Discography: Lady Saw

Though Beenie Man once proclaimed himself the 'King of The Dancehall' (and technically does so over and over again every time someone listens to that song) (and would do so again if you asked him to) and has certainly had a sensational career, ultimately such a declaration, in regards to whoever, is a matter of opinion. Someone could (and has), rather easily, say the same thing about Yellowman (whose inherent nickname is 'KING' -- as in - “King of the Dancehall") (biggup King Yellowman), Shabba Ranking, Bounty Killer and a number of other artists as well. HOWEVER, when it comes to the matriarch of the genre, things are much more clear and are, essentially, a matter of fact. Despite the presences of a few longtime peers who have been ultra-talented and have made great contributions to the music, the title of 'Queen of The Dancehall' is one which is virtually indisputable it currently belongs and has belonged to infamous Lady Saw for a long time and, again, even with the arrival of newer crucial talents throughout the years, even THOSE artists are likely to give her the crown. Today we take a look back at part of her journey and how she has come to be one of the most respected stars the genre has ever seen. Discography: Lady Saw

The music of Lady Saw

"Bare As You Dare” [Diamond Rush Productions - 1992]

Run it. Although Lady Saw's actual debut set, “Bare As You Dare”, has been all but forgotten two decades on, this is an album which would directly set the stage for what was to come for the rising DJ. The Sampalue produced project featured a version of Saw well ahead of her prime years, but still exceedingly capable in just her early twenties at the time. The title track, which featured Ghost, stands out now by memory, but it does so after a pair of her early big hits, 'Find A Good Man' and the downright outrageous 'Stab Out The Meat', in its Hip-Hop remix form. There was also 'Bad Inna Bed' and a couple of others. Definitely not her opus, the debut still very much carried out its purpose and you'd have to dig hard to find it these days, but it still does hold a nostalgic value (though nearly all of it would be inhaled by the next release).

"Lover Girl" [VP Records - 1994]

Upgrade. It wouldn't take very long at all for Lady Saw to attract the attention of the label with whom she would do her business for the next thirteen years, VP Records, and in 1994 she would begin her working relationship with the label with "Lover Girl". It is very interesting now, looking back, at how this album came through. It was very much a 'mainstreaming' (in terms of in Reggae circles and only in Reggae circles at the time) of the young controversial star. To make the point, tunes would be drawn in combination with Frankie Paul, Luciano and even the legendary Dennis Brown. "Lover Girl", essentially, was an expanded installment of its predecessor. It would share NINE of the ten tracks on "Bare As You Dare", including most of the more risqué material (DUH!), but it was pushed alongside softer and more conscious moments for the more apprehensive Reggae fan who, obviously, responded. 

"Give Me The Reason" [VP Records - 1996]

Good wuk. Personally, there aren't many more musically pleasing vibes to my ears than a prime level of Lady Saw and although you could argue that her prime years were somewhat brief, what she did give us was terribly impressive. To my opinion, only one album captures that MAD sound better than "Give Me The Reason" ("Raw" not included, of course) which, like its two predecessors, was also produced by Sampalue. Over the riddims of the late 1990's/early 2000's, Saw was dominant and it was shining all over this set. Also, while you do get what you'd expect on songs like 'Good Wuk', 'Darnest Things' and the retrospectively HILARIOUS 'Life Without Dick':

"Life without Dick could never be nice

If mi caan have Dick then I will never survive!

When all mi friend gone, him stand by mi side

Keep mi alive morning, noon and night"

Saw also gave bonafide winners of social and cultural significance, as well as tunes against those who thought her some type of 'one trick pony'.  Check 'Condom' and the downright masterful 'What Is Slackness?'

"Dem ah blame Lady Saw fi di system dem create

When culture did ah clap, dem neva let mi through di gate"

There was also the countrified title track which remains one of her most well known pieces to date and has well contributed to the album named after it not fading away as, despite not being hugely popular, "Give Me The Reason" is still well known and has aged very well. 

"Passion" [VP Records - 1997]

Passion project. Speaking of remaining popular - Even sixteen years after its release, one could very well make the case that "Passion" is still Lady Saw's most well known album. I would also make that case and, to go further, I would also say it is her finest. From the standpoint of strictly being a display of talent, "Passion" was off the charts. It was simply somewhere else and despite its title and its cover and everything, which was almost over-sexual, to my opinion, "Passion" was a GRIMY album. It had a great deal of bite to it and that was where it actually excelled. Songs such as 'Sycamore Tree', 'Na Nurse', 'Woman Wi Name' (MAD!), 'Long Til It Bend', 'A Just The Wuk', Wuk With You' and others featured a version of the DJ at or near her finest. Others still such as 'Raw' and 'Healing' added more flames as did the presence of the likes of Beenie Man, Shaggy, Merciless and Hip-Hopper DJ Clue. 

"99 Ways" [VP Records - 1998]

100%. Though not as good as its most immediate predecessor, "99 Ways", very much, was a similar album to "Passion". In this case, its cover would certainly suggest what was to come, again, "99 Ways" was wonderfully unpolished and rough around the proverbial edges. What it lacked in the amazing - the album would make up for with consistency (it may even be more steady than albums on this post which I regard as greater pieces of work on the whole). Numerous highlights included the title track, 'Oh Yeah', 'No Matta Me', 'Don't Even Stress Dat' and others. Tapped to help were Red Rat, TOK and Sanchez, who joined Lady Saw on a remake of the classic 'Picture on the Wall' by Freddie McKay. Also, as usual, Saw worked alongside some truly brilliant maestros for "99 Ways" including Tony and Dave Kelly, Shocking Vibes, Main Street and Sampalue. This was an album which may not have aged well in terms of its popularity, but it is still a very good set and one which is well worth the pick up if you haven't already… and who knew it would be SIX FUCKING YEARS before she'd make another one. 

"Strip Tease" [VP Records - 2004]

'Loser' w/Ce'Cile

Been so long. For reasons which are not totally related to music, "Strip Tease" may just be the most INTERESTING album Lady Saw has ever done. First of all is the obvious: It had been six years from last we received an album from Saw and, as you can see, it took her all of three years to do her previous three album releases and although she routinely released singles along the way and her albums were somewhat like compilations (which was just what they did at the time), Lady Saw's albums were very big deals and were, presumably, quite successful also. Also, if I recall correctly (and I rarely do), we knew about this album well ahead of its release date and even knew that it was going to be called "Strip Tease" maybe more than a year before it reached. On top of that, I think that "Strip Tease" was the first album she did when her status as being the 'Queen of The Dancehall' had been cemented and solidified. Saw was still somewhat of an up and comer prior to it, but the six years, which had also been fruitful for her, had changed all of that. "Strip Tease" was not her greatest piece of work, but it wasn't bad either and it was also very popular -- carrying hits such as 'I've Got Your Man', 'Man Is The Least' and 'Loser', alongside Ce'Cile ensured that. There were also impressive moments such as 'Thug Loving', 'Best Pum Pum' and the similarly titled [WHAT!] brilliantly chaotic 'Pretty Pussy'. Voicemail and Sizzla Kalonji also guested.

"Walk Out" [VP Records - 2007]

'No Less Than A Woman [Infertility]'

Pack your bags. Following a relationship which dated back thirteen years and had produced five previous albums, Lady Saw had fulfilled her final contractual obligations with VP Records and was set to "Walk Out" with her sixth and final project for the label. Here was another album, obviously, with a great deal of 'back story' to it, but I'm happy to say that my lasting impression of "Walk Out" is about the music and just how good it was. It is no worse than the third best album she's ever done and, perhaps, if you wanted to say that it was better than "Give Me The Reason", it wouldn't be such a huge stretch (I'd disagree with you, of course, but you could make the point). "Walk Out" was kind of an updated edition of the "99 Ways" album. It, too, was kind of rough, but it was HYPE as well and really brought in a great deal of energy. 'Chat To Mi Back', the title track, 'Me and My Crew', 'Big Up', 'It's Like That' (MAD!) definitely brought the force to the album and even when things slowed down, Saw managed to thrill. Most notable was 'No Less Than A Woman' on which she, very publicly, expressed her feelings on being unable to give birth to her own children.

"My Way" [Toasting Music - 2010]

At the controls. For her first non-VP Records album in almost twenty years, Lady Saw would deliver the very fittingly titled "My Way", for Toasting Music and her very own Diva Records imprint. Looking back, she did very well on her own. She gave us a fifteen track album which was (and remains) readily available on both digital and physical format (something she gets even higher marks for these days because such a thing isn't always inevitable, even from big named artists) and, in retrospect, in its time "My Way" was very well promoted and people seemed to, appropriately respect the project at least because it was a Lady Saw album. There were videos. There was some type of contest and a great deal of general discussion surrounding the release which was a big deal. Musically, "My Way unsurprisingly had a freer feel to it, but it wasn't such a great deviation from the "Walk Out" album either. It didn't come in with a 'mainstream' approach. I've really grown to enjoy the title tune from this album, which now ranks alongside my initial favourites here such as 'Tighta' and 'Me Hold Yuh'. The album also, presumably, is a bit of an indication of how Lady Saw plans to do her album business in the future and as it is now approaching three years (and she has been having another nice year in 2013), 

'My Mother's New Home': A Review of "My Way" by Lady Saw

What would we do without Lady Saw? In my opinion, if there is anything that is to be successful in regards to human beings - ANYTHING - then there simply must be a significant feminine presence involved. Music is definitely included in such a statement and in the case of Dancehall music; I’m not at all going to make any reservations on saying that no female to date has had a greater “presence” than one Ms. Marion Hall - bka Lady Saw. Having reached the point in her career where she can claim nearly two decades in the business, Lady Saw’s career has seen the coming and going (and coming back and leaving again) (and coming back again) of so many female artists, several of whom were supposedly her ’heirs apparent’ that her longevity is . . . Well it’s honestly somewhat strange at this point and not only that, but it seems that despite, age-wise, being well passed her prime years of efficacy as a Dancehall artist, it seems as if, on the world stage, each year (even when she isn’t very active), she gets more and more popular in some respect. Now would certainly be the time to have her popularity at an all time high as Lady Saw ventures out as a businesswoman and an entrepreneur unlike she ever has in the past with her brand new album, the very appropriately titled ”My Way”. The course set in order to get to this point jumped up earlier this year when it was announced that Saw had, in fact, ‘walked out’ (more on that in a bit) and had gone the independent route and on her own, but such notion wasn’t met with the same type of FAKE joy which is typically given to more ‘mainstream’ artists when they do such a thing because they can no longer attract the interest of the big labels. Quite the contrary - Lady Saw had apparently been planning on doing this for some time and the fact that the album was actually on its way was a GREAT thing for her and, by extension, a great thing for Dancehall music in general which, as usual, is starved in 2010 for big name artists to release albums. While Lady Saw definitely bolsters that tiny lot (and if you don’t count Buju’s forthcoming album, which certainly isn’t Dancehall, then outside of Vybz Kartel (which was a re-release technically), she is the biggest name in the Dance to have an album in 2010 thus far and in the foreseeable future). What she also does, more importantly, is to give herself all the opportunity to cash in on her popularity and her WORK throughout the years and does so in the most fitting and most well deserved situation - On her own terms.

Lady Saw has released six studio albums to date in her career, prior to this one, and each and every one of them - from 1994’s ”Lover Girl”, up to 2007’s ”Walk Out”, appeared on industry leader VP Records. The label has also released two of her three greatest hits compilations [ ”Raw: The Best of Lady Saw” in 1998 and last year’s ”Extra Raw: The Best of Lady Saw”], countless singles and who knows how much other merchandise as well. To put it simply - Lady Saw is a VP artist true and through. Even with her final album for the label, the aforementioned "Walk Out”, it almost seemed as if her ’walking out’ and satisfying her contract had become a selling point for the marketing of the album. She was even seen on the cover dressed up, bags packed and heading out of the door and I would say that such a promotion would say exactly how much the label did TRULY like Lady Saw as the two entities had seemingly ‘grown up‘ together in the business. So, for her to go on and continue without the label behind her is yet another very interesting subtext to this already absolutely deliciously fascinating situation. Instead of VP Records, Lady Saw’s own Diva Records is at the helm of ”My Way”, along with Toasting Music, a label which was previously unknown prior to 2010 when they dropped the very smooth 18 & Ova Riddim (and if they do intend to stick around, then a Lady Saw album is definitely a very nice way to make an entrance). Besides the story behind the album coming through, of course, there’s the most important matter of the actual music itself. To my opinion, there was a time from the late 1990’s up until the early 2000’s where Lady Saw delivered what was literally PERFECT Dancehall music. She’d mastered the kind of ‘bouncing’ Dancehall riddims of the time and she didn’t seem to enjoy the same results when things got exceptionally hard and just dark, in terms of the riddims, though she did adjust and come back even stronger. But from a musical standpoint, the last thing heard about Lady Saw’s vibes was also very interesting. It may’ve been 2008-2009 where Saw claimed that she was taking her long crafted x-rated style and making it a thing of the past and she had changed her stripes. Time-wise, ”My Way" would be the first album on which the change would be reflected and ‘visible‘, but ultimately (just as you may’ve expected) (or at least you should have expected) (and hoped), there is certainly enough of the ‘old’ Lady Saw around to give it that genuine ‘extra rated’ appeal that she has literally trademarked in her sound. The album also covers a bit of what Saw has been up to as of late, as she has definitely scored a few nice tunes in recent months (one in particular) which have also kept her name around (as did featuring alongside Nicki Minaj on ‘Dang A Lang‘, a tune on ”Amazing”, the most recent album from US Hip-Hopper, Trina) and current. Therefore, seemingly the only question remaining is HOW GOOD is Lady Saw’s ”My Way” album and how good will it do. As for the latter, we’ll just have to wait, but I’d imagine that the inevitability of this one being plastered on the Reggae page of every version of iTunes will probably help, as will the likelihood of it being similarly shown on ’world music’ pages of a wide variety of types. The former, however, we can answer quite clearly and right now: Fans of Lady Saw’s music, new, old and somewhere in the middle are easily certain to enjoy ”My Way”.

Why? The album proves not to be such a big deviation from what she’s been doing in recent years. That shouldn’t be surprising for, despite just how big and powerful as her former label has gotten and the that she went five and half years without a studio release, REALLY it’s going to be hard for me to imagine someone telling Lady Saw what she can and cannot do musically. So while this album is OFFICIALLY called ”My Way”, the phrase could also, presumably, be used as a title for the last decade or so of Lady Saw’s career, if not the whole of it.

“Mi no need no makeover
Mi no waan no butt lift
Mi no waan no belly tuck
No facelift”

A rather agitated Lady Saw starts things out on the album’s first track, the cougar-affirming ‘Every Way Mi Go’. Basically what Saw is saying on the tune is that she ages very well and she eschews the miracle creams and not-so miracle surgery in favour of just taking care of herself properly and working out. There is certainly a greater message here, but the tune is literally vintage Lady Saw in terms of the attitude and while hopefully the message does carry through, the IMMEDIATE sonic appeal is what makes it an excellent starting point (oh and I don‘t care what you have done Lady Saw, just don’t touch the nose. Not the nose). And then we get a little crazy on the following tune, ‘Your Chick’. This one sounds like a very ‘moody’ Pop song, but again, it’s Lady Saw’s character which shines through as she slowly, but surely (and aggressively) pieces together the notion that the otherwise pretty lonely friend of her man’s isn’t so lonely at all because she . . . Well she has Lady Saw’s guy. You take any other artist and I probably am completely indifferent to the tune in their hands, but this one gets REALLY infectious REALLY quickly in Saw’s frame. ‘Bigga Than’ - With that BOUNCE reminds of that old school type of Lady Saw sound and while it doesn’t quite reach those levels it comes damn close and in the process not only proves itself one of the strongest lyrical attractions of ”My Way”, but one of the strongest tunes altogether. I always feel inclined to mention a song which doesn’t fall within the first few, but it’s probably the first tune on the album everyone knew that was going to be on the album, it’s the first single, ‘Party ‘Til December’. I’m not overly thrilled with this one and I kind of was surprised that they pushed this one initially because it is billed as a ‘party song’, but the vibes are kind of . . . Different? It’s not like a fast and stereotypical dance song, it’s slower and COOL is the word I’m thinking of. It certainly isn’t bad (not even close0, but from the reaction I’ve seen, it’s been doing well so, excellent choice by someone, albeit a bit strange.

When I heard that Lady Saw would (officially) be running the show on ”My Way”, I fully expected her to begin calling in favours in terms of who she would collaborate with, but she didn’t do that at all and instead she keeps the combinations short at just three (see note). The first and by far the biggest name of the trio is rap star, Eve, who checks in on ‘He Is At My House’. You could have probably predicted such a tune between the two, but the way it rolls through is pretty smooth and I haven’t heard a damn thing from Eve (who used to be a bonafide cutie) in more than a little while, so it was nice to hear from her as well and I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see Saw on her next project either. Camar always seems to be an artist seeking to increase his own profile in the music and his tune alongside Lady Saw, ‘Muscle Control’, is one which will certainly help him on that. I’ll speak more about this in just a second, but this is a very nice and danceable type of song, but . . . Yeah there’s something else about it. And lastly is dancer turned DJ, Ding Dong, who guests on ‘I Can’t Wait’. I’m not even a little bit of fan of Ding Dong’s music, but when you do well I give credit and he does well on the kind of love duet song between the two - He actually deejays and doesn’t break out into dance instruction in the middle of the tune, which is to be celebrated, given his history.

Of course, left on her own, Lady Saw doesn’t take the quality of ”My Way” down at all, in fact, as you might imagine, she takes things even higher. The title track is an excellent example. Chances are that you, like me, won’t immediately like this song. It’s very very strange in the way that it’s arranged - It’s not very smooth (outside of that chorus, of course), but it kind of is. I’m also having a very hard time imagining this one not receiving a significant response from the masses for some reason. Call it a Lady Saw special, but the tune works and in terms of the title and how it’s said (“I’m doing it MY WAY”), it definitely makes a powerful statement for the album in general, even though she’s just speaking about how well she treats her special man. ‘Cyaan Get Me’ is a WICKED tune and it is an example of what I meant earlier when I said that Saw had adjusted to the harder riddims, in place of the ‘lighter’ ones which she (at least in my opinion) absolutely dominated. There is some SERIOUS deejaying on the tune which Saw uses to make the point that it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than you might imagine to catch her eye. You’ll also want to check the somewhat hilarious ‘Facebook’, where Lady Saw tries to keep the drama from her social networking sites:

“Mi no waan no mix up pon mi Facebook
Mi no waan no drama pon mi Myspace
If a gyal have a issue haffi deal wid
War mi face to face”

There’s also another BIG tune down the stretch of the album by the name of ‘Beg U’ which should hit hard for the Dancehall heads because that one is SERIOUS. And speaking of “serious”, there’s what is easily my LEAST favourite tune on the album, ‘Crazy Love’. The song is TOO SERIOUS or maybe too crazy. I kind of feel dumb criticizing it on the basis of something which is CLEARLY overdone and done so on purpose, but if you listen to that song and feel like you just got scolded (and I mean personally), for not doing a damn thing then you aren’t alone. Thankfully, Saw turns things back positively for the album’s closer, a tribute to the women, ‘I’m A Woman’. I’m surely not the target audience for this song (nice, beautiful and ambitious woman vs. angry, not too easy on the eyes and jaded old ass man) and it isn’t amongst my favourites, but I can definitely hear its power and ultimate significance so, yes you may’ve very well expected such a song and when carried out it is done so very well.

So that’s it right? New Lady Saw album, ”My Way”. OH! There is the matter of the three little songs that I didn’t mention which feature the old school, a little dirty and incredibly tight lipped under the sycamore tree Lady Saw who just happens to be my favourite. The first example of such a brilliantly powerful entity comes on the Ward 21 produced ’Tighta’ which is exactly what you think it is about. It’s also damn captivating. Not as captivating or ‘gripping’, however, as the album’s finest moment, ‘Me Hold You’. It’s very gimmicky. The tune is a counteraction (in the friendliest way possible) to Gyptian’s hit tune ‘Hold Yuh’. What can I say? I LOVE this song, this is vintage Lady Saw and had she come with it originally, I think it would have been every bit the hit as Gyptian’s breakout tune. The song precedes the aforementioned ‘Muscle Control’ alongside Camar, which also fits in well here, but both precede the tune ‘5 Minutes’ . . . Now I’ll make this point quickly and then put a nice conclusion on this review because there is most certainly something else for me to write it never ends. First of all, the tune is GENIUS, the arrangement of it - Everything (especially the kind of ‘cliffhanging’ piece on the chorus). I love the tune. However, Lady Saw. Mumma Saw. Queen. Marion. If you have it ‘tighta’, the ‘hold’ and the ‘muscle control’ like that - Then the fact that all you get is ‘5 minutes’ . . . Yeah. No shock. None. I mean . . . You should be happy.

Overall, besides what appears to be a brain fart from the legendary DJ, Lady Saw’s ”My Way” is everything that it should’ve been in my opinion. As I said, despite the changes that have gone on behind the scenes (and in front of the scenes for that matter), the actual music itself isn’t very much of a deviation at all from what we know for being Lady Saw’s vibes. However, what I will say is that she probably hasn’t had an album which was as all-encompassing. Throughout ”My Way” Saw does really focus on a variety of different subjects and despite the granted fascination with her . . . Yeah - She does them all very well which is exactly what you’d expect. In situations like these, which involve a major change in ‘scenery’ for an artist in some form, I usually feel the need to speak on how newer fans might react, but I don’t in this case, because besides the few newer ones who will come just because they just heard of her, I really get the feeling here that despite being on her own, this album is for Lady Saw fans. If you are such a person or are potentially such a person - Then ”My Way” is nearly a gold mine for you because what it is, is the same Lady Saw who’s been thrilling you for years. Because despite this one being officially Lady Saw’s “way”, something tells that the undisputed Queen of Dancehall music has been doing it her way for years. Well done.

Rated: 4.35/5
Diva Records/Toasting Music
2010
CD + Digital
{note: The CD for the album has the tune 'I Can't Wait' but lacks 'Beg U' and vice-versa for the digital version of "My Way"}




Lady Saw @ Myspace
Lady Saw @ Facebook

Coming Soon: Extra Raw. . . The Best Of Lady Saw

01.Find A Good Man

02.Hardcore [It’s Raining]

03.Good Wuk

04.Give Me The Reason

05.Want It Tonight featuring Shabba Ranks

06.Healing featuring Beenie Man

07.Sycamore Tree

08.Na Nurse

09.Hice It Up

10.No Matta Me

11.Don’t Even Stress Dat

12.I’ve Got Your Man

13.Man Is The Least

14.Loser featuring Ce’cile

15.Chat To Mi Back

16.Me and My Crew [The Rae]

17.Silly Dreams

18.No Less Than A Woman

If ever you should get caught up by the grand strides being made by Women in Reggae music, here might be something to keep you grounded. In the Roots arena, things are quite a bit more crowded with Etana and Queen Ifrica sitting atop the pack in Jamaica and Dezarie, Queen Omega and a whole heap of others vying for similar respects. However, in Dancehall, despite moves being made by the likes of Spice, Timberlee, Tifa, Alaine and the addictive Pamputtae and older heads like Macka Diamond and the DIVINE Tanya Stephens still doing their things, there remains a clear choice as the Dancehall’s EMPRESS. On July 14th, VP Records delivers their second MASSIVE greatest hits compilation of Dancehall STAR Lady Saw, Extra Raw: The Best of Lady Saw. Saw can rather easily make the greatest claim of having more to do with the development of Dancehall as a functioning unit than any other woman in the game currently and probably ever as she is the one standing STILL without ever having taken a substantial break away from recording while some of her more popular peers, like Patra, haven't remained on course. Thus, to her go the spoils as one of VP's most significant and simply BEST artists over the years is once again given the royal treatment which she definitely deserves.

More than a decade ago VP delivered a similar project, the nineteen tracked Raw: The Best Of Lady Saw, which is probably one of the best greatest hits albums of the modern era. Way back then, the album was a testament to the amount of work and contributions the St. Mary native had made to the Dancehall and the fact that ELEVEN years later, she's still around and she's been around long enough to give us a sequel. The new album features, by my count, six tunes in common with the first, however, the balance of the twelve focus more on later efforts, like those from the Strip Tease album and the Walk Out album.

To my ears, one of the most AMAZING joys in Dancehall is to hear prime Lady Saw riding those almost old school riddims circa 1994 and the first album was FULL of those including hits like Hice It Up and, of course, Sycamore Tree, both of which wonderfully return on Extra Raw. It also WICKEDLY includes an underrated and not so well known combination with former Dancehall ace Shabba Ranking, Want It Tonight, which to my knowledge, has yet to appear on official CD. She also transitioned quite well and both the Strip Tease and Walk Out albums were full of very nice examples of how well Lady Saw has managed to 'upgrade' herself to keep up with the times. Songs like the moving No Less Than A Woman show that perfectly.

So! If you're looking for a bit of a history lesson definitely take a look at Extra Raw. . . The Best of Lady Saw. The album also includes a DVD, which I cannot WAIT to get my hands on, and is sure to become a collectors item as is the overall project in general. In stores July 14th, another BIG celebration of the undisputed Queen Of Dancehall Music (and TANYA has one coming too!).

Rated Potential 5/5 stars

VP Records

Releases on July 14, 2009