"Incient Ras" by Jalifa!

"Incient Ras" by Jalifa [Zion High Productions]

The name Jalifa is not entirely new to me. I'd heard a few tunes of hers in the past and one or two of them definitely did make an impact on me. The one that comes to mind most immediately is from just a year or two, 'Ganja Banquet', which was a combination that she did alongside Lutan Fyah. She's also had one or two others over the years, such as the militant 'Born Ready', 'Ibration', the booming 'When I Chant' and 'What A War', that have also well caught my attentions. Unfortunately, the Trinidad native's rise to prominence came largely during our absence, so we haven't gotten the opportunity to take any type of look at her work, but Jalifa went ahead and remedied that situation and did so with the helping hand of a most familiar partner. 

By this point, our readers are well familiar with the work of Zion High Productions and the Zion I Kings as they have supplied this blog with some of its greatest and most interesting and compeling releases throughout the years and they have continued the work with "Incient Ras", the debut EP release from Jalifa. The release contains four full selections with their dubbed out instrumentals and features the work of the likes of usual suspects Jah David, Tippy I and Moon with other esteemed players of instruments such as the late Andrew Stoch and even Addis Pablo. "Incient Ras" is outstanding. It is the best EP that I've heard in 2022 this year and I wouldn't at all be surprised if I'm saying the same thing come December. So, I thought that we'd take a brief look at all of the vocal tracks on the release and just give a taste of one extremely impressive up and comer - and someone who figures to join the likes of Reemah and Jah9 as EXTREMELY powerful female Reggae soldiers emerging over the past decade or so.

'Hear Ye'

See now I just mentioned Jah9 and, in a way, 'Hear Ye' reminds me of Jah9 because it captures every bit of the moment that her unforgettable arrival 'New Name' did, nearly a decade ago. It is downright chilling! Jalifa does not that have that ultra-polished and refined way about her that Jah9 does (no one does, really) (that woman was a seed planted into the ground. Grown to perfection to make Reggae music), but what she does have is this kind of pointed roughness to her, which can be every bit as effective. At the height of  her powers, Jalifa can be this SOLID whirlwind of thought provoking ideas. 'Hear Ye' is near her heights and she dazzles in masterful praise of His Imperial Majesty. 

'Whereas'

"The road that we trod is so rugged and rough

But we're rugged and rough"

'Whereas' is a tune saturated in CONFIDENCE. We find Jalifa full of pride, assurance and in a mood to burn out corruption any and everywhere it exists. Of course, doing such things are propelled by the might of His Majesty and Jalifa goes forth with that knowledge. The results are genius and, at times, a Haile conscious lyrical tirade which is simply not to be missed.

"The Mighty Power of The Trinity is over us

So anything that rise can't conquer us

Inna higher vortex, Jah Jah take us up

Some too far just to make a stop

SO betta look inna yuhself, yuh betta wisen up

Because di fyah haffi bun, a nuh no time fi stop" 

'Reggaelize It'

I remember first hearing the wonderful horns on 'Reggaelize It' (biggup Stoch) and thinking that the track would likely make for a wonderful dubbed out version (and I was right, it does. We actually get a pretty nice taste of it during the tune's final eighty seconds or so), but before we got there, Jalifa would have her say. What she does say, although quite [TOO] brief, is an homage to the greatest sound on earth.

"Reggae music speak a language, yes

Di world dem waan fi know"

'Direction'

Finally is 'Direction', a tune which is absolutely EXQUISITE in every way, bordering on perfect, and my single favourite selection from "Incient Ras". From the golden riddim behind it (wonderfully highlighted with melodica contributions from the  great Addis Pablo) to the brilliance Jalifa sits atop it, 'Direction' is special. The tune deals with those who have lost their way in the world and, whether they realize it or not, are involved in negative things. Taking it a step further, the artist also deals with things such as mental illness ["Real lioness, mi not a liger. So mi nah tek bribe from di briber. Don't mek dem screw you like a driver and lose yuh sanity and be a miser"] and apathy, and it does so on both spiritual and tangible footings. 'Direction' is one of those tunes that you don't need to believe in.... really anything besides what you can sense to have an appreciation for. It is for anyone, from any background and any walk of life. A MIGHTY song.

I do want to mention something about the dubs on "Incient Ras" because they're all very good but a pair of them, in particular, are fantastic. The bookends, 'Hear Ye Dub' and 'Direction Dub' REALLY stand out to my opinion. As I've said in the past, I've never been the biggest Dub head, but tracks such as these (and, really, much of the Dub work done by the ZIK in general) are making me think it may be time to take a deeper dive one of these days.

{Note: If you write about Reggae and focus on Dub to any degree, you have my respect. It is not easy!}

Overall, I also want to mention something that stands out for me in terms of Jalifa's music. She sounds a bit like Queen Ifrica to me and that is a great thing. I do not know how much, if any, direct influence the Mobay star has had on her work, but they have similar deliveries and writing styles as well. If she hasn't heard it, I'm sure Ifrica would be thrilled by what she'd hear on "Incient Ras". I'm also sure you'd feel the same way, so go and prove me correct and take a listen to what is sure to be one of the finest Reggae EP's of 2022, "Incient Ras" by Jalifa.