Haile Dependable: A review of Rebel Music - The Lyrics Tape by Kabaka Pyramid
Trustworthy. I don't know how long this review is going to be but I know it's going to be much longer than necessary. I could SURELY cut out quite a bit of it and still get my point across but, of course, I won't. I've started doing smaller reviews for smaller releases and I will continue to do those but, most likely, even those are too long as well. That's me and if you frequent these pages to any degree (shame on you!), you know it and you probably expect it. I'm the guy that writes really long reviews and have for... well over twenty years at this point. When people send us material, it's what they expect from me as well (on that side, if your album is really, I would imagine it probably makes you feel quite nice to see someone talk THIS much about how wonderful of a job you've done) and I do my best. It's the little thing that sets me apart and I think, in that at least, I'm fairly reliable. I rely on others as well. When I have a feeling for something that music can do for me, I go looking for certain people, in particular. Maybe I'm working out and I need something really aggressive to help get me through, Bounty Killer has decades worth of tunes for just that situation. It encourages really digging deep and Bounty's the kind of guy, at his best, who will kill you and make fun of you for dying and I can't speak for anyone else but sometimes I NEED THAT during a hard workout... especially at my age. If I want to lose my mind with my kids, there's Bunji, Machel, Destra, Skinny Fabulous, Fay-Ann Lyons and a long line of others capable of providing the fam with an astounding level of beautiful delirium. Other times, still, I need to feed my brain. I'm an overthinker (which is why these reviews are the way they are) and I require SUBSTANCE. I need to be challenged, I need to hear someone who can do certain things with words that provoke thought. This is tricky because there're so many talented writers in and around Reggae music that have talents that can reach you in a very different manner. I think of someone like Jah 9, for example. Jah 9 is a poet (and a genius) and her words almost always seem to have a destination. She's headed somewhere and it's going to take some effort on the part of the listener if they're interested in going with her. Contrast that with someone like Vaughn Benjamin. That man provides information. He educates and if you've failed to arrive at least at a certain level, you will be COMPLETELY lost. Let's talk about Sizzla Kalonji in his prime. At his best, he put forth a level of both education and entertainment that, arguably, remains unmatched in the genre's history. Some of the things he put together were just JARRING! I'll also go to Lutan Fyah who comes off as this extremely hard working and diligent writer who can push material as vividly about a single emotion as he can relating some particular event. OTHERS STILL, such as Aidonia and our old friend Saik have an almost theatrical aspect to their work (Bunji Garlin gets in there as well) as they are capable of using words in a excitingly tongue-twisting way that forces you to be at your sharpest, just to keep up. Today we're going to take a look at someone who, in certain ways, contains aspects of them ALL; truly a lyricist whose attention to detail and SKILL is downright staggering.
2011
Kabaka Pyramid is a VERY interesting musician for several reasons. Already having a relatively surprising Grammy win to his credit (that album (more on it in a second) WAS the best from that year in my opinion but the Grammy award has, until recently, seemed to be something of a popularity contest. After Kabaka Pyramid and, most recently, Keznamdi, maybe times are a'changing), the Kingston native does something that I don't think I've seen in Reggae for a very long time: He revels in his SKILL. The most immediate comparison I can think of would take us back to the nascence of Vybz Kartel and even he didn't seem to do what Kabaka Pyramid does. Kartel was ridiculously gifted -- like Aidonia coming after him -- and though he clearly was aware of it, the celebration of his talents came more so through his fans.US. Kabaka Pyramid, on the other hand, has honed his craft to a deadly sting, he KNOWS it and if you do not, he's about to give you a GIANT opportunity to become good and acquainted.
2022
I'll go back to what I said about Vaughn Benjamin; in that his music is best enjoyed when you come with a certain level of knowledge, education (formal & informal) ('book smarts' & 'street smarts') and life-experience prior to listening (old Kalonji was also like that). The same goes for Kabaka Pyramid. If you don't have that background that you'll probably find yourself either all over Google while listening, or sitting there with a dictionary, encyclopaedia and a thesaurus ["Focus on di acronym fi open up mi chakra dem"] just to get through! Also, if you've been following along with his career, then MAYBE you'll have a memory of what he did in 2011, when the Pyramid dropped the "Rebel Music" EP. If you did THAT, then maybe what he's doing, a decade and a half later, with "Rebel Music - The Lyrics Tape" will carry even more weight with you that the already HEFTY "new Kabaka Pyramid album" thing that it has going for it, inherently. If you've been here for awhile, you might also be familiar with the previously alluded to "The Kalling", his most recent set prior to this one which reached in 2022 and would net the Pyramid that Grammy I was telling you about a minute ago (and there was also the compilation for the Pon Di Island Riddim last year). Like "The Kalling", "Rebel Music - The Lyrics Tape" comes to fruition via a union between the Pyramid's Bebble Rock Music imprint, and the Marleys' Ghetto Youths International. "The Kalling" was absolutely excellent and was as strong of a piece of evidence of his towering skill that exists. I don't think I've ever had a situation where my personal favourite album also registers as a Grammy winner (my favourites probably hardly ever even get nominated in the first place) but CLEARLY, we were all in agreement as to who was the real champion for that year. Given the immense level of competition in 2026, it'll be curious who eventually takes top honours for this year, however, I can assure that an undeniable, legit contender has just entered the arena. Let's get into it.
Have I mentioned just how completely ABSURD 2026 has been? On the very same day that Kabaka Pyramid released his new album, German star, Gentleman did the same with his first album in a long time, as did Ky-Mani Marley (who is a Marley); not to mention the line of big names we've seen with releases in Reggae throughout this year (see more here) Kabaka Pyramid throws his name in as well with "Rebel Music - The Lyrics Tape" which begins with one of its biggest shots, 'Stand Firm'. Featuring another fine lyricist, a favourite of ours and good friend of the Pyramid's, Pressure Busspipe, as well as the voice of the legendary Stepping Razor, Peter Tosh, 'Stand Firm' sets a mighty tone for what is to come after it. There are stretches of this tune, particularly early on, which are just.. explosive.
"Take up unuh head out yuh phones and device
Take a look around and ask, are wi really satisfied?
How many likkle girls ahgo dead before wi rise up?-
And expose di false leaders inna di disguise
Mi sticking to di task and mi nah apologize
If dem inna genocide, wi ah string dem up alive
DEM CANCEL MI SHOWS BUT MI SIT BACK AND REJOICE
AH SO MI GET FI KNOW THAT MI DID AH DO SOMETHING RIGHT!"
'Stand Firm' covers a lot of ground but, as you can see, it does so fairly specifically... which is just ODD! Again, however, Kabaka Pyramid hits points here which are of extremely rare air, lyrically, and what results is downright dazzling. Did I mention Pressure was on this tune as well?? I was going to say something like "Pressure steps up his game", or something like that, but that's inaccurate. Pressure's almost always on fire and he's steadily blazing on 'Stand Firm' which, EASILY sits amongst the finest tunes on "The Lyrics Tape". I talked a bit, earlier, about how you have all of these talented wordsmiths and, in some ways, Kabaka Pyramid has certain aspects of his styles which resembles all of what they do best and while that's true, he also has a style of his own: You play a riddim, he attacks it. What happens on the second tune on this album, 'From Weh Day' is just... kinda disturbing.
"Biggup every veteran weh ah support young artiste
GONGZILLA FLY DI GATE SO, LOYALTY, WI NAH SWITCH
A dem yah kinda ting a weh Jamaica start miss
Reggae music it left behind and it ah mek mi heart start twist
Mi just ah do mi part fi keep di fyah chanting
Rastafari governance, ah It mi walk wid
Some worry dem ah si
Chris Ellis, Black AM I and Ghetto Youths mi par wid
Mi fly across di world, every flipping continent
Then mi land back a Jamaica and it's not so prominent
Pure folly just ah gwan and it's not an accident
WI HAFFI REPAVE DI ROAD AND LAY DOWN SOME BLACK CEMENT"
WHAT?! What the hell is that?! The Pyramid breaks all sorts of laws and shit and commits atrocities against mankind that should probably get him locked up and I LOVE every single moment of it! That IS the single best tune on the album and one of the standouts from Kabaka Pyramid's entire career. Things slow down a bit on 'Rebel Music [I'm Back]' but the quality doesn't miss a step and although it's kind of Hip Hoppish, which isn't a favourite of mine, it's a nice change of pace in my opinion.
"Bebble pon mi chestplate
I put my life in these records so just press play
Mi go deep inna di levels like an x-ray
Wah mi read woulda put pressure pon yuh head space
Dem a dead-weight
MI HAVE DI WEIGHT OF DI WORLD ON MY SHOULDERS SO EVERYDAY A LEG DAY"
"Many are called but di chosen are few
Haffi close - who yuh holding on to
Some a dem a vampire, yah soul dem waan use
Drain yuh like battery
Blow you like fuse
DON'T KNOW DEMSELF, MI SURE DEM CONFUSED
DI MORE DEM CONSUME, DI MORE DEM UNTRUE"
You could say the same (hopefully you've caught on with what I'm doing for EVERY SINGLE TRACK on this album by now) (thought I'd try something, fittingly, different this time) with the old school Dancehallish 'We Dem Wah', breezing itself to near the head of this lyrical masterclass.
"A which natty dat, just ah chat a buncha ting
A siddung pon di riddim, like a lizard pon di limb
Ah grab di microphone, a bagga lyrics him ah fling
And slew Goliath just like a David wid a sling
DI PEOPLE DEM AH LISTEN AND YOU COULDA DROP A PIN
AND GRANNY MESMERIZED AND SHE NUH KNOW WHAT HAPPEN
Style weh mi gi her have her waistline ah spin
Lockdown Jamaica and mi lockdown foreign
Fly cross di stage, a bagga lyrics man ah bring
Retro style but di style genuine
Flow dem precise like a needle or a pin
WI NO SIDEKICK LIKE BATMAN NOR ROBIN
SUPERMAN AH TEST MI AND HIM STILL NEVA WIN
Give him two high foot and just go kick off him chin"
Kabaka Pyramid puts nary a damn TOE in a wrong position during the entire duration of 'We Dem Wah'. It's the type of song I would have LOVED to take back thirty or forty years ago and put it in the age of its riddim, just to see how fans from back then (my parents' age) would have reacted to it. In 2026, it's flames. No site of the fires outing on 'Cyaa Cool Di Fyah', AT ALL and DIRECTLY.
"Wi light a fyah pon dem depopulation plan
Tell dem seh wi dem caan hide no information from
Bill Gates and him vaccines are di greatest scam
So dem create dem disease fi get dem paycheques stamped
Dem have di money fi end world poverty
BUT DEM AH FLY, GO A MOON AGAINST THE EARTH'S GRAVITY"
"The Lyrics Tape" wraps up its first half with another of its definitive highlights. I hope you've been paying attention, taking notes (there may be a quiz at some point) and let us proceed!
"Jah Jah shine yuh light inna di darkness
Know seh mi nuh perfect, mi nah faultless
Still mi just ah work and trust di process
Protect mi from di demons dem weh heartless
Mi name might not be trending still, regardless
DEM NAH GO SI NO ENDING TO MY PROGRESS
Wid certain type of energy, mi nah flex
Dem lef mi out dem plans but still mi nah vex
Mi just ah do mi ting, ya know
Work pon mi vocals; mi well waan fi sing, ya know
Nuff nah no hope and wi dem si win, ya know
So you can achieve anything once yuh skilled enough
Caan be delusional all if yuh know yah great
NUFF LOST IN DELUSION AND SEH DEM AH RUN DI PLACE
RASTA A NO RAT, MI NAH GO RUN INNA DEM RACE
No time - lava splash inna dem face"
You really could have named the whole damn album "Higher Learning" and have been just fine because that's what it is. This tune, I'll get into just a little bit more because I really like its direction and although it kind of spirals to make that point (and that's a good thing), 'Higher Learning' is DEFINITELY one of the most direct on this album. The song is just about progressing and improving -- whatever that may mean for you -- and you put that in the context of "learning". You can also say "thriving" or "winning" or even "trying" and maybe even "failing" (sometimes you must go back in order to go forward) and the Pyramid acknowledges all of that. 'Higher Learning' is BRILLIANT. Most of the songs on this album sorta/kinda are or are in at least spurts and bits and pieces but I have to stress in this instance because that umbrella-ing theme really ties in well with the actual music. 'My Baby' is your changeup and it's probably precisely what you're thinking: It's a love song.
"And she loves mi and I love her
Spend time with me while I'm on earth
YOUR STYLE BRINGS PEACE, I know your worth
A diamond piece; the finest pearls
Yuh style and grace is clear to si
Just know your place is here with mi
I si your face everywhere I be
I keep you safe, you're the air I breathe
Who dem waan fi trick, dem caan fool mi
Girl you a di only one mi si that really knew mi
So much compassion, you're patiently rooted
ALLA MY FLAWS, I JUST TRY TO IMPROVE IT
Still she love mi and still she nuh judge mi
And when I was struggling, she put no one above mi
And now we mek it out and we're living in luxury
But di only ting that matters - when yuh kiss and yuh hug mi"
Love songs are tough. They can be kind of sappy and just... too damn mushy at times and I'm not going to exaggerate the quality of 'My Baby' (that doesn't sound right but you know what I mean). It does NOT rank amongst the best on "The Lyrics Tape" but READ IT! Is it one of the best WRITTEN love songs of its kind that I've heard??? Yeah. Yeah. Probably! It's very good, very SMOOTH and just styling as the obligatory love song and leaving it as such will prevent you from hearing some truly impressing wordplay - even in this capacity that you RARELY think of for such displays (it is super unusual because love songs usually win with a SOUND. This sound isn't amazing but what is said, on the other hand, is a different matter altogether. Maybe 'My Baby' did work for you but didn't necessarily get you moving at all. If that's the case (and even if it isn't), check one of the goodest (HUH) times to be had, 'Rotation'.
"They don't want to si us unite
Wid Reggae music, we'll be alright
Just gimme more roots and mi heritage
Music is where it is
It help mi pick and choose all di truths from di heresy
Fat piece a riddim, mek I use up di leverage
FLOWING LIKE DI JUICE AND DI BEVERAGE"
'Rotation' also serves a purpose and a damn delightful one. Listen to this beautiful sound and let it do whatever it does for you... then pass it on. Play it for someone else. Let them hear it and love it and maybe they'll pass it on as well. Love the riddim there as well. It isn't THE GREATEST THING I'VE EVER HEAR but it works well for that tune. Something about the early days of 'Roll Up' REALLY caught my attention and I did think I was about to hear something special and, in spurts, I suppose, I did.
"Sometime it's hard
When everything ah stress mi out, mi need a draw
Di only thing weh get mi out this prison wall
MI FIND OUT FROM MI SMALL - SEH DI HERB AH LIFT MI UP WHEN TIME MI FALL
Mi no really waan depend pon dis, but mi haffi mention this-
More time mi waan fi travel to a next dimension quick
Mi nuh waan fi use nothin weh psychedelic
Cause mi dun psyche already
And this anxiety a kinda heavy
I just wanna roll up and set my mind at ease
I just wanna roll up and smoke some high grade trees"
The kind of easy nature (it's.... calm but there is a underlying sternness to it, I should say) to 'Roll Up', when bubbling around the topic, gives this one a unique feel to it. The beginning (right when it first kicks in), however, is downright EPIC as everything starts to develop with this beautiful drumming. Lastly I the very HEAVY 'Action', which I had heard prior to the album's release and while it isn't another remake of the tune of the same name by Nadine Sutherland, Terror Fabulous and about sixteen other dudes, it is a nice way to end "The Lyrics Tape".
"Mi nuh dweet fi di likes
Mi nuh dweet fi di comments
Just ah do mi best wid my God-given talents"
Like several of the tunes here, 'Action' is really just a statement. It's poetic and it has a musical aspect (it is a song) but Kabaka Pyramid had something to say, he found a way to say it and 'Action' was what come of it.
There're a few tunes on "Rebel Music - The Lyrics Tape" that don't really follow the expected course of having a chorus and bridges and things like that. They're literally comprised of Kabaka Pyramid just getting things off his chest or displaying his "God-given talents" and that's just fine. I also want to say something of the music on this album. It most certainly is not the main attraction but, for the most part, it's just fine and it never threatens to take the show away from the actual star, which're the words being spoken.
Overall, I do hope that we appreciate Kabaka Pyramid and the others that I've mentioned and others still - like REEMAH, Jr. Gong (who is an executive producer for this release through Ghetto Youths International) and CAPLETON) - for such a powerful talent that they possess because it's something that, again, doesn't tend to be stressed so much in Reggae the way it does in other genres, particularly Hip Hop. In saying that, the Pyramid has clearly been influenced by Hip Hop so that maybe explains his immediate confidence in his lyrical ability, especially. Confidence can be misguided or just flat out wrong, however, and we've seen examples of that in the past. This is not one of those cases. In an arena of talented gifted writers, on "Rebel Music - The Lyrics Tape"Kabaka Pyramid explicitly states his case for PERHAPS having the single sharpest pen of them all. Excellent.
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