Committed. Sometimes I listen to people and, even if I enjoy what I hear, I may get the feeling that the particular artist is making music for the primary purpose of making money. There isn't a thing that is wrong with that. We all have bills that need to be paid and if you are good enough at something which is either positive or completely harmless, ultimately, by all means you sing that song and beat that drum as much as you want. The same would go with any other walk of life. If you wake up one day and you should happen to notice that... maybe you're like eight feet tall or something like that, there's nothing at all wrong with you finding some basketball team to (not really) play for. Sure it would be nice if you gave a genuine effort at times, but if you get by and make a great wage for a little while by sole virtue of the fact that you are a giant, don't worry too much, you aren't the first and you will not be the last. However, with that being said (and this should be a pretty good example), could you imagine what might become of you if you had the slightest bit of talent and MOTIVATION along with being eight feet tall? Well you might actually be something special. "Something special" would be a very good way to describe that artist who, along with making music that, for some reason or another, resonated with people (even if it is just gimmicky as hell), truly BELIEVED and LIVED by the ideas they sang about. Of course I'm specifically referring to the Roots side of things (as the idea crossed my mind that, if it occurred in the Dancehall, with names such as Bounty Killer, Mad Cobra, Vybz Kartel, Aidonia and a seemingly never-ending line of others, we'd have quite a few cases of bona fide mass murderers making music) (I'm talking Jason Vorhees deejaying) and on that end, we are lucky to have a few individuals who do seem to fit that description. Appropriately, a PRIME example would be someone like Luciano who is well fresh in my mind because I just dug my paws into his wonderful most recent release, "The Answer". You get the feeling that if Luciano were not as gifted musically as he is, that would he would be a great author of books, a teacher, a sculptor or a painter of some kind. He would spend his days happily and eagerly spreading the word of Rastafari. As he has demonstrated throughout his legendary career, it is IN HIS BONES. It is who he is and thankfully for us, we don't have to imagine what we'd do without his musical presence. And the same could be said for someone with whom Luciano has found musical, business and personal links and, definitely, has the same foundation of LIVING what he sings.I also wouldn't think finding Mikey General would be very hard if he had not the slightest bit of musical talent. He'd find us. Be it through some other form of art or as an educator, the General would find some type of significant way to bring positivity to the world. He'd be an esteemed speaker or poet (biggup Mutabaruka) - he'd be making his contribution. And it is a feeling which -- again, most fortunately -- we are able to receive from enjoying his music. There was a very nice stretch, prior to our hiatus, when I could probably say that, as far as writing, I well looked forward to reviewing his music about as much as anyone. I'd dug up an old, hard to find set of General's by the name of "Spiritual Revolution" and did the same thing for "Red, Green & Gold", his STRONG Dean Fraser steered release from 2003. I looked for moments to write about what I heard from him, eagerly, as Mikey General's music is another 'gift' that has been given to me by aging. As I've said about others such as Vaughn Benjamin, what I may not have been capable of appreciating in his sound when I was younger (it was INVISIBLE!) has began to ignite as I've matured. In retrospect, what I think I was missing was hearing that COMMITMENT. It's a difficult trait to HEAR when you haven't been able to go through it, yourself. When you're really young, you simply have not had the TIME to have made that type of pledge to anything and go on to make good on it. So, when you gain some life-experience and you do began to do those things, you well appreciate it when you're able to sense it in someone else. He also has this beautiful sense of humility, which you would think is inherent given the type of music he makes, but it isn't necessarily. I rarely say this about people, even when I think it to be accurate: MIKEY GENERAL JUST SEEMS LIKE A REALLY NICE PERSON.
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| 2018 |
And although I have not written a review of a Mikey General album in almost eight years, making the point to somewhat routinely check in on what he's been doing lately is a habit I'm interested in reviving. During our break the British-born singer remained active on the album side of things. In 2018 he linked up with our old friend Dr. Seuss and his Irie Sounds International imprint and released "Tewahedo", which was one of the best albums of his career, in retrospect and is well deserving of a vault review at some point in the future (had a big tune called 'Praise Jah [Not Man]' and a combination with Spectacular as well). Then, in 2020 (not even a month after Luciano's "The Answer" arrived) (Luciano also recently celebrated a birthday and General's was not too long before his (not three weeks ago as of this writing) so happy belated to them both), came the mightily interesting "We The People". The behind the scenes portion of the album were amongst its most fascinating characteristics as "We The People" came to fruition via Qabalah First Music and an "FMG Inc". The former is the label founded and ran by Mikey General & Luciano (coincidentally, the very first album release on QFM may've really been the aforementioned "Spiritual Revolution" which dates back to 2000 (and may be even older) and has at least had a hand in setting a few albums for the General over the years (including both 2010's "Born To Rule" and "African Story, African Glory" from two years on). "FMG Inc" is better known as Footprintz Music Group, the US based label (Atlanta, Georgia if I recall correctly) which is best known for having pushed Luciano's own "Write My Name" from 2010 (which, as I mentioned in the review of "The Answer" has re-become a favourite of mine these recently). I can find press material dating all the way back to 2015 which speaks of "We The People" being in the offering. That would have placed it in a good pairing with "Write My Name" (do a Luciano album, five years later do one with Mikey General). Still, even with it being delayed another five years from that time, bookending the 2010's decade with Luci on one end and the General on the other is outstanding work from any up and coming label in my opinion. In a far more stretched out type of manner, you may recall a similar (and pretty immediate) instance with a label by the name of OneDrop Productions years ago. They would pp up and give us three albums, from Lutan Fyah, Chezidek and Ras Attitude, respectively, and then vanish (which wasn't all that surprising, thinking about it now). I'm hoping that a similar fate doesn't await FMG, but the potentiality of them stepping up once every decade with a big album is one which I find curiously appetizing! So, with that being said, as to the latest appearance of the label - let's eat!
Just as was the case on "Write My Name" before it, virtually all of "We The People" was helmed by Rawle Collins who, again, does a fine job in production (which makes you wish he was more prolific) and, for his part, the singer does exactly what we've come to expect from him and delivers another SOLID piece of Roots Reggae music. I usually say that, for the most part, Mikey General's work is best appreciated by more seasoned fans of the genre, and while that is the case with this one in the absolute sense, I would say that 'We The People' has a slightly more open vibe to it than some of his previous work and it would likely be one of the releases I would suggest to someone who was thinking about getting into the work of Mikey General. If you're thinking about getting into the work of his most recent project, "We The People", logic would dictate that you would start at our opener, 'Deliver Me'. This song does a very succinct job of expressing Mikey General on a couple of levels and, from the way it begins, it was an obvious choice of a head for this record in my opinion.
"Oh yes it's me, the General, Mikey-
Touring the world from sea to sea
Greetings to all with The Holy Trinity
Exalting the name of Haile Selassie
Giving all praises to The Almighty
Spreading the message with my brother, Luci
Living in love, peace and harmony
Cause we're one blood, royal family
Babylon took us into captivity
When we share one aim and one destiny
Jah deliver me, deliver me
Save me for Your mercy's sake
Jah deliver me, deliver me
Yes, I know you're good and great"
If you are not familiar, that ^, the very first verse from the very first tune, will fill you in on almost everything you're going to need to know in regards to General and "We The People" (....or any of his other albums, for the most part). The rest of it is pretty good as well as it gets us going on ultra familiar ground, giving praises. General suggests that we, as people, may not be doing the best job of paying attention and obeying on 'The Word' ["His Majesty predicted, from way back in the sixties - that if we don't change our ways, it's gonna be catastrophe"]. I took this one, somewhat, in a direction which I don't necessarily think it was intended to go in, but I kind of came away from it thinking that, at least in part, what he was saying is that he's devoted himself to spreading the word because it is SO important that as many people receive it as possible. Though he never says it, the General does paint the bleak picture of exactly what may happen if the "word" is not "heard". And check the music on 'The Word', which often seems to my ears to be on the verge of breaking out into a full Dub and it stands up as one of the album's best sounds. The title track for "We The People" made me smile when I first heard it and I'm still face-glowing right now. WHY? Even before you dig into it, hopefully what you'll notice is that it is carried by the same riddim which backs the title song from "Write My Name". I thought that was a nice touch! As for what's going on here, 'We The People' is about the collective effort that CHANGE is when at its best. Any sort of grand-scale shift requires more than one person or even a small amount, we need as many as we can to get on board if we are to be successful. I alluded to a piece on "Tewahedo" by the name of 'Praise Jah [Not Man]' and the foundation of it is reexamined on 'Trust', this time around. Here, Mikey General reminds all that placing all hope into that which is, tremendously flawed by its nature (meaning US) (all of US), is.... tremendously flawed and such a significance should only be placed on that which is just as naturally Powerful. This track has something really serene about it, despite its intensity picking up throughout and it ended up being a favourite of mine from "We The People".
As far as the biggest moments on this release, there's a handful of outstanding and nearly outstanding songs which comprise the real class efforts here. To my opinion none are as big as the wholly satisfying praise that is 'Rules & Reigns'.
"In the heights of the heavens
In the depths of the abyss
There's no place to hide from Jah, always remember this
No matter where you go within this time and space
There is nothing hidden from The Master's face
Cause Jah rules
Jah rules and reigns
So praise HIS mighty name
Jah lives in the heart of all flesh
And HE will show no mercy on the merciless
So don't you have an attitude
Make sure you have some gratitude
And don't you be a fool and deny HIS handiworks
Humble yourself to our God and our King
The Maker, The Creator and Sustainer of everything
Give HIM the respect HE is due
And HE will be right there for you
If you acknowledge The Supreme Being-
Then HE will fulfill your dream"
The riddim behind this one is a gem! It is a diamond of a construction and it deserves nothing less than what the General provides it vocally. Call it stereotypical, call it cliche', call it whatever you want, 'Rules & Reigns' is a PERFECT (there is, literally, nothing wrong with it) example of Mikey General's vibes at his best to my opinion. Earlier on you get a drop which I loved from the very first spin through and am even more fond of right now, 'Fortunate'. For every song you've ever heard by an artist lamenting what they do not have and how life should be different and needs to change, here's the General speaking on what he DOES have (and what he had when he didn't have much) because he knows well that there're SO many people who never had even half of what he had ["When mi go to school, mi carry likkle lunch money. Some man go to school and never carry any. And some never even get the opportunity. Now dem haffi out there - looking money"]. I've always liked songs built like this one because they turn something so often viewed as a negative into a positive. Things are NEVER the worst, someone somewhere has even less than you ["I may not have millions, but still I can help someone!"]. I also took a liking to the HUGE sounding 'Your Servant'. Another major credit goes to Collins for the creation of the riddim on this one and, again, the General puts it to good use with a most humble tune. The diasporic and GORGEOUS 'Black Experience' was a single (I think) for "We The People". Along with a captivating sound to it, what I was really interested in on this one is its very unique lyrical approach. While fully acknowledging the atrocities suffered by people of African descent, Mikey General goes on to say that going through all of those hardships have made us who we are - a tougher and more durable type of people. It's a very particular point of view to take and the way he goes on to present it makes for a very WISE selection. And I'll also definitely mention the album-closing 'Microchip'. Taken broadly, and not just in respect to one specific thing, this song is a mighty social commentary which tells all to utilize just a bit more in the way of self-awareness. Again, in a very broad way (biggup Barrington Levy), in sounds like a topic you're used to hearing from someone like Capleton, but Mikey General goes after it in a way which is as exciting as it is pertinent.
Of the remaining songs on "We The People", surely the one which draws the most of your attention is 'Jah Is Great' which is an unexpected combination, linking the General with big voiced, flaming chanter, Fantan Mojah. Okay, I really do like 'Jah Is Great', it may be one of the best written tunes you'll find here ["Jah great! HIM no make no mistake. All HE dis was think and the whole world create"] and the pairing was such an interesting one from whoever brought it together. HOWEVER, with that being said, I have to say that, at least for me, there seems to be some kind of sonic.... disconnect (???) between the vocals and the lyrics. Maybe it's just me, but it seems kind of off for some reason and neither artist FULLY settle into the track. Again, maybe it was just me, but it made for a rather glaring distraction which has grown to piss me off a little (because I really wanted to like that one). The downright silky smooth Sensi [Love] (daughter of Bunny Wailer) (biggup Bunny Wailer) and Jah D join in on the anti-violence social commentary 'Cowboy Times'. This one was pretty nice, really, and it probably could have done some damage if it were afforded the opportunity because it is one of the best listens on the album (both Sensi and Jah D are in fine forms vocally throughout). 'Overboard' had this kind of important vibes about it and I do like the route it takes -- it's about someone who is maybe going in the right direction (maybe not), but is pressing things too far and needs to tone them back just a bit -- and it's just a decent set. There's nothing that POPS about it (apart from its absolute latter stage where i dazzles briefly), but I could well see quite a few people full LOVING it. And the only piece on "We The People" which I genuinely do not like very much was the love song 'Until'. It isn't the worst love song I've heard, it isn't even close to it, but I would be completely surprised if, maybe six months from now, if you played it for me that I remembered it. It just doesn't do much for me, for better or for worse.
Overall, while I can say now that after having scrutinized this one for the sake of this review that I prefer "Tewahedo", "We The People", had something about it which has gone largely overlooked in retrospect. Along with just being another solid display of the wonderful music of Mikey General, once again the album, from beginning to end, demonstrates an artist who just happens to be able to put his LIFE into song. He's been doing it for FORTY years now. It is a trait which, when at his best, you can literally HEAR in his words. His music is saturated in a responsibility to see live what he says and to see it to fruition. On "We The People", Mikey General basically penned another chapter of an autobiography which, when it is completed, we may look back on and 'read' as one of the most SOULFUL we've ever come across.
Footprintz Music Group
2020
Digital
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