ‘Midnite‘, of course I mean Vaughn Benjamin). Just like with the top ranking group, I could probably find you thousands of fans worldwide who would have absolutely no problem in proclaiming Dezarie not only the top female in the Reggae game, but the top artist, ALTOGETHER. I find her popularity comes in some of the strangest forms as, although she isn’t very popular in Jamaica, the few people I’ve talked to who know of her revere her and her bountiful talents. That being the case, one of the year’s most anticipated releases was the return of Dezarie, with Eaze The Pain, her third album and first in over five years, since the Gracious Mama Africa album which helped established one of the most curious legends and reputations in modern Reggae history. Gracious Mama Africa followed her debut, 2001’s Fya for I Grade Records which I’ve heard called, by people whose opinions I respect, simply the finest Roots Reggae release from ANY female in Reggae history! So what is the attraction to Dezarie? My thought would be, again, somewhat in the same way as Vaughn Benjamin: Her style. Where Benjamin can be this ultra-cryptic rolling wordsmith, Dezarie simply doesn’t sugarcoat ANYTHING. She is very much so a ‘what you see is what you get’ type of singer. That’s first. Now, you take that and you combine it with the fact that she has one of the sharpest pens and deepest bag of lyrics in the current landscape of Roots Reggae, which she uses to write these really COOL, yet powerful, tunes which has made her fans worldwide. She has been arguably THE most popular touring female Reggae artist since the turn of the century (although in actuality either Etana or Queen Ifrica may match her in that fairly soon, probably Ifrica most likely) and her Eaze The Pain certainly came at a time to ease the pain for fans all over the planet who had been waiting to here some new material from her for a long time. No, it did not disappoint.
Just like with the previous album, Gracious Mama Africa, Dezarie taps Midnite producer/arranger/bandleader Ronnie Benjamin Jr. (Vaughn’s older brother) and Midnite’s Afrikan Roots Lab label for production and distribution. Benjamin has helmed many projects for Midnite and others as well and is widely regarded as one of the most talented producers on the VI Reggae scene (along with names like Tuff Lion, Laurent ‘Tippy’ Alfred and Batch). Getting things started on Dezarie’s third album, Eaze The Pain is a tune which honestly (and shamefully because it is beautiful) took awhile to start growing on me (besides on WONDERFUL stretch), the downright haunting Hail Jah. Again, as I said, Dezarie is very much a ‘no frills’ type of an artist and Hail Jah is a straight forward MASTER CLASS of a tune giving praise to His Majesty. Later in the tune, which is so sullen, almost like a funeral march, things pick up as Dezarie and company just start throwing “HAIL HIM” from the heavens across the board! HUGE tune which you’ll miss completely if you only spin it once through. Holding the unenviable task of following Hail Him is the more keyed in sounding What A Mornin’ (the one-drop kicks in on this one). This song definitely proves to be another in the class of the album as the tune begins to shift things in a more melodic direction, besides offering one of the sweetest mental images on the entire album. Completing the opening of Eaze The Pain is a tune in Always Remember You which doesn’t really appeal to me sonically speaking but is probably one of the best DELIVERED tunes on the album. Dezarie’s voice in normal circumstances is one which generally receives praise although you do hear the occasional critique that she doesn’t take many ‘risks’ with her tones (which she doesn’t but, if it ain’t broke. . .), yet Always Remember You finds her going all over the place vocally and not really sounding too stressed about it. It is a very natural LOVE tune and the music does pick up with the sax comes in later. All in all, a strong opening.
Despite the fact that the opening tracks on Eaze The Pain are pretty solid on their own, things REALLY pick up after them. The main attraction on Eaze The Pain the album proves to be Eaze The Pain, the song, which is downright SPECIAL to my ears and has been since the very first time I heard it. This tune has such a powerful vibes and the music is well on point setting the stage for Dezarie who attacks the riddim with a chant on RIGHTEOUSNESS and supporting righteous ways to spread healing around the world (and thus easing the pain) which is so beautiful, I had tears in my eyes the first time I heard it! MASSIVE tune and the album’s best. The other tune here which I find many people really love and is simply amongst a few of similar class for me, is the dazzling Set Da Flame. This tune has a BIG vibes in it which I’m sure fans are appreciating all over the world with a riddim that just ELEVATES the tune. Dezarie sprinkles in her usual brilliance and you just have one bonafide WINNER with Set Da Flame. That being said, after Eaze The Pain the song, the next best thing I hear on the album named after it is the closer, Ras Tafari. This one has a very nice old school vibes and Dezarie just begins to teach the virtues of His Imperial Majesty to the masses and this one, even more so than the title track is one which I feel should really (if it hasn’t already) have an impact. Definitely not a ‘throw-away’ tune there and a big vibes. Going back, there’s a tune earlier on the album name Real Luv which, outside of Set Da Flame, may just be the most ADDICTIVE vibe on the album. The tune really, at its core, is simply a piece about how to treat people, good and bad, accordingly and how to uplift the masses while doing the same for yourself at the same time which is a great message and one which isn’t exactly over used in Reggae, surprisingly. Concern is probably my choice for the best WRITTEN tune on Eaze The Pain altogether. It also doesn’t sacrifice much in the way of melody either. What Dezarie does is write a song in a way where she basically has all of these things and concepts like Concern and wisdom and people as well, calling out to the listener to live a more righteous and positive life. You really have to hear it roll out on that KNOCKING riddim as well. One of the album’s best right there. Angels, which follows Concern, isn’t quite as good throughout, but what it does have going for it is one of the SWEETEST vibes you’ll find in Dezarie’s entire catalogue in my opinion. I don’t know if it were the intent, but she literally sounds like an angel singing the tune in praise of His Majesty on another knowledge packed tune which has the sounds unlike most others (be careful listening to that one, I’m listening to it now for the first time in quite awhile, I forgot how Easy it grows on you). Heading pack towards the ending stretch, you get three really strong tunes before Ras Tafari closes up shop on Dezarie’s Eaze The Pain. The first is The Truth which definitely has quite a bit of an edge to it, perhaps the most you’ll find on the album, at least this side of Set Da Flame. I really like this tune, Dezarie pushes a pretty straight forward Roots DJ style (which she tends to do quite often) which is very impressive on the ROLLING tune. I hear something in Anotha Revolution which, unfortunately, just isn’t there, but I think Dezarie may have heard it as well in singing it. Had the riddim for this one been just a BIT faster, you would have REALLY had something special in the tune and it isn’t necessarily BAD as it is. I envision in my head, strictly in terms of the riddim, something to the effect of Collie Buddz’ Come Around, where that slight step up could have really made it WICKED! But the call to arms tune is definitely still a highlight here as Dezarie’s lyrics and delivery in general are rarely stronger on the album than on Anotha Revolution. Lastly, setting the final table for Ras Tafari is the LOVELY For The People, By The People tune. This one is just a simple vibes for the people of the world, the ghetto people of the world surviving in Babylon’s corrupt and nasty system. It doesn’t do much until midway through the first verse where it really picks up and stays at that level for the remainder of the track, proving to be a tune which although maybe easy to overlook, definitely carries a wonderful vibes which you, the listener, will miss at your own peril.
Overall, I could say how much Dezarie’s fans will really appreciate Eaze The Pain, but it pretty much goes without saying that the majority of them picked this one up IMMEDIATELY as her fans definitely tend to be amongst the most committed in all of Reggae. To the others, however, what you’re getting here, although I made the comparisons earlier, is something which isn’t much like Queen Ifrica or Etana at all and you have to take into account that Dezarie DEFINITELY personifies he VI Reggae sound where they have a far more traditional Roots Reggae sound. That being said, if you aren’t a normal Dezarie fan and you have a taste for modern Reggae with an old school twist, then this one is a REAL WINNER for you. For me personally, in retrospect, I could have very well ranked Eaze The Pain as one of the best Reggae albums of 2008 altogether, it was THAT good. What you have here is one of the most significant women in the game, at what is truly the highest level in her career returning to a scene which is much more full than last we heard from her. Yet, in the VI, Dezarie’s Eaze The Pain shows who the real queen is and maybe even beyond.
