Sharpened. There's likely a very specific reason that you started listening to.... whoever it is that you enjoy listening to. There was something that got their proverbial foot in the proverbial door. Be it one tune that you heard and liked or even just a verse on someone else's work - something got your attention. Keeping it, however, is something totally different. We have something in music which we call the 'one hit wonder' (which I think we talked about not too long ago) (pretty sure I finished that review, whatever it was), which is a larger, typically more prevailing, phrase - speaking about the entire genre. But one hit wonders can also exist, personally. For example, you can probably think of one or two big artists, who have had excellent careers, who you just aren't into very much. And, over the course of their careers, they've had a tune here and there that you've enjoyed, but you aren't excited to hear their next release and you weren't excited to hear their last one either! There has to be something there for you to not only keep you interested and entertained, but to keep you as a constant, evolving fan. For me personally, the one thing that I have noticed about myself, particularly as I've gotten older, is that if you have something to tell me or to TEACH me, I'm more likely to gravitate towards you and to stick around as well. I do love big, original and beautiful deliveries, so someone like Jah Cure (I say "someone like Jah Cure" knowing that there is no one like Jah Cure with the voice that man has) or Bush Man will always have some type of influence on what I listen to and there is an entire genre of 'jump and wave' of which I will be a supporter until my dying day! But there is just something so appealing and attractive about someone who can, musically, make points and demonstrate some level of mastery with the spoken word. The prime example here would definitely be the case of how I became a fan of Vaughn Benjamin/Midnite/Akae Beka. As I've said in the past, when I was younger, I simply was not capable of appreciating that man's work. But as I aged and got some life-experience, suddenly that which was once extremely abstract and downright ODD (and it's still abstract and odd at times, but the fun part is that journey to comprehension) began to glow. I started to make connections that I did not as a younger person and the need to hear something which was completely melodic dissapated and was replaced with the ability to just sit there and take in a thought. Even prior to that would be someone like Sizzla whose output, when at his absolute best, is the place where message meets melody on its grandest stage. Of course there was Lutan Fyah who we just mentioned and even Dancehall artitsts such as Tanya Stephens (simply one of the most clever and just SMART individuals to ever reach Dancehall music), Agent Sasco and others (Mad Cobra, Spragga Benz, an early, vintage Vybz Kartel) who have made lifelong fans out of me (I am a "lifelong fan" of early Kartel, if that makes any sense) and countless others due to their ability to toy with words. But while I've been listening to all of them for years and years and even decades now, it's always nice to find someone relatively new who has also demonstrated those capabilities. And, fortunately, a look across the ever-developing landscape of Reggae music has brought us a younger group of names who have come out of the gate with powerful messages and the ability to illustrate them vividly for listeners. I'm talking about people like Kabaka Pyramid, Chronixx, Jah9 and others who walked right into the spotlight as incredibly lyrically developed artists and are, seemingly, in the process of inspiring a forthcoming generation of vocalists. And they are not the only ones.
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| "Check Your Words" [2012] |
Years from now someone will come along and they will completely thrill us. They will have lyrics for ages. They will have a very unique way of putting things together and breaking things down and they will simply be amongst the very best writers Reggae music has ever seen. Then, during an interview someone will put a microphone in front of their face and ask them where that talent came from and who they were inspired by. The artist will respond by saying, "I came up listening to a lot of Reemah", and for VERY old asses like You and Me, at the time (and right now), everything will begin to make sense. Hopefully she'll be a household name at the time at least in some respects at that point, but even if she is not, Reemah figures to continue to work her magic for the foreseeable future and her 'wand' of choice is one of the sharpest and most DIRECT minds that we currently have in Reggae. During my time writing this blog, we have focused on several artists who have come to prominence and made great impacts on us (with the most familiar likely being Sara Lugo) (biggup Sara Lugo, big new album "Flowaz" out now) and very few of them have struck in a similar manner as the razor from out of St. Croix that is Reemah. So what was so special about Reemah? In terms of the presentation of her music, it was very well done. You wouldn't mix up Reemah's style with someone like a Queen Omega, but she definitely has a strong command of melody and you can enjoy the vibes of her music from the standpoint of some strictly listening-for-enjoyment. HOWEVER, right beneath that (actually it would be on top of that) is a lyrical style that I am going to label as INTELLIGENT. Reemah sounds like.... if you had a really good friend -- your best friend in the world or your significant other, someone who you talked to constantly -- who just happened to be a sociology professor at some esteemed university. The conversations would be packed with knowledge, but as someone who she knows personally and is comfortable around, you're likely to get a great deal more in the way of her own opinions and ideas of various topics than her students would or even most of the people she works with. When you hear her, she's also quite direct. She isn't over-flowing with analogies, she'll make a point, analyze it, give her opinion on it and then move on to the next. This amazing package took to its biggest stage to date way back in 2012 when Reemah gave us the gift that was the fittingly titled "Check Your Words", her debut full album release. Originally coming to attention courtesy of the might Bambu Station (who it would be really nice to hear from again, I mean, at some point. If they weren't too busy), the album would surge and place Reemah as the latest mighty young voice on the VI Reggae scene. That album would eventually be repackaged and re-released with VP Records now on board via their VPAL Music imprint, seemingly to catch up with the demand for the outstanding set (and it worked, you can still find that album on CD without too much difficulty). And then the wait began. Six years following her first album and three after its re-release, Reemah re-emerged with her highly anticipated sophomore project, "Breaking News", and common sense reigned supreme (its reign would be short-lived), and we were all better, happier people because of it. I know I was. Let me tell you about it.
Like its predecessor, "Breaking News" came courtesy of Feel Line Records (and the only place I know them from is releasing her music), and is helmed by Catalyst Mitchell, alum of the aforementioned Bambu Station, who once again orchestrates a powerful symphony starring Reemah. The first note struck in that performance is a stunning one, 'Far Away'. It says so much about the prevailing quality of "Breaking News" that I'm going to go and make the case of a different song on being its finest moment. However, if you wanted to say 'Far Away' was IT, you could well make that argument as well. First of all, if you just take a cursory listen to this one, you're going to get something out of it. It is absolutely GORGEOUS! It's a very nice and easy listen on any level, before you really dig into the body of the composition. When you do dive deeper, the gift that Reemah begins to give you (and she's not going to allow you to be lazy, she's going to challenge you and force you to meet her halfway) is one which, at least in my opinion, deals with the umbrealla-ing theme of PERSPECTIVE and the power of looking at things from different angles and with a different mindset. The picture she paints is a bleak one, there're very few colours, but the main problem is that the subjects of the image are wholly unaware just how it really appears because they cannot drift outside of its frame ["Dem steady inna plain-sight illusion"].
"Inna time when only little few can overstand-
THAT THE GROWTH OF ALL IS SIMPLY JUST THE GROWTH OF ONE
There can be no solution for anything at hand-
If the minds of the people refuse to fly
Far away
Far away
Far away
Far away
Time seems hardest when you let all the fears arise
BUT IN THE UNKNOWN IS WHERE ALL THE GREATNESS LIES
THERE CAN BE NO CONFUSION WHERE CLARITY RESIDES
Beauty in everything, just open up your eyes"
Listening to it now, 'Far Away', strictly on how it sounds, is kind of reminiscent of the MAMMOTH shot that was 'War' from "Check Your Words" ["WELL I SEH A WAR, INNA BABYLON WHEN JUDGMENT COME IN YAH!"] (BOOM!) and its quality places it in a similar standing as that all-conquering selection as well. If you needed further conviction (and you didn't) after becoming a fan from the first release, 'Far Away' does nothing but places further fuel on that inferno. Next up was the lyrical pillaring 'Crowns Upon Your Head', which was one of a pair of singles from this set and deservedly so. This one is about empowerment. It is about realizing one's worth and LIVING a life which is reflective of that. And, as is the norm for her, in the midst of making that point, Reemah awes.
"Si they caan remember now
Dem they gone go forget somehow
Somehow they twice defeated, oh let I words lift dem up now
Serious when will broken
Serious tings inna babylon tongue
Serious, di Ancient know bout, in I melanin coded word sound
Reduce dem to naught, Lord
Crowns upon your head!
Don't let babylon tek dem off whoa
Si they ah divide and conquer
BABYLON UNDERTAKER AH TEK DEM UNDA
Before illuminati enter, illuminate it then do you remember?"
I think, if ever he had the good fortune of hearing it, 'Crowns Upon Your Head' brought a great smile to Vaughn Benjamin's face as, when it hits its peak (which is IMMEDIATE), it sounds like something similar to what you'd find in his colossal vault. You listen to the final full verse of this one and tell me you don't hear Benjamin ["How you believe Blackness still lowly, lowly overall, when it is the HEIGHTS SPIRITUALLY? Hey Black one, youth stand tall. CENTER OF DI GALAXY IS BLACK HOLE. HEY HOL ON - WHERE WITHIN IS DI UNITY WITH CREATOR"], but it is entirely of Reemah's own and she MINES GOLD on this tremendous effort. And then there's 'Modern Day'.....
'Modern Day' is just brilliant.
"You built your bars all around
Watch how you rise while you push us down
And what a high price to pay-
People losing themselves more every day
You've got dem-
YOU'VE GOT DEM SO CONFUSED THEY GLADLY CHOOSE TO STAY
You say you've taken your chains away
Put we still feel it inna this modern day"
'Modern Day' is a lesson. If you skip Reemah's class every day (dummy) but you choose to go ONE DAY, you probably want to make sure it's the day that she's delivering this lesson which is one based on identifying the more covert methods through which oppression still exists today. Essentially, she says that some of the more obvious signs of domination haven't been erased entirely but, instead, they have been hidden as full slavery has gone mental and modernized. Later, on the wicked 'No Freedom', Reemah takes a look at some of the more glaring evidence of injustice in the world today. Before I get to her part, however, I do want to mention that the riddim behind 'No Freedom, while subtle, is a FLOORING vibe. It is so wonderfully well done and a big and merited respect goes to its creator/s (I always like to think that when you hear a vibe play without the vocals at the end of the tune, its because the producer realizes the quality they're dealing with and that happens here). As for the vocal work here... yeah it's Reemah s you know what's up:
"Creating insanity
Caught on vanity
Religion rooted in politics
So di tragedy-
Masking di minority
Who cares about humanity?
Asleep to di reality
And if I really got to speak honestly-
THEY WANT INNA BABYLON FANTASY
Is it the world on me?
Is it the world on me?
Am I alone inna strange place?
There's no time to speak modestly
Systematically, inna copycat society
Who dem rather be?
CONFUSION COME AUTOMATICALLY"
Lyrically, 'No Freedom' gives me echoes of the mighty 'Wanderaz' from "Check Your Words" ["Still I feel and know it's the worst thing: To be lost without even their knowing"] where Reemah deals with people who're lost and have no idea that they need rescuing. Such a thing can turn someone into a functional zombie (a 'wanderer'). And also within the first half of "Breaking News" you'll find its eponymous offering and you'll do yourself a great favour by really tuning it in properly. Here, we find Reemah taking shining a light on the misdeeds of the media.
"Ones pulling di strings and behind di scene-
Sit down round table, bring orders right in
Right in, to dem tell-lie-vision, watch it slide in
To di faithful who want entertainment nightly
Ever so slightly, adjustment of di psyche
Who want inna fashion trend, no matta what price might be
From war and terror, terror is inna plain-sightly
Overlook di fineprint
Overlook atrocity
When major spread, all dem bad vibes calamity
Instant connect-
Drug in, inna technology
TECHNICALLY FI REAL, MASS INNA JEOPARDY"
She examines the line of where the media's job is to focus on covering the news and not becoming or making it. She singes with her words on this one, as you have come to expect throughout the first half of this release (.....oh and on every other song she's ever made, ever and likely ever will make in the future).
The second half of "Breaking News" keeps the quality levels extremely high and also features my personal favourite moment. 'Warn Dem' is not that tune but it is damn close actually. This one is VERY interesting for several reasons with the largest being the way it comes off. I wouldn't be completely shocked if 'Warn Dem' came to Reemah in an entirely organic way: It literally may be THE most detailed and directed freestyle of all time. It has a course and theme and a plot and all of those things but it seems like she has several thoughts in her mind and, placing them together, manifested 'Warn Dem'. You will also find here the SYRUPY sweet single 'Give Thanks Everyday'. You don't get but a couple of seconds into the Dwayne Morris produced track before realizing exactly why it was chosen as a featured track for this release. It has a LOVELY sound to it! It is presented just as well (an easy song to listen to and sing along to, which is always a nice quality for a single) and when you get into its substance, 'Give Thanks Everyday' is also very relatable. It's about being appreciative for what you DO have even during (and especially during) toughest and most stressful of times ["MAY I LEARN TO REFRAIN WHENEVER I WANT TO COMPLAIN. UNDER THE BALANCE, THERE IS NO SUNSHINE WITHOUT THE RAIN"]. This is the type of song which you love to hear from Reemah because it is definitely one which would get the attention of newer and, potentially, more casual fans but at the same time, if you're like me and you like to grind something down to the finest of grains, 'Give Thanks Everyday' has something for you as well. Incidentally, one could (and I am going to) say a similar thing in regards to the closing selection, 'One Life'. Again, what you have here is a tune which is immediately pleasing sonically and also brimming with lyrical imagery. It doesn't actually drift too far away from 'Give Thanks Everyday', in terms of its subject as 'One Life' deals with being appreciative in the MOMENT because there is nothing beyond it which is guaranteed ["Who knows about tomorrow? Still I live life for the moment now and although - I've been through the painful times and the sorrows, I make the best of my today"]. You will get this chorus stuck in your head and you, like me and like Reemah apparently, will refrain from complaining, because you will enjoy it. 'One Life' is excellent and one her finest songs to date.
In my opinion, "Breaking News" pinnacles somewhere in the midst of a pair of consecutive offerings. The first of these, 'May Day', reigns supreme and features some of the most impressive wordplay I have heard from the artist to date.
"May day, check, copy, dem inna world ministry
You no si mi spot it wid a three eye, tertiary
Never over di words, so dem seh mi radically
MATRIX WAH DEM INNA - PROGRAMMING ROBOTICALLY
Inna mi nominally
I creation highly
Mi no si physically wah dem give fi divide wi
Mi no need no lethargy
Dem caan further mi
Watch how dem end up inna real brain surgery"
"Babylon ah fya straight like tanker
Mind, dem a penetrate, dem ah get conquered
Knee-deep inna jail, inna babylon law
JUST AH WEIGH DEM DOWN LIKE A WEIGHT ANCHOR
Well, wi still ah rise
Who dem ah try delegate?
DEM A FEATHER AND A WI WHO A DI HEAVYWEIGHT
Babylon dem just a con dem straight
Si dem ah tek note, dem ah concentrate
Dem ah run dem down and ah buss dem gate
Real warriah, wi ah bun dem straight!"
It is mesmerizing at times and when you dig into you not only get this strong message about how we're now well within critical times in the world, but you also feel the urgency. 'May Day' brings the appropriate fire and BITE to it which is, in my opinion, necessary to illuminate a point being made like this to be shown at its absolute best. And right behind it is 'High Powaz' which follows the "urgency" and "bite" of 'May Day' with a bit of cold and calculated viciousness from Reemah. When you were a child and you got in trouble and your mother yelled at you, that was one thing, if she did it enough (like mine did) (Hey Mama!) (Hi Mama) you eventually got used to it. But it was another thing entirely when she got quieter and talked to you more directly. That was when you knew your ass was in trouble. You're in trouble on 'High Powaz', this isn't empty screaming. The reason why Reemah is so pissed off is because you aren't living up to who you TRULY are. You've lost your way and, even more importantly, you've failed to receive the gifts and STANDARDS given you by The Almighty.
"Back to original formation
I ah incarnate, ah creation strong
I AH LIVING REMNANT OF ALKEBULAN"
Overall, something powerful that came to me in digging into its second half about "Breaking News", as I alluded to in regards to 'Warn Dem', specifically - is just how NATURAL she comes across. And it is somewhere in this remarkable duality where Reemah glows. On one hand, she's a professor, she's a scientist, she's a conductor. On the other.... Reemah's a poet. She isn't restricted to the word of the textbook. She is free to go off-script whenever she likes. You take that and you combine it with one of the sharpest minds that we may have ever seen in this genre (as well as a genuine gift for musical delivery. She chants, she sings, she deejays and does them all very well) and you have Reemah. On "Check Your Words" she got your attention and then she kept it. Whatever it was that drew you in for that amazing set is CRYSTAL CLEAR on its followup. I wish it were longer, but for what it was, "Breaking News" was a commanding display of the skills and will of one of Reggae music's most dominant masters of word.
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