Stocked. Back in 'da day we used to do a feature 'round these parts which was called Discography. It was an incredibly basic look through all of the albums of a particular artist (or even series twice thrice) up until that point. What they did best for me, in retrospect, was to (allow me to listen to a lot of really good music) kind of me a wider perspective of just how impressive and consistent someone had been. In several instances, I can remember going back and thinking that I had even forgotten about a particular album entirely and then, again, getting to re-enjoy that release. As I've said recently, I do think that the music has risen to a point where we are able to give people a significant amount of credit for what they've contributed to the music, whether personally or in a further-reaching sense, there are still moments where material can slip between the proverbial cracks and can be lost. There were three or four cases -- thinking of people like Bunji Garlin, Turbulence, Natural Black and definitely Chezidek (definitely got a lot of feedback on the Chezidek post) -- where I was even a little surprised and just how MUCH someone had done to date and just how easy it is, even when you are a Fan to overlook and forget about certain things. When you go through someone's catalogue, it can be an 'eye-opening' journey, damn fulfilling (you should give it a shot) and just a lot of fun. By the time we'd began our hiatus, I had covered a great deal of Reggae's most active and productive names (Anthony B and Luciano were forthcoming (they might still be, one day) and I was THINKING about going on to someone like Sizzla Kalonji (which always would have been difficult, given the one or two kind of PHANTOM albums he's had through the years) (biggup "Hotter Fire" and two versions of "Burning Fire") and I'd even managed to ABSOLUTELY LOSE MY FUCKING MIND once or TWICE during Discography. It was recent, while I was doing research for "Rootz & Kulcha" by Ras Batch (who was the inspiration for the entire series, in hindsight, having an installment before it even had a name) when 'Discography' jumped back into my mind as, during one of my many musical detours, I'd ran into the unfortunately under-populated but FULLY amazing archives of someone who has been amongst my favourites virtually from since the very first time I'd heard his music.
If he retired today and decided to never record another song as of right now, I'd wish that he would have done more and been more active, but Niyorah would have had an excellent career. I initially took more of a cursory look through his work but then I'd gotten deeper into some of it and.... it is spectacular. The St. Thomas-grown, Dominica-born (biggup Dominica) artist has made some tunes which, personally, will always stay with me. I just needed something of a push to get back into it and now, good luck getting me out! When he was just three albums deep into his career, two of them, "Purification Session" from 2006 and 2010's "Feel Your Presence" were already full Modern Classics for me. The first of those, were we to create some type of distinction between "classics", would even be in the top half of those (it may be one of the best twenty-five or thirty-ish albums I've ever heard). And prior to that, his debut set from 2005, "A Different Age" ["If you feel a way about the herb, let it be positive all the time. If you feel a way about the herb, remember that its creation divine"], was also very strong and, listening to it now, it may've been even better than any of us gave it credit for being (there is a track on that album called 'Angry Mother Nature' which is just running my ass over these days!) (BOOM!). Niyorah's just had a great career and, again, though I wish he were a bit more active at times (I could go for a new album like right now, for example), what he has done has largely been of an unquestionable quality for me.
Perhaps (it did) that had something to do with the fact Niyorah kept very good musical company. Along with being tremendously gifted on his own, when you take such a talent and meld it with a label like I Grade Records, what you end up with is potentially special. All three of his first albums were released on the label and received an excellent push. "A Different Age", in fact, was part of IGR's 'Fyah, Earth, Wind' promotion which featured it alongside releases from the fiery Ancient King (biggup Aincent King) and the breezy Army (biggup Ras Army). Niyorah's talent received a proper chance to cultivate and, you can hear it between the albums as he grew and grew into the flamer that he is today. And with that development within the studio, he also, CLEARLY, began to diversify himself behind the scenes. With the release of "Feel Your Presence" came the debut of Niyorah's very own label, Denkenesh Records. If you follow Reggae music, in general, but specifically that coming out of the Virgin Islands, you know just how often it seems as if many of the top artists branch out and develop their own imprints. The gold standard is probably the aforementioned Ras Batch, whose Sound V.I.Zion Records has released full albums for himself (five of them, by my count), his wife I Ma and Ras Attitude, as well as two installments of the "Culturellennium" compilation. Other big names such as Akae Beka/Midnite, Pressure Busspipe (new album, "Heights Of Greatness", out now on Busspipe Records) and even Attitude, himself, have also done work for themselves, under their very own charges, respectively. In 2015, Niyo would step even further out onto his own and deliver his fourth album, this time completely out on his own, "Rising Sun". The album, apparently, would also be re-released just last year to reflect Niyo's shift from Denkenesh to his newly minted Rise Above Them Publishing (the same thing happened with "Feel Your Presence"), on which he has released his last few singles (including the sterling 'Love The Caribbean'). I can remember REALLY looking forward to "Rising Sun" in its day. It came on the back of a pair of scintillating releases and, while I wasn't expecting it to rise to those type of heights, I was definitely predicting that Niyorah would be flying on some level with its release. Did he???
Of course he did, he soared. He always does. "Rising Sun" very much seemed like a continuation of the first three albums from Niyorah, rather than exploring some different side of things (and by album #4, you might begin seeing some type of experimentation (particularly on a self-produced set) thankfully that was not here and I wouldn't foresee such a release from him anytime soon). In retrospect, it did so well in solidifying and re-establishing exactly who Niyorah as an artist and, I'll tell you right now, if you're relatively new to his music, you might want to make this one your starting point. Grizzled fans, like most of you and I, OBVIOUSLY, would find something truly substantial as well. For example? Check the first sign of light on "Rising Sun", which finds Niyo examining risk-management on the Cold Times Riddim via Danish label, IceDrop Records, with the golden 'Calculate'. First of all, that riddim was exquisite! Do yourself a favour and look up its album. It featured the likes of Lutan Fyah, Cali P, Warrior King, Little Hero & Natasja, Chezidek, King Kong, Jah Mason and even Ward 21 (big voiced Junior Natural also did very well with his effort, 'Rise') and was probably one of the best riddim albums over the last decade or so (might be nice to crack open the vault for it someday) (and I should also mention that Niyo and IceDrop have even worked since then on 'Stomp on Corona', a single alongside Oma Da Pro from just last year) . To his credit, even with that roster of vocalists, Niyorah managed to turn in one of the riddim's strongest selections. I think that one of the benefits of getting older and maturing is that things tend to slow down and what you get is an extra four or five seconds before you do something stupid. You're still going to do stupid things (you are human and, by definition, you are flawed), but if you live properly, when you get older you're likely to do a lot less of them. Here, the artist, essentially, tells you to make the best usage of that "extra four or five seconds" and weigh the pros and cons of what you're getting yourself into. Specifically I can't think of hearing any song on this subject, directly, which is as detailed as this one:
"Badman ah cause confusion
Living in their old world like dem disillusioned
LIMITING YOURSELF WHEN THEY'RE SEVERAL OPTIONS
USING FIVE PERCENT OF YOUR ITELLECT FUNCTION
THINK BEFORE YOUR ACT, BUT DON'T ACT AND THINK AFTER
STUPID IS THE MAN THAT CAUSE HIS OWN DISASTER
Be humble, be rational, realistic
Or you will have to face the judgment of the mystic"
BOOM! 'Calculate' strides to the heights of "Rising Sun", immediately establishing itself as one of the highest ranking tunes here. Next up, Niyo has a word for all of the lazy asses out there on 'Workday' which was his cut of another big track, the Rub A Dub Riddim from Irievibrations ["Dem ah gwan like dem a mi friend, but dem a bagga heathen. MI BUN DEM AND SCORCH DEM AGAIN (SCORCH!)"] (biggup Luciano). The point here was simple: You can either get up and do something and take care of yourself and your family.... or you can sit down and bitch and whine about what you have to do (and are not doing anyway). I like the kind of aggressive stance on this one, because you can really feel Niyo's disgust at the situation and he's kind of confused that people behave this way; but he isn't saying that all is lost. Even if you fall into this category, you can pull yourself up ["and pull up unuh socks and lace up unuh shoes!"] and do better. The album's downright STUNNING title track was the first of a pair of more than solid combinations, this one linking Niyo with Kiwi Reggae band, House Of Shem. Take this as testament #5,000,000,000 to the power of Reggae music as the House Of Shem and Niyorah -- New Zealand and St. Thomas -- find a BEAUTIFUL musical common ground in praising His Majesty on what is my absolute favourite song on the release and one of the finest from Niyorah's entire career.
HOS makes a mighty impression and, later on, fellow Star Lion Family alum, Ickarus ["Mine who lime round, spend time round. They could be the same one that's putting you down"], does the same on the mandatory ganja tune from "Rising Sun", 'Medicinal Ganja'. I wish I knew the name of the backing singer/s because whoever she/they is/are also make a big contribution to the prevailing quality of the song. What I so much appreciated here, along with the actual music of course, is the WEIGHT carried by 'Medicinal Ganja'. So many times (sooooooooo many) (literally thousands at this point) you hear drops like this one and, I call them "obligatory" and that's because that is how they seem - like someone made them to fill a quota. This is not one of those cases. Along with being one of the best efforts here and just so well-done, you'll also notice that, WONDERFULLY, 'Medicinal Ganja' is the longest song on "Rising Sun" by forty-five seconds ('Calculate' is second). So it goes to show just how important it was to the artists to make their point and they definitely succeeded. Ickarus and Niyo go back many a year as do Niyo and the aforementioned I Grade Records, who supplied the vocalist with their Songbird Riddim in 2013 which he made big usage and provided one of its biggest moments, 'War Is Not the Answer' ["Manufacturing arms to market the killing of man"]. This one was a global examination of violence (you don't just throw around words like "war") and one which featured a damn impressive amount of detail. Nearly a decade on and that riddim still has an effect on me EVERYTIME I hear it, going to show the power of good work like this. It is timeless. IGR was also on board with Lustre Kings Productions and the Zion I Kings for the Jah Warriah Riddim from Zion High Productions which carried the social commentary, 'Media Portray'. This one has grown on me just a bit over the years from its release in 2014 and it may still be to this day. It finds Niyo taking a look at just how influential the media can be and how what they choose to import can, literally, shape the views of the masses and how important it is for us to be truly informed and EDUCATED. You may also recognize the frenetic closer, 'Dirty Streets', which was released as a single from West Coast Studios, also in 2013. Somewhat similar to the opener in its theme, 'Dirty Streets' is about making better choices in life and trying less to be a creature who acts purely on emotions and instincts. This one, more specifically, looked at violence and how incredibly easy it is for someone to completely throw away their life (and that of someone else as well) based on one bad decision. Because of its pacing and sound, it isn't the hardest thing to overlook what is being said on 'Dirty Streets', but tuning it in definitely is worth it.
If you missed DJ Frass' Diamonds and Gold Riddim in 2013, you missed some standout material from I-Octane, Jah Cure, Queen Ifrica, Ce'cile, Iba Mahr and Alaine (whose 'Jah Is So Good' is one of the best of her career). You also missed a rather surprising appearance from Niyorah who gave the riddim another of its many highlights with a cool love set, 'Love You Same Way'. Like almost everything on that riddim, this one will definitely get your head rocking and stay with you quite awhile after you've moved on. It's actually fairly straight-forward which is a good things in this case - just an lovely song about someone very special. While I do know that a big credit is due to Frass for the Diamond and Gold Riddim, I don't know whose genius to credit for that thing behind 'Let Love Flow' (although I would make a very familiar guess, but I don't KNOW), which may've been this album's very first single. It is MIGHTY! The song constructed around it is just as muscular as 'Let Live Flow' 'threatens' our title track as the very best offered by "Rising Sun". The course here is wise, as Niyorah seems to suggest a full-scale shunning of things which're used (and even created in some cases) ["Religion separate us psychologically"] to keep people in conflict and away from one another. At its core, 'Let Love Flow' is about enhancing simplicity, in my opinion.
"There are so many tribes inside of Africa, Mama
May your principles be kept in her
No fighting over land-
SHARE IT WITH EVERYONE
May every family be blessed in her"
It's about cutting away the FAT and finding the unity which we should have with one another (hopefully I've illustrated just how fantastic that tune is) (probably not, but the wonderful video is likely in here somewhere, take a listen for yourself). I was almost sure that I had heard 'Rain Forest' before it appeared on this release but (....and I still think I may've), from all I can tell, it made its debut right here. This one was a glorious tribute to nature, all of its beauty and how important it is to not only celebrate it, but RESPECT it as we move forward. If you know anything about Niyorah or you've seen a couple of his videos (take a look around), you know how essential it is to him in his actual life. It should be that way for all of us because, in the end, it was here before we were and will still be here loooong after we've gone ("Purification Session" featured another very eco-conscious piece, 'Globe All Warming') (big tune) (..."Purification Session" may be the best NAME for a Roots Reggae album I have ever seen in my liife). NIyorah throws up a big praise with 'Here To Serve You' ["From the dust I came. I was born. I was formed. I was shaped. I was molded"]. Along with its decidedly spiritual angle, 'Here To Serve You' does have a more terrestrial purpose as Niyo indirectly deals with the subject of HUMILITY and how people should not only look for the best for themselves but for others as well. He plainly makes the connection that we can greater serve The Almighty by helping others, which is a fantastic idea. Niyorah may not be a wealthy man, financially speaking (has a lot going for himself in other ways, however) (then again, he may be a wealthy man, I don't know), but he is grateful for what he does have. That is the sentiment behind 'Mosquito Ah Bite Me'. Yes, you may be lacking in some (many) things and yes, you are fully aware of that and you want many of the things you cannot afford; but all is not lost. There're still so many things (or at least one thing) for you to be thankful for ["Still I'm singing Jah, give thanks for life, for life! Not matta what di ups and downs around, tear dem down now"]. 'Mosuito Ah Bite Me' also has an underlying sense of humour to it, especially when you watch the video clip. It is entirely relatable, we've all been there and hope to never return! And finally is another of the true highlights of "Rising Sun", the thrilling 'Rastafari Is My Guide'. Niyorah WONDERFULLY changes the game and exhumes the classic Answer Riddim for what may just be the most FUN to be had on the whole of "Rising Sun".
"The system corruption dirty
No political boy can lead me
Tafari is my guide
Rastafari is my guide
I love Black people, yuh gifted
And your strength is so uplifting
Free up and hold a vibe
Rastafari is my guide
Politician bragga-like, swagga-like, grimey like a dagga-knife
Sell out all yuh people, now yuh feeling all piranha bite
DI BANNER RISE
RASTA RISE
Tired of disaster vibes
Treat di people equal, cause wi want more than a bag of rice
Get a life, sodomites, stinkin, dutty parasites
Frontin and yuh stuntin, doing something all wi ahgo fight
Tek weh wah?
Nuff yuh tek
Feel yuh full of intellect
UNDER YUH CORRUPTION THINGS HAVE CRUMBLED, SO WI INTERJECT!"
BOOM AGAIN! 'Rastafari Is My Guide' came as somewhat of a surprise and I'm now hoping we hear more Dancehall from Niyo in the future. Surely it won't become his norm (and it hasn't), but if it sounds like this, once in a while would be a beautiful thing!
Overall, what I was left thinking about "Rising Sun" was of just how SMART and MATURE of a project it is. Niyorah recently celebrated his forty-first birthday about a week and a half ago as of this writing, which means he would have been not quite twenty-five when "A Different Age" reached in the summer of 2005 and thirty-four for "Rising Sun". So if you've been on board from that time you've, essentially, listened to him grow into and settle into adulthood and it's reflected in his music. He'd always had this astute edge to his music (go listen to 'Light of Jah' and 'Perfect Timing' from "A Different Age" & "African Chant" with Pressure on "Purification Session"), but what I heard on "Rising Sun", specifically in that respect, was even greater. I heard someone who sounded as if he had done a whole heap of research on the topics that he was dealing with and then combined that knowledge with his natural passion for addressing them. The results, unsurprisingly, was another GIANT set. "Rising Sun" has become the fourth, of four, outstanding musical contributions from a talent in Niyorah who has probably done more already than you realize.
Rated: 4.75/5
Denkenesh Records/Rise Above Them Publishing
Digital
2015
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