Synchronized: A review of Natural Is The Mystic by Micah Shemaiah

Earned. If you make a car, you want it to be functional and durable but you're also well aware that HOW IT LOOKS is the first thing someone will notice. Even if the buyer doesn't seem to particularly care and price isn't an issue; if your ride and that of another maker serves the same function and costs the same amount but theirs is more visually pleasing, they're more likely to make the sell. Comparatively speaking, I'd like to think that it is amongst the many goals of someone who sets out to make good Roots music that they, ultimately, want to make something that can be educational and informative while not limiting its entertainment value. I write these things and I attempt to get very in-depth and cover things as fine as I possibly can to the best of my ability but I have to admit: I've heard MANY songs that may've had a good direction and been lyrically stout but... just are not interesting to listen to. They seem as if though if you were to READ them and not actually have to endure hearing them, you might even get more satisfaction from it. On the other end of that, I've also come across records that may be just fine, musically, but offer very little/nothing in the way of substance when it comes to actually making points and saying things of note ["EXILE"]. Of course, this is a difficult road to trod because what is pleasing to one person may be trash to another (and that "one person" reserves the right to change their mind and to do so IMMEDIATELY if they want) but, in just speaking for myself, I LOOK for moments that are either equally gratifying to the mind and the soul or fairly close to it. I also look at how my personal tastes have changed throughout the years and how I, as I get older, have a different idea of what sounding good is. Once upon a time, I didn't count myself much of a fan of Vaughn Benjamin's because... I didn't think his music sounded very good. Even back then, I had the ability, to some degree, to appreciate what he was saying (and even if I didn't on a certain song, his commitment to his craft was POWERFULLY OBVIOUS and I could definitely give him his due for that) but he made music that required a level of effort that was more than I, in my early 20's, was willing to give. Nowadays, I regard that "level of effort" as part of the enjoyment and while there're others who make a brand of Roots that is more instantly charming (about to tell you about a few of them), Benjamin does it as well in his own special way. I'd point to others such as long favourites Mark Wonder and Queen Omega, Anthony B, Capleton... as individuals who're STILL making Roots Reggae that walks the common ground that the genre does and also just really makes their listeners feel something for what they're hearing.

You know someone else who pulls that off really well?? Chezidek. Because of THAT voice, Chezidek's music generally has an inherent quality to it that makes it interesting to hear but when that man is at/near his best, what results is downright magical ["INNA DEM EYEYEYEYE!"]. Let's take, for example... oh let's take a quick look at an album he did way back in 2010 called "Judgement Time". Armed with big, LOVELY tunes such as 'Ganja Tree' ["MARIJUANA TREEEEEEE!"], 'In My Heart', 'Uplift Yourself', the SUGARY 'Jah Love' and, of course, 'Walk With Jah', "Judgement Time" was definitely one of Chezidek's most immediately appealing albums to date (and it still is). Three years on from "Judgement Time" was its direct follow-up, "The Order Of Melchezedik". This was another gorgeous monster of a set which has also aged quite well (I don't recall what my favourite song was on "The Order Of Melchezedik", at first, and I don't feel like looking it up; but 'Praises To Jah' is absolutely DESTROYING me at this moment. Has been on repeat for nearly half an hour at this point). "Judgement Time" and "The Order Of Melchezedik" share origins as they were both created within "the highest region". 

2023

Our old friends as JahSolidRock helmed both sets and they've also worked with the likes of Earl Sixteen, Addis Pablo, Apple Gabriel, Kenny Smyth and others (remember Benaissa and Lloyd De Meza, back in da day?? ["Another burial weh dem ahgo get!"]) over the years, which has demonstrated a signature sound. JSR makes beautiful and HARDY Roots Reggae music. I initially wrote this and I used the word -- "malleable" -- but that isn't really what it is. Their sound is very much grounded in Roots music (and it is heavily so) but it is very open to the artist's interpretation and talent. What results is a sound that is very accessible to MELODY and distinction. A better word than "malleable" would be "FLUID": If you put a JSR riddim in Chezidek's hands, it's going to sound like Chezidek. If you put it in.... Micah Shemaiah's hands, it'll probably sound like Micah Shemaiah. As far as I can tell, the relationship between Shemaiah and JahSolidRock goes back quite a few years ago and they've worked extensively together (CLEARLY), so it should come to the surprise of absolutely no one that the Kingston native now links up with the Dutch label on an official, full collection of their work together, "Natural Is The Mystic" (they had a song, years ago, by the name of 'Zion's Gates' that I was familiar with but had no idea was a JSR production). When last we heard from Shemaiah, he was dealing the extremely well received "Jamaica Jamaica". That set came through Evidence Music and was done alongside Little Lion Sound back in 2023 and appeared on many Album of The Year lists for its time and deservingly so, in retrospect. Prior to that was "Still" and EP (it had eight songs and four dubs. I'm calling it an EP) for the venerable Zion I Kings (absolutely GLORIOUS record on that release, 'Wicked Babylon') (and its dub version) and Shemaiah's also worked with the esteemed likes of Irie Ites, the Green Lion Crew, Easy Star Records, Addis Records from out of Switzerland, Silly Walks and even Digital B. So the man's talents have LONG been recognized by some of the biggest names in production over the years and we have arrived at the point in his career where, when he does an album, it should be looked upon and respected as a legit big deal. That's a lot of accolades, however, and no one's perfect, so maybe "Natural Is The Mystic" doesn't turn out so well??

--NO WAY IN HELL--

If you're going to talk about Micah Shemaiah's music, you have to at least spend a second or two discussing his VOICE. To me (and likely ONLY to me), he sounds like a more grounded version of someone like Duane Stephenson. Where Stephenson has this ultra-refined aspect to his tones (it's literally perfect), Shemaiah has a more earthly feel to him. To be honest (and not for the sake of comparison, like I said, Stephenson's voice is PERFECT), when you really get into Shemaiah's voice... it's kind of intoxicating. It's fantastic and when he's in a fine form, what he's capable of places him in very rare company; and he is in fine form throughout "Natural Is The Mystic". Check the first piece of evidence to this in the form of the album's title track and opener. By the ABSOLUTE TINIEST OF MARGINS (I mean, you can barely even hear it), 'Natural Is The Mystic' is the best tune on the album named after it (I'm  going to tell you right now: The entire second half of this album is downright MURDEROUS. All of its tracks are vicious in every possible way!). The song does kinda/sorta make itself an open supporter of nature but it also is more of a broad social commentary as well. It's also wrapped up in this damn near divine presentation (descending all the way from the cover, where we see this naturally, organically grown weapon!). Credits well go to the players of instruments as well as to the BACKING SINGER (credited as Monique Smith) really do loads in pushing this one to the heights it manages to reach. Next up is sublime previous single, 'When Yuh Right'. I gave a direct credit to a backing singer on 'Natural Is The Mystic' and I'm going to do the same for Hector Lewis on this one, for the infectious drumming he does throughout. Accompanying the single release was a lovely dub which is well worth checking out as well. As for the actual song, 'When Yuh Right' is  gorgeous. 

"In this life, when yuh right, yuh getting a fight

Now the world's gone soft, to the devil's delight"

What I would take from the concept of 'When Yuh Right' is the importance of doing positive things, regardless of the push-back you may get when you do them. Shemaiah doesn't directly go into it but I apply it to concepts like perseverance and unity as well (it's good to do good but its even GOODER when you have others doing good with you or you can inspire others to do good). Again, the instrumentation here is exquisite and, obviously, someone agrees with me on that because that dub version does exist. The old school-ish 'Play Me Some' took a couple of spins to make a fan out of me but it did eventually get there. This is a track giving honour and credit the music and some of the artist of an older era and THAT IS IT. You've ran into others like it, surely, and arguably the most important aspect of such selections is that they have to sound great. You can have all the interesting and different approaches to it that you want but if you want to talk about great music and great musicians -- at least in my opinion -- the greatest homage is in making something that they would enjoy hearing and I think "some Bob Marley - some Dennis Brown" would be delighted by 'Play Some More'. You wanna talk about something sounding nice and being delighting, you check both 'Mellow Mood' and 'Strickly Rubadub'. The former is probably going to give a lot of people toothaches in their ears with as much damn SUGAR is packed in on 'Mellow Mood'. I think I had some 'best case scenario' charted in my head for this song - it ended up being better than my best case scenario. 'Strickly Rubadub', on the other hand sounds almost NOTHING like I imagined it would ('Mellow Mood' actually sounds more like a song that would be called 'Strickly Rubadub'). It's more... somber than I would expect but it doesn't matter (and "somber" might be too harsh of a term, HEAVY might be a better one): The musicianship on 'Strickly Rubadub' is some of the finest on the whole of "Natural Is The Mystic". It is STERLING. This was also a previous release from a few years back but, MOST UNFORTUNATELY, unlike 'When Yuh Right', the single release of 'Strickly Rubadub' didn't include a dub version, however, we are given a nice capture of what may've been over the course of the song's final forty seconds or so and it is immaculate; one of the most attention-grabbing stretches on the entire album in my opinion.

As I alluded to earlier, the second half of "Natural Is The Mystic" is a serious problem (and I mean that in a great way) for listeners, as it presents us with some real killer songs. The first is the album's sole combination (one combination in ten songs is just fine), 'Glory' which taps LOOOOOOOOOONGTIME, grizzled veteran Telford Nelson (man has been singing Reggae music for, literally, half a century). When I originally set it, I mentioned that the "final four songs" on the album were of supreme quality but the more I listened to 'Glory'... it just had to be included in that lot. It almost perfectly exemplifies what I meant when I talked about making music that carries a significant message and has a pleasing, entertaining sound. 'Glory' is a praising song and it has such a powerful vibe to it as well with these downright ROYAL sounding horns and just a full, VIBRANT display to it. It sounds like someone very important is about to walk into the room as it plays and biggup Shemaiah and JSR (and whoever else's idea it may've been) for linking him together with someone like Telford Nelson ["OH WHAT A GLORY!"]. The album's most recent single (I THINK), 'Not For Sale', is in next and I LOVE this song and have from the very first time I heard it, last November. 

"This one for sale

That one for sale

So much for sale

Oh, for sale

She is for sale

He is for sale

They are for sale

Oh, for sale

I'M NOT FOR SALE"

'Not For Sale' is about authenticity and originality and it is beautifully DUSTY AND WORN, earthly sounding Roots Reggae music.... and I'm now seriously reconsidering my choice as the album's finest. I'm going to keep questioning things courtesy of a piece I was particularly curious about, given its title 'Artificially' (and I did skip ahead one but the song before it, which I'll tell you about in just a minute, is even better than 'Artificially'). This one kind of builds on the sentiments of the title track where Micah Shemaiah is trying to draw the focus of the masses back  to a more natural approach to life, while eschewing more, potentially disastrous, man-made facets ["There is a natural way and order to things. But the way we are living these days - only destruction it brings. Mostly for the future; now sure our youth dem will inherit the mayhem"]. I'm tempted to get into telling you about just how damn sweet the music is on 'Artificially' but... at this point, I think you understand; so let's move on! Moving backwards, check the MAMMOTH 'Be Brave'. Though he goes semi-direct with the thought here, I think Shemaiah is, essentially, saying that we all have things that we have to go through in life 'trials & tribulations' and we have to be prepared to face what is coming. There is a spot, right in the middle of 'Be Brave' which just levels things up entirely. It is when the first verse repeats and, by that time, the song has settled in and it's good and warmed up and it's subtly more intense than the first time around. THAT, for me, is such a powerful moment on this tune because, after that, things really pick up and when you combine the two halves... if you want to make an argument for 'Be Brave' as THE best song on this album, it'd be hard to put up a fight against when it sounds like this!

Finally is yet another candidate for album's finest riddim, unity anthem 'Together We Are Strong'. This tune contains a very clever lyrical effect when Shemaiah says:

"Beat that drum"

He says it, seemingly, in the way you say it to drum up (figuratively speaking) support for an idea but when he does say it, you actually hear someone beating a drum in the background! It made me smile when I realized it because it's obvious but it isn't the most glaring of sounds that you hear at the time. As for the rest of the song, the singer is saying that MAYBE it's a good idea for us all to look for things that bring us closer than differences that push us apart. It is lovely sentiment and, again, a lovely vibe to end things on.

Okay, here is the point where I would typically look at the album and say that there're only ten songs and I wish there were more and I'm going to say that here as well, HOWEVER; the ten songs that construct 'Natural Is The Mystic" take up forty-one minutes. The album's shortest song ('Artificially') is within twenty seconds of four minutes, while its joint longests ('Strickly Rubadub' and 'Not For Sale' are of basically the same length) are not five minutes. So they all kind of hover around four minutes, which is just fine. So while I would have definitely loved another couple of tracks (even if they were dubs/instrumentals and JSR has a history of doing such a thing: The aforementioned "Judgement Time" had several of them and "The Order Of Melchezedik" would have been very similar with ten songs and a couple of instrumentals or so), what actually is on "Natural Is The Mystic" is very HEALTHY and meal-like Reggae music. They don't bring us a plate of salt and pepper and forget that we.... actually need something to put it on. 

Overall, I'm not going to overdo it (outside of writing an entirely too long review but that's just what I do) but "Natural Is The Mystic" is EXCELLENT, MODERN ROOTS REGGAE MUSIC. It just is. While that may or may not appeal to someone who is completely new to the genre (I know there are some poor, malnourished souls out there who just cannot appreciate it), for virtually anyone else, with the way it is done, I am extremely confident that something here will appeal to you. Combining a continuously and consistently COLOURFUL sound, with solid writing and dexterous lyrics, in "Natural Is The Mystic", Micah Shemaiah & JahSolidRock come together and produce one of the first truly BIG Reggae albums of 2026. Excellent. 

Rated: 4.6/5

JahSolidRock

2026