The Worst Reggae Album of 2023

"Run Tingz" by Sizzla Kalonji [Lead Out productions & Kalonji Music Production]

Sizzla Kalonji does not make music as well as he used to. As much as it pains me to admit, I think the writing is on the wall and it has been for the past two or three years or so but, at least in the consistent sense, I think it's completely fair to say that he's lost a step or two from his absolute best. That's fine. As the saying goes -- 'Father Time is undefeated' -- and I, myself, am a prime example of that because I am NOWHERE NEAR the writer I once was and, even at my best, I wasn't in the same galaxy as Sizzla was as an artist (even now, by comparison, he's much better at what he does than I have ever been at this). The more I listen to his output these days, the more I find myself longing for an older version of the artist and I find this relatively strange as, if you look at several of his peers such as Anthony B, Luciano, Norris Man and even Capleton (who does not appear to have lost anything despite nearing sixty years of age, with the exception of prolifacacy) you'll notice no dip in form and maybe even a raise in one or two cases; and this is particularly true when it comes to his album releases. Once upon a not too distant time Sizzla Kalonji, like the aforementioned Anthony B and Luciano, could be counted on to deliver at least three albums annually. One would come via VP Records, one through Greensleeves and Jet Star would deliver another (and I'm saying "Jet Star" and including in that Charm and Penitentiary, which is probably inaccurate and unfair of me to blame them for that mess, but I'm doing it anyway) (please forgive me); and he'd also do the occasional one-off release, here and there, for others such as RAS  Records, 2B1, Reggae Central ["HOSANNA! HOSANNA!"] and others as well. He was incredibly active.... pretty much over-active, but for fans like myself, I was just fine with it. Sure: With that type of activity there were some.... really less than stellar sets mixed in such as "Ghetto Revolution" and whatever the hell "Addicted" was, but the man was still capable of erupting at virtually anytime at all and producing a GEM, so we all kept coming back and all of these years later, we still are. 

But the wait for the next gem has become increasingly tedious in recent times. A few years ago (I don't feel like counting exactly) Sizzla would take a wonderful pair of steps from a business standpoint and not only begin releasing the lion's share of his albums via his own Kalonji Music Production imprint alongside Lead Out Productions, but also aligning with major, Def Jam Records. While the union has definitely been fruitful, the fruit has not been particularly sweet at all with his past few sets being less than ripe. HOWEVER, in 2023 Sizzla would release, by far, the most rotten of the lot, "Run Tingz". As the year comes to a close and we begin to think of things such as 'best ofs' and the like, unfortunately "Run Tingz" also comes into consideration as it is the WORST album I have heard this year. If you're not doing anything, join us as we take a look at a misstep from, in my opinion, the single greatest and most naturally gifted artist Reggae music has ever produced. 

1. 'All This Time'

I have a double-shot of really bad news in regards to our opener, 'All This Time'. The first bit is although it isn't completely horrible, it's not very good either, and that's probably the best thing I can say about it. It's a very odd and uneven love song (it sounds like two Sizzlas are singing it for most of the song and I think there's autotune, or whatever they used to call that stuff, at play as well) and that's just what it is (the riddim is decent though and far and away its best quality). No you've seen how I've describe it?? 'All This Time' is EASILY one of the strongest tunes on "Run Tingz". You could, in fact, make a great case that it is the album's second best track altogether and it would have to improve quite a bit to be average. 

2. 'Put It Away'

And the pit begins being dug.... Though not misguided at all in terms of direction, the course the anti-violence set, 'Put It Away', takes to arrive there is very awkward to put it mildly. I used to have more appreciation for this one, but that has dwindled to almost nothing. Maybe you'll come away from it singing the chorus  (it isn't very good, but it is catchy) and it does have one moment, lyrically (although the delivery is nothing to speak of), but it is largely unforgettable outside of that. It's also pretty heavily Hip-Hop (more on that later) (or sooner) which has never been a favourite trait of mine. Like I said... awkward, which doesn't inherently mean bad, but this is not a good awkward.

3. 'Teamwork'

Also somewhat awkward, while 'Put It Away' was a bit colourful, 'Teamwork' is quite bland, actually. There is simply NOTHING remarkable about this tune, for better or for worse. It's stale, formulaic... all of that stuff. It's a song, it isn't really Reggae and it also isn't especially well written or delivered. 'Teamwork' was just.... kinda there. 

4. 'That Is It'

'This Is It' is such a fitting title for the tune which it is named for as it PERFECTLY captures my opinion of it: THIS IS IT. Yep. That's it. The Hip-Hop song is on "Run Tingz" and that's really all you need to know about it. That's it. 

5. 'Out The Slum'

I wouldn't at all be surprised if 'Out The Slum' was a complete freestyle. If it turned out that it was just something that Sizzla vibed when he heard the riddim (more on that thing in just a second), I would think that, given its rather odd delivery, that it sounds exactly like something like that. If that is the case (and even if it was just a product of more minimal planning/rehearsal), then from a lyrical aspect, it isn't bad, actually. Again, the delivery is very strange and uneven, but lyrically it has its moments. HOWEVER (and you knew it was coming), there is also the matter of that riddim here which is pretty bad and when you put it altogether, you have a composition which would have probably worked better as a poem than as a song.

6. 'Inna Mi Brain' featuring King Dawad

You listen to Sizzla's first full verse on 'Inna Mi Brain' and if you're the type of fan that I am, it may just bring a tear to your eye because it might just be the clearest ode to the skill level the downright WIZARDLY Kalonji used to display on a consistent basis that you will find on the whold of "Run Tingz". Of course it's all downhill after that and a tune which I once used to find not too bad and actually a good time at points has been withered down to a nearly thrilling thirty seconds or so.

7. 'No Drawz'

I've specifically made it a case not to attempt to be too hard on this album, directly, because I wanted to save the majority of my venom for a single tune buried right in the middle of "Run Tingz" by the name of 'No Drawz'.

"She nah wear no drawz

She nah wear no drawz

She nah wear no drawz

All because she coming to see the boss"

"Soaking wet and pulsating

Stay right there let me push it straight in

Girl, your fat punany now

Your fat punany now"

...... I..... there's the..... okay I'm done. 

8. 'Hey No'

Though it is considerably better than the tune just ahead of it, make no mistake about it: 'Hey No' is AWFUL. It sounds awful (why is it so damn loud??), it's written and delivered awfully and it sounds like a Rock tune or something along those lines. Try as he might (and he does play around with several different approaches) (listen to the final verse: He LITERALLY just starts talking through it), Sizzla simply cannot crack the riddle of properly conquering this lumbering oaf of a riddim with anything of substance.

9. 'Keep Your Head Up'

Well below average Hip-Hop returns on 'Keep Your Head Up' and this time it brings with it a bit of flash which does make the song memorable, but I do not mean that in a good way at all, unfortunately. It isn't the worst song on "Run Tingz" and it isn't even close to being, but 'Keep Your Up' is no good. It's completely and utterly forgettable and though it does not lack direction (it's actually pretty progressive), in its thankfully quite brief run, 'Keep Your Head Up' doesn't do anything: I MEAN NOTHING!

10. 'Sure Bout'

The chorus hangs over the balance of 'Sure Bout' like an umbrella and I most certainly do not mean that in a good way. This tune actually had a decent sonic appeal to it and I'm not surprised at all how Sizzla chose to go after it but the odd love/sex song which sits atop it is largely forgettable for the most part. Its chorus is amongst the album's worst (though it is still much better that thing behind it) and as the song progresses it just becomes really fucking strange! He seems angry and dramatic at times and I don't quite know what's going on with the second half of 'Sure Bout' and I don't feel like figuring it out either. 

11. 'Cyah Regret'

Remember when I told you how bad the chorus was on 'Sure Bout'??? Try this one:

"Gal your nookie fat

Your nookie wet

Your nookie tight, I can't regret"

This is the FLOOR when it comes to choruses on "Run Tingz" and, only because he's made thousands of songs do I not feel ENTIRELY confident in proclaiming 'Cyah Regret' the single most awful chorus in the whole of Kalonji's career, but it HAS to be up there... or DOWN there. As for the actual track, 'Cyah Regret' is nearly joint-bottom with 'No Draws'. It is ATROCIOUS!

12. 'Run Tingz'

Our title track here actually gets off to a pretty decent start and, by comparison to what else you'll find on the album named after it for the most part, it isn't miserable. Should you, however, place it next to Sizzla's actual quality work, it does fail quite a bit. I'm not thrilled about anything, consistently, on this Hip-Hop track and the best thing about 'Run Tingz' may just be its energy (which is hard to say), but in the way I tend to register songs, overall sound, lyrics, delivery, riddim, etc. this one is pretty below average on all of those fronts. 

13. 'Galang Bad'

For now and for the foreseeable future (okay, forever) the single best thing that you can say about "Run Tingz" is that it was the album that had 'Galang Bad' on it. It is a bona fide  SOLID heavy Dancehall tune and, EASILY, the best thing this release has going for it. It sounds like something that would have fit perfectly on an album like "Rastafari Teach I Everything" (a personal favourite of mine). It's fun, it's a good time and, again, if you find yourself encountered with "Run Tingz" in any way, hopefully it's to give a listen to Galang Bad'. 

Okay so, something I've noticed in the course of digging into this thing for the sake of this post and something that I've also noticed about Sizzla's music, in general, as of late: His delivery is just ALL OVER THE PLACE. Lyrically, I put his man on a pedestal that I put no other. He is the greatest writer of lyrics that I've ever come across at his peak. Sizzla DESTROYS words and not in a kind of thrilling way in which you might get from someone like a Bunji Garlin or Aidonia with acrobatics (Capleton is also exceptional at that as well), his brilliance is FOOD. It is appetizing and challenging for the mind and the soul.... or at least it used to me. These days it comes off as much more forced and mechanical and he's also (as you'd expect) come with an approach which is FARRRRRRR less melodically pleasing. I don't know what this stuff is. It's much more forced, again, just not very nice to listen to and a downright meteoric drop from Kalonji (and pretty much anyone else with skill) at his best. When he's on, he is the single most powerful musical entity that I have ever encountered, but it's been AWHILE since that version of Sizzla has been around and, most regrettably, 2023 saw him turn in one of his lowest moments ever in the form of "Run Tingz": THE WORST REGGAE ALBUM OF 2023.