Timed. Does anyone else feel really, really old going through this shit? Once upon a time, which doesn't seem very long ago at all, things were much simpler. Everyone fit into or nearly into a certain category and we rarely ever had to make changes to the schematics: The Dancehall was very easy to keep track of. At the head, of course, there was Beenie Man and Bounty Killer (and, when he felt like it, Buju Banton) and then there was... virtually everyone else. The vast majority of artists would have fit into a never-endingly rotating 'chase pack' (not really chasing, but I like that term), usually starring the likes of Ele, Spragga Benz, undisputed Queen of the Dancehall, Lady Saw, Mr Vegas and whoever had a big tune at the moment. This was ahead of the era including the likes of Aidonia and Busy Signal and, when they arrived, they'd settle down nicely into that group as well. We also had a solid group of elders who were sparingly active such as Shabba Ranks, Super Cat and Mad Cobra, making respectable contributions when they did reach with new material and you could say the same about them this very day also. You also had this downright BRUTALLY fascinating group of outliers who either didn't fit into either of those groups at all or at least not with enough consistency for me to fully count them amongst some of their more straight-forward peers (probably the first time anyone has ever referred to Elephant Man as "more straight-forward" than anyone else, ever) (biggup Elephant Man: An artist whose 'show' sometimes makes people forget just how talented he can be). The most notorious of these wonderful 'non-comformists' was definitely Vybz Kartel who would position himself as the likely heir to the throne once Beenie and Bounty abdicated (and some would claim the man was in the process of overthrowing them at his peak) (....others might say he still is in that process), all the while (at least initially) demonstrating himself to be amongst the most lyrically proficient stars the Dancehall had ever given birth to. There was Merciless whose powers seem to fade and return frequently and largely on the strength of who he could get to fight with him. There was the phantom of the Dancehall, Baby Cham - a hilariously gifted DJ who fits perfectly into absolutely no category at all, due in major part to his reticence to voice for anyone not named Dave Kelly in his prime (and I do often wonder what may've became of Cham had he, like many others, jumped on dozens and dozens of riddims back in 'da day) (maybe it would have been better for him, but maybe not because he's had a fantastic career). Today we're going to take a look at someone who has spent the most recent, long ass, portion of his course on a giant island all by his lonesome.
There're probably grandmothers and great-grandmothers in Beijing who could hum the melody of 'Gimme Di Light' if you played it for them. In terms of pure popularity, one could well make the case that Sean Paul is THE MOST WELL KNOWN AUTHENTIC DANCEHALL ARTIST EVER. Maybe not the most beloved or most successful (although he probably is in that case), but just as far as how many people have ever known who they were, he is either number one or very close and, not to go back and cover his story too much, but his rise to prominence was a very unlikely one..... kinda. When I first began listening to the Kingston native, Sean Paul was someone who had been clearly influenced by the great and aforementioned Super Cat (a comparison he more than welcomed if I recall correctly) and that was a lot of what you heard about him initially. On top of that (and more on this in just a second), he had a very open and light vibes to his music. He was halfway between the Don Dada and the Doctor, not the Warlord. When Sean Paul did attract international attention, in retrospect, it probably shouldn't have been the biggest of surprises, given his style. It was bound to happen (for someone) and, as I said, Paul's brand of Dancehall music wasn't violent or heavy and, though he did have his moments, it typically wasn't very sexually explicit - the radio edit of a Sean Paul song wasn't very different from the original mix most times. The surprise, now, should have been that he managed to STICK internationally and have as much lasting success as he did and still enjoys to this day, but I even have an idea about why he's managed to do that.
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| 2021 |
It comes down to a little thing called SKILL and having actual talent. I've named several really gifted Dancehall artists and, not to get into specifics, but Sean Paul h as as much NATURAL ability -- in terms of deejaying, the delivery of his lyrics -- than.... many of them, really (not ALL of them). He had this way about him in the way that he rolled his words - it always seemed SO detailed and CRISP. Everything was so immaculately detailed at his pinnacle. It is a gift you could see plastered all over his debut album, 2000's "Stage One". That album was amongst the very best Dancehall albums of the modern era in my opinion. There isn't a single album of its day that I would say is SIGNIFICANTLY better than "Stage One". Yes, it was entirely too damn long and some of the skits (not all of them) were ridiculous, but tunes like 'Infiltrate', 'Next Generation', 'Faded' ["Dem deh gal no rated. You ah live comfortable, but dem life frustrated"], 'Next Generation' ["If every day a man dead, the next man lose him head. Dem find di next baby dead inna di bed then wah go happen to wi next ghetto youth man. Wah go happen to wi next generation"], 'Mek It Go So Den', 'Check It Deeply', 'No Bligh' and my personal favourite, 'Deport Dem' are bona fide, unquestionable CLASSICS for me. That album was fantastic. Its followup from a couple of years on, 'Dutty Rock', was probably better than we gave it credit for being, but it was at the eye of his burgeoning popularity and then there was "The Trinity" which, at least in my opinion, was damn near excellent. After "The Trinity" in 2005, I kind of lost touch, although that's news to me now that I think of it, because I do certainly remember albums such as "Tomahawk Technique", "Imperial Blaze" and "Full Frequency" EXISTING -- I know they were made -- but I couldn't tell you a damn thing about any of them off the top of my head. I'd have to look at the tracklists to say anything at all on either of them in regards to the music they contained and, even after looking them up, I find myself wondering exactly what the hell I am looking at and when did all of this happen. Where was I??? Why didn't anyone tell me??? Thankfully, last year Paul gave me an opportunity to become reacquainted in the form of his seventh studio album (oddly, every album he's done to date with the exception of his debut and opus has been nominated for a Grammy and "Dutty Rock" won it) (his new one will also be nominated, but you knew that already), "Live N Livin". It took me a minute but when I did finally dive into "Live N Livin", I was damn happy with what I heard. That album was delightfully MESSY (had a song on that album called 'Danger Zone' which was just FILTHY)! It was cluttered and I mean that in the best possible way because when you trimmed away it (not too much though. Want to save some of the fat), what remained was a very strong Dancehall album and I'm still planning on slapping a review on that album at some point this year. "Live N Livin" was the finest Sean Paul album that I'd heard in the sixteen years since "The Trinity" and it ain't even close! That kind of brought me into a broader scope when it came to not only his music, but Sean Paul, in general. In January of next year, Sean Paul will be FIFTY years old. Again I ask you, WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?? He's older than Beenie Man and Buju Banton. We've entered a place where he has this very interesting perspective on Dancehall, being an elder statesman who has, literally, seen it ALL. Given his achievements on the international scale, he's been to places NO ONE else has in the music and, in the not too distant past, Sean Paul also spent a considerable amount of time on his grind as the star of Jeremy Harding's 2 Hard Productions! [WHAT!] He has seen it all and he has BEEN it all as well. So given both his most unique perspective and his history, I'm extremely curious, particularly after "Live N Livin" as to exactly how the hell a Sean Paul album in 2022 might sound. Let's see about that.
"Scorcha" becomes his eighth studio set to date and it is the one I've looked forward to more than any other in quite some time (again, given his m ost recent performance). Following a long and productive relationship with VP and Atlantic Records, Sean Paul would take on "Live N Livin" by himself on his own, Dutty Rock Productions, but in this latest project, he goes with another major, this time linking with Island Records and is executively produced by Paul's brother, Jigzagula. Looking back, Sean Paul's albums tend to go in either one of two different directions. The first is that they'll be like "Stage One", "The Trinity" and "Live N Livin" (and, "Dutty Rock" to a lesser degree to be fair) and be largely Dancehall experiences. It's what he does best, in my opinion and, though it may be difficult (for others, not for me) to overlook the other things, Sean Paul, purely as a Dancehall artist, is one of the best we've seen to date in my opinion. The other way his albums tend to go is the course that we've seen him explore on "Imperial Blaze" and the likes as something either incorporating so many different styles, centering around Dancehall (or some highly enthused version of it) or just something else entirely. So where on that scale does "Scorcha" register?? To its credit, for the vast majority of its fifteen tracks spread across nearly forty-nine minutes, "Scorcha" is a Dancehall album (for the most part) (in a kinda/sorta way) (basically). It does give an obvious international lean in the form of the sheer number of collaborations it features (although that is a trait which is becoming increasingly normal in Reggae music. The image of looking at Hip-Hop albums LOADED with combinations is forever etched in my head so every time I see it, that's automatically what comes to mind) (and that isn't a bad thing, inherently, pretty much every damn song on "Live N Livin" was a combination), as well in the particular artists who're involved and the prevailing sound isn't rigidly Dancehall yet, as I said, it is a Dancehall album, primarily, in my opinion. When I figured out what to expect from "Scorcha" my expectations heightened because of its most immediate predecessor and although it doesn't approach those lofty heights, by its end, it does prove to be a very FUN and colourful display from one of the greatest to ever do it. Following our intro, 'As We Enter' (which may or may not feature Jigzagula, just like he opened "Stage One" if I recall correctly), the first full tune on "Scorcha" get things started in a direction from which the next fourteen rarely stray. 'Wine Up' features production from both Di Genius and Supa Dups which might let you know (especially when you consider the song's name) what they were going for here. 'Wine Up' is infectious, it will get something on you moving, it also has its clever moments ["This mornin, right back to evenin - give her di stormin and mek she start grin"] and it's harmless. You will encounter several like it throughout "Scorcha". Another example of that would be the album's next and title track. 'Scorcha' comes via our old friends at Chimney Records and is probably one of the best songs on the release named after it. Do something for me on this one: If you can, even if you don't give a damn, focus STRICTLY on what Sean Paul says on 'Scorcha'. If you do that, no, you won't have an epiphany. You won't hear angels and shit or suddenly realize your purpose in life, but you will gain an appreciation for just how lyrically proficient Sean Paul can be, even still.
Listening to it superficially, 'Scorcha' is still solid. It's a nice Dancehall tune, but he does little things in his wording or in his delivery, taking things to another level of quality (and the riddim on that thing, billed as the 'Hot Peppa Mix', is ridiculous! It is lovely). We get four tracks deep into "Scorcha" before coming to its first combination, 'Only Fanz'. US based vocalist, Ty Dolla $ign (whose name I've seen before, but I don't think I've ever heard him before), guests and makes a fine first impression for me. Coming in with a bit of a different vibes from the pair ahead of it, 'Only Fanz' is a nice SLIGHT change of pace and, again, features a stretch or two of damn impressive wordplay. If you enjoyed the little stroll that 'Only Fanz' took you on, then perhaps you'll LOVE what happens on 'Earthquake'. I don't even know how to describe the vibes on the Banx & Ranx licked tune. Whatever it is, it works! If you haven't moved a muscle from the start of the album (you are COMPLETELY deaf) 'Earthquake' will likely do the trick for you. Banx & Ranx have been long collaborators with Paul and they helm a number of tunes on "Scorcha" including the one I just told you about and the next one as well...... album single, 'How We Do It' featuring Guamanian singer Pia Mia, who I'd never heard of. Mia actually has a pretty nice voice and she compliments Sean Paul very well. It maybe highly unlikely that I run back into her work again, but if/when it did happen, I wouldn't expect it to be a bad thing. 'How We Do It' is.... innocuous. It has a a nice kind of R&Bish vibes to it and it's just an attractive song - making it a rather obvious selection when considering singles, I'm sure ["More women, we keep on winning. Mi tell yuh this again: Not one fuck wi giving"]. 'How We Do It' is the first of five consecutive combinations on "Scorcha" and next is definitely one of my favourites as Paul and co. tap the always very interesting Jada Kingdom for 'Bouncing'. It took a minute or two because of what I'm going to call a 'curious' sound, but 'Bouncing' did ultimately win me over. There's just something very COOL about this song and I can't quite put it into words properly. It doesn't overdo itself or wear the listener out at all. Instead, you find a very nice and colourful, but laidback groove in the middle of it and I latched onto it and I'm still a little hooked. Take that and compare it to 'Dynamite' which follows it and you have something almost entirely different. Though not downright exhaustive, 'Dynamite' which features the big voiced Australian, Sia, comes in with this giant vibes and doesn't really take a step back either. I don't love this one, although I do appreciate it musically (another Banx & Ranx production) but I see 'Dynamite' as that song, years from now, that I look back on "Scorcha" and am surprised that it was on that album (and it could be worse... you pick up "Imperial Blaze" and see). Not too dissimilar from 'Dynamite' (though considerably stronger) is 'Calling On Me', with Swedish singer Tove Lo. This song has flames, but it also lets you chill just a little, but in either situation it has a sweetness to it. It also comes with a hair of substance. There is a message here about depending on others and being a dependable person yourself and for an album un-brimming with themes (and that isn't a critique, it's Dancehall. It doesn't have to save the world), it comes in as a very welcomed moment.
By far the most attractive -- on paper -- combination on the middle of the album and you could make the case on the entire set is the easy Reggae-fied 'Light My Fire' which pulls in burgeoning superstar, the ultra talented Shenseea and longtime US Reggae head, Gwen Stefani (in terms of start power, there's one other name who can give them a run, but with both of them, yes, 'Light My Fire' is the most loaded). Shenseea returns the favour Sean Paul paid her on her own 2022 release, "ALPHA", from back in March and, just as he did for her, she provides Sean Paul with one of the finest songs on his album as well. 'Light My Fire' is DELIGHTFUL. It is such a nice piece to listen to and, given the trio, I suppose they couldn't have truly screwed this one up even if they tried to. If you listen to Reggae to pretty much any extent, you've surely ran into Stefani in one way or another and I've always appreciated that, even from her musical nascence in No Doubt, she's well made it known her affection for the genre (she has a kid named Kingston and another one middle-named Nesta) and she's tangibly demonstrated several times over the years - very few times has it sounded better than it does here. For her part, if I'm still writing about Reggae in a quarter century or so, I'll probably be writing a review very similar to this one about Shenseea. That young woman has a devastating skill with the spoken word and, even amongst two card-carrying legends, she more than holds her own. I would presume this track would receive a push at some point and if/when that happens, I'd also presume it'd be a sizable hit from "Scorcha".
"Baby a long time mi deh yah, come gimme wah mi desire
Beat it wid di wire, mek mi sing out like di choir
Come yah Sean, come gimme likkle light
Spark it up cah mi need likkle fyah inna mi life
What a long time mi nah get fi si yuh
Panty wetter than di wata weh inna di Rio
Take mi high up, like a mi ah meet Jesus
Come one, then two, then three up"
The remaining two collaborations, 'Pon Di Reel' and 'No Fear' are very interesting as well in their own ways. Stylo G makes an appearance on the former which is all kinds of fun. I don't particularly enjoy Stylo G's verse on the tune (it isn't bad, it's just kind of awkward) but I have liked what I've heard from him in the past (I hate to say it but he kind of reminds you of Gappy Ranks) and what he does do doesn't take away from one of the best times to be had on the whole of "Scorcha" in my opinion. Let me cut it in right here because the moment is right for it: Speaking of goodtimes, check the tune immediately following 'Pon Di Reel', a [very similar sounding to my ears] remix of previous single 'Back It Up Deh'. Were we in a different time and Sean Paul hadn't yet made his big international splash (and maybe the featuring artists didn't have as much name value as they do), I would probably listen to this album and come away thinking that the most likely Dancehall hit present was 'Back It Up Deh'. It's pretty damn excellent for what it is. Also, I want to mention the fact that despite the fact that it doesn't feature Sean Paul at his lyrically precise best (the chorus does), what does come as a freestyle in 'Back It Up Deh', is going to be comparable to the 'A game' of a few of Paul's peers - even gifted ones. Just a fine performance and if you find none greater on "Scorcha", I'm okay with that. While I'm at it, there's also the '6:30 Mix' (also sounds like the original to me, but what the hell do I know) of the TJ Records produced 'Bend You Back'. Take most of what I said about 'Back It Up Deh' and slide it over to 'Bend You Back' because nearly all of it applies. This song, however, does feature a more pinpointed Seah Paul across TJ's mesmerizing Incredible Riddim from a couple of years ago. If you're an older fan of the DJ's, 'Back It Up Deh' and 'Bend You Back' will take you back! They're both the fairly straight-forward, well done, OPEN Dancehall music that Sean Paul specialized in on his way up. Back on topic: Reggaeton artist Nicky Jam and the great Damian Marley adorn 'No Fear' and the trio bring "Scorcha" to a close in a huge way.
"A that's why mi stay so-
Cah wi escape from a place where it seem like poverty embrace you
You ah try win inna di race, when you look is a police ah chase you
And a pure gunshot dem ah spread, don't think dem ah mace you nor court-case you
Dem will waste you
These are just the facts of life-
That each man tries to maximize
And meanwhile some will fantasize-
Of who they can't be dem patronize"
I hear African vibes all over this tune and the obvious influence from Nicky Jam (who does a SIMPLY beautiful hook. There's nothing outlandish about it, but it STICKS with you) making for such a compelling and colourful piece and the best that I hear, altogether, on "Scorcha". Lastly, check an interesting pair of solo selections in 'Good Day' and 'Borrowed Time' almost surely destined to get lost in the proverbial shuffle here. Going backwards, 'Borrowed Time' is pretty odd, actually. On one hand, it isn't a grand deviation from 'Back It Up Deh', 'Bend You Back' and the likes, but you get to that chorus and shit changes! I don't know what's going there - I like some of it and I full on dislike some of it (just talking about the hook!). 'Borrowed Time' comes in as two (or three) different tunes wrapped into one and I've found myself landing all over the place in terms of how I feel about it, but like I said, I don't think it's going to get a great deal of attention in the end. 'Good Day' also has a different vibe to it... albeit it a consistently different one (whatever it is) and I ultimately came to enjoy it almost strictly based on its MOST PROFOUND punchline.
"It's a good fucking day"
It is a celebration of that day you're luck to get a few times a month or so, when you wake up and you cannot find a damn thing to complain about. You still have whatever problems you did when you went to bed the night before, but you'll deal with them tomorrow. Today you won't even spend a second thinking about them and YOU WILL NOT GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO FIND SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT AND STRESS OVER!
"Try no let dem negative forces-
Come inna yuh life and make your choices
Mi ah tell yuh, don't let those voices block yah path dem and change your courses
THEY'RE DRAINING YOUR ENERGY SOURCES
While you should be burning more ses
Forget about all of your losses
And know the strength of your love is-
Like family inna wi thanksgiving
Forward stepping and wi nah give in
Upward livin and wi ever reppin
Done with the nega- make the posi- begin
Wait likkle bit and mek di spliff kick in
Before you go gwan wid di head bussin
Di Devil is a liar so don't trust Him
Don't trust him
It's a good fucking day
Cause everything around me seems to go my way
And every move I make it real and it don't fake
AND ALL THE RULES DESIGNED TO HOLD ME BACK - I BREAK
Yeah
It's a good fucking day
Cause everything around me seem to go my way
Sunshine rays keep blazing down upon my face
And all the rules designed to hold me back: I break
Oh yeah
It's a good fucking day"
BOOM! I don't know what to call it musically so I'm not going to stress myself trying to figure it out but if he could leave you with a single message from the album, I'm sure Sean Paul would want us all to stop stressing over every little thing that we can think of. Listen to "Scorcha", turn the real world off for a little while. It will be waiting for you later.
Overall, having reviewed it in this form, I do have a greater appreciation for "Scorcha" than I did after going through it a couple of times (that happens a lot which is part of the reason I write big ass reviews like this. The more I grind something down, the more likely I am to find something to cling to) (it can also help to provide a foundation for me NOT liking something as well), but still certain things remain. If you are looking for that rare, unicorn of a Dancehall album that is both fun and philosophical, you can keep on looking. You will not find that here for the most part (incidentally, "Stage One" did have elements of that and, of course, Bounty Killer and Capleton are masters of that, if you're interested). That isn't what this album is and it isn't at the core of 99% of albums like it either. What "Scorcha" does have going for it, however, is that it is either going to point you in the direction of a much earlier sound you enjoyed from Sean Paul or it's going to fill in on what you may've missed back then. IT WILL NOT TAKE YOU ALL THE WAY THERE! There're too many other sounds involved for me to declare it a full direct descendant of his early days. It's fun, it never threatens to take itself too seriously, but it also has its moments of making an impact or two. These days I look at Sean Paul as someone in such a rare stage of their career. While we have other stars who have made international strides, they ultimately either comeback to Dancehall/Reggae COMPLETELY or they'll spend the rest of their time having flashes that will grab a bigger spotlight, all the while doing their more typical work. Sean Paul never had that. He never returned fully and pretty much everything he's done over the past two decades has received a very large amount of attention. "Scorcha" is both an example of the fact that he remains fully aware of exactly who's listening now and who was listening in the beginning and he is still attempting to please us all. Good effort.
Rated: 3/5
Island Records
2022
CD + Digital
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