The I-Grade by Sizzla Kalonji

"The I-Grade" by Sizzla Kalonji

Okay so, there were two big releases coming out today that I was really looking forward to from a pair of my absolute favourite artists of all time. One was from the great Vaughn Benjamin, which I'll tell you about you in a few days and the other was from the legendary Sizzla Kalonji, "The I-Grade". Now I had my hopes up pretty high for Benjamin's offering, "Glory", but for "The I-Grade", I would have to say that my expectations -- largely due to more recent work I would say -- was kind of tempered... but in a hopeful way.

As I said previously, I was 99.99999% certain that "I-Grade" would be better than Kalonji's previous release, April's truly horrible "Run Tingz", and I'm happy to say that is definitely the case: "The I-Grade" is better than "Run Tingz", without a doubt. HOWEVER, with that being said, the new album which comes via Izreal Records & Sonovic Music in association with Sizzla's Kalonji Music Production isn't very good at all. What is most remarkable for me in regards to "The I-Grade" and the vast majority of Kalonji's recent projects is just how little actual Reggae and Dancehall music they contain. Most of the music here is.... Hip-Hop and R&B to my ears with just a bit of R&B and I understand people change and vibes change and everything changes (biggup Danny I), but never would I have thought that, with as active as he's been, that it would be difficult to get a REGGAE ALBUM FROM SIZZLA KALONJI. That is insane to think about where we are! The best tune is probably the closer, 'Now Dem Know', but I suspect that just like "Run Tingz" and "Rise Up" and "On A High" before it; in a few months I'll be pretty hard-pressed to name a single tune on this album.

Sizzla Kalonji's new album, "The I-Grade", is available now but if you do not listen to it, you aren't missing much, unfortunately.