The Cool Reminder Riddim [NotNice Records - 2022]
Biggup NotNice in a major way as, earlier this month, he did us all a big favour when he set out his latest creation, the Cool Reminder Riddim. I try not to make it a habit out of thanking people for doing what they're supposed to do, but that is what I find myself doing at the moment given the dearth of such things: I am thanking a DANCEHALL PRODUCER for making DANCEHALL RIDDIM (biggup Frass as well with the Dancehall Night Riddim)! Unfortunately these are so rare these days that I now feel the need to celebrate such moments when they occur. The Cool Reminder is absolutely golden AUTHENTIC DANCEHALL MUSIC and something which almost brings tears to my eyes. It is such a sweet vibe that has gone away and I MISS IT DAMMIT! Handling the vocal duties are the likes of Beenie Man, an impressive Chronic Law, Patra (YEP), Busy Signal, Tatik who does very well on 'My Style', and others. Still, taking top honours here is a downright DOMINANT Ele who reigns supreme with the riddim's title track. Hopefully, courtesy of NotNice and some of his peers (like Frass and Suku), we arrive at a place where such productions are far more frequent, but until then (and even after then) - the Cool Reminder will THRILL.
"Brilliant" by Lutan Fyah [Rashanco Music - 2022]
Next up is a set which also features some vintage vibes of its own as Achis Reggae favourite, Lutan Fyah, teams up with Rashanco Music to deliver a solid new EP, "Brilliant". Just a few weeks ago, in late June, the Spanish Town veteran released the strangely titled "These Are My Better Days".... probably his WORST collection of music to date and, most thankfully, here is another set to wash away the bitter taste left by that..... thing (I'm probably being too hard on it, but coming from someone so consistent, "These Are My Better Days" was kind of shocking). "Brilliant" which, as I alluded to, has a more old school type of sound, is a collection of tunes the chanter has done for Rashanco, specifically right around the turn of the century and it features a few gems. Tunes such as 'Feels Like', 'Seek Jah First' and 'Things Change' ["Many shall be hunger, many shall be thirst. Who no show love, dem ahgo bear di hurt. Look how dem robbing and killing, grabbing bag and pick purse"]. If you recall that version of the artist at the time who was probably not the most gifted holder of melody, but was lyrically POSSESSED, that's what you'll get on "Brilliant", an EP well worth checking out.
Bryce Hill Productions 2022
I haven't seen anything official in terms of a compilation or an actual name, though I would presume it to be forthcoming (or not), but I do definitely feel inclined to mention a few (nine) recent singles coming from label Bryce Hill Productions. The vocal talents here feature a couple of welcomed surprises -- Leroy Smart and Chrisinti -- amongst the most expected 'usual suspects', i.e. Sizzla Kalonji, Anthony B, Turbulence, Jah Mason, Lutan Fyah, Perfect Giddimani and Norris Man. What these titles all have in common is that they share a riddim which is Hill's version of the old Marcus Garvey Riddim. We get such things every once in awhile and it always comes well worth it to my opinion. Shining brightest in this instance are Sizzla and Anthony B, but Chrisinti, Turbulence and Perfect also do quite well. You could wait for these songs to be pooled together (which is just very convenient if anyone from the label happens to stumble upon this one day), but there're some very impressive tunes here that deserve your attention.
'Treat Yourself Good' by Afrikan Simba [Reality Shock Records - 2020]
I can thank Mikey General and the fine people at Reality Shock Records for bringing me to a tune from just a couple of years ago that I'm pretty sure I missed entirely as RSR linked with veteran Afrikan Simba for the simply SUBLIME 'Treat Yourself Good' ["It's not about your money, it's rather bout your health. MAKE YOUR HEALTH BE YOUR WEALTH AND LOOK AFTER YOURSELF"]. At the core of this one was just a very simple and basic message but Simba wrapped and RSR wrapped it up and presented it within this delectably infectious package and, generally speaking, when you do that the results are mighty. 'Treat Yourself Good' was mighty and although I have to admit that I haven't paid a close amount of attention to Afrikan Simba throughout the years, this is EASILY the single best tune I've heard from him and probably a reason that I should see what else the Nigerian native has been up to. BOOM!
"Real Life" by Andrew Bees [LAW Records - 2022]
If this goes up when I'm planning for it to go up then freshly released TODAY is "Real Life" the brand new album from Andrew Bees. I don't think that I have ever actually written a review for an Andrew Bees set and, though I have a couple that I'm writing right now (actually three, but one is from the vault and can wait a little longer), the early returns on "Real Life" are quite nice so I think I may make this a first. Until then, however, I will say that there is some really nice material here and definitely enjoy regardless of what I end up doing.
"Red Alert" by Sizzla Kalonji [Jet Star Records/Charm - 2003]
As I mentioned in the review for "Rise Up!", near the end of writing it I had stumbled upon a very random, nearly two decade old Sizzla album by the name of "Red Alert". It was the Jet Star release from 2003 (I'm actually seeing things saying it released in 2004, but the date on the case is 2003, the same year listed on "Light Of My World") and while COMPLETELY uneven and inconsistent ('Boom Boom' is and has always been a horrible song and 'First Thing' wasn't much better), it wasn't entirely without its moments and it was also pretty damn fun. Tunes such as the strange, yet all kinds of intoxicating 'Blessing' ["Jah's gotta blessing for you - JAH'S GOTTA BLESSING FOR YOU! For your children and their children too - LOVE THE LITTLE CHILDREN!"], 'Alert', 'Bun The Herb', 'Love You' (which wasn't great, but was backed by the MAMMOTH Rachik Riddim (and they knew you'd want to know the name of that riddim, so they included it in the liners), 'Beautiful' ["My desire is to get higher, I'm inspired by The Most High!"] and the album conquering 'Long Way' assure that any trip through Kalonji's catalogue which includes a stop at "Red Alert" is AT LEAST a memorable one.
"Mr. Merciless" by Merciless [VP Records - 1995]
And lastly biggup Mr. Leonard Bartley aka Merciless who recently made his transition at the age of fifty-one. Now with the COMPLETE historical point of view, we have to say that Merciless was one of the most exciting and entertaining stars the Dancehall has ever produced. He was a specialist, of course, but what he did well, regardless of who you were a fan of and who you preferred, you have to admit that when it came to clash, Merciless had an undeniable gift. His music never translated really to the album side and he only released two or three at the most to my knowledge (despite YEARS of rumours that he would eventually give us another), with the most complete and probably most recent being "Mr. Merciless" for VP, now nearly thirty years ago. Featuring several of the tunes for which the DJ was known such as 'Len Out Mi Mercy', 'Talk Already', 'When The Almighty Come' and 'God Alone' with Little Hero (biggup Little Hero who just set out "The Journey Continue", a new album of his own), "Mr. Merciless" did a solid job of covering Merciless' early days. Biggup Merciless. Thank you for your contributions and we will never forget you.
"MI TALK ALREADY AND MI NAH TALK AGAIN!"
No comments:
Post a Comment