MAAD SICK!

The Maad Sick Reggaeville Riddim [Oneness Records]

1. 'Modern Man' by Morgan Heritage

2. 'Siren' by Exco Levi

3. 'Maad Sick' by Gappy Ranks

4. 'Let Jah Be Praised' by Anthony B

5. 'Ites, Green & Gold' by Kelissa

6. 'Rudeboys' by Clay

7. 'Roots With Quality' by Richie Stephens

8. 'How Mi Sound' by Runkus & Royal Blu

9. 'Champion' by Marla Brown

10. 'Raggamuffin School' by Skarra Mucci & Yaniss Odua

11. 'Jamaica' by Macka B

12. 'Reggae Village' by Perfect Giddimani

13. 'Work' by Cali P

14. 'Always Remember' by Caleb Heart

15. 'Modern Man' by Morgan Heritage [Umberto Echo Dubmix]

16. Maad Sick Reggaeville Riddim [Instrumental]

Okay so, surely you remember a sweet little riddim from a few years back by the name of the ReggaeVille Riddim [biggup Da Ville]. That absolutely sprawling project featured stellar efforts from the likes of Etana, Tarrus Riley, Mark Wonder, Sizzla Kalonji and others (in retrospect, do we now consider the biggest hit on the Reggaeville Riddim to be... 'High & Windy'??? I think so) (biggup Teacha Dee) and was easily one of the best sets, of any kind, back in 2012 (truly ridiculous that thing is four years old already!). Well, fast-forward four years on and apparentlly we have something of a sequel at hand. 

The ReggaeVille Riddim [2012]

You're also likely to recall that the orchestrator of the Reggaeville Riddim was the all kinds of reliable Oneness Records from out of Germany. Even prior to that, Oneness had made a mighty claim to being one of the most dependable imprints in the entire genre through various releases (like the General Key Riddim, which I haven't heard in a minute. That thing was so SWEET!) and the case could well be made that the Reggaeville Riddim, at the time, was their most expansive venture  to date - so why not double up. In stores now is the latest creation from the wizards at Oneness Records, the Maad Sick Reggaeville Riddim. Like its predecessor, the Maad Sick is a clearly well-crafted set, brimming with top and diverse vocal talents and while my eyes tell me that one obvious name is missing (who may've been having too much fun with her friends), just looking through this tracklist leaves me with no complaints.

The early leader may just be UK firebreather Gappy Ranks ["Mi mad, mi sick, mi Reggae ville. Neva been a cub scout, I'm a general. Nah go rise no machine, but mi bredda will. Mek attorneys at law haffi send a will. Memba mi mad, mi sick, no penicill. Mi a real Buffalo like mi bredda Bill"] who checks in with the eponymous selection for the riddim, but The Carpenter is joined by the likes of recent Grammy winners, Morgan Heritage, Anthony B, the wonderfully inescapable Macka B (whose 'Jamaica' may just be my favourite Macka B tune in recent memory), Exco Levi, the always blazing Perfect Giddimani whose contribution, 'Reggae Village', is downright utopic and will probably have you wanting to move! And more flames come courtesy of Achis Reggae and earth favourite, Cali P ('Work' is MASSIVE), sweet singing Marla Brown, as well as a pair of combinations, one of which, 'Raggamuffin School' is a most interesting pairing of UK veteran Skarra Mucci and Yaniss Odua from out of Madinina. Want more??? [GREEDY!] Caleb Hart SCORCHES on 'Always Remember' and Oneness is wise to turn the track over to the well-capable hands of Umberto Echo and dubbifies the Maad Sick Reggaeville Riddim masterfully with the Morgans. 

And I probably just mentioned every song on the riddim in one way or another, but who cares what I say?! Make up your own damn mind when you exercise the TINIEST bit of common sense and pick up what is certainly one of the finest productions Reggae has to offer in 2016, the Maad Sick Reggaeville Riddim from Oneness Records, which is in digital stores right now.

'Pillar': A review of "Change The World" by Macka B

Unchangeable. When you look at Reggae music right now and over the course of the past few years or so, you'll probably notice that we're very much in the midst of a changing of times in terms of a great deal of the artists. Even if you go back just a couple of years before that, you'll still see the rapidly changing 'climate' of the music and while that's certainly not something which is new, at the moment it almost seems as if the changing, itself, has become a legitimate attraction in many cases. For example, if you even think about it just a bit, it doesn't seem from a very far time ago at all when we were welcoming the likes of Busy Signal and Aidonia and Mavado to the hierarchy of Dancehall artists and now, while they're still considered young in many aspects, particularly when compared to some of their peers (three in particular), we've already leaped ahead to the likes of Tommy Lee and others who not only seem poised to take the proverbial reins of the music (in a VERY strange fashion), but also may only be babysitting for an even younger group still to come. And it's like that pretty much everywhere with very few exceptions and, really for the full strength of the music, that's a good thing. Still, with that being said, there very much remain specific entities in the music which are still very much viable and have done so without, largely, changing themselves to match the times and, instead, have seen the change welcome them! In this area, we're looking at people Luciano (more on him later), and, probably the biggest example would be someone like Bounty Killer. The Killer has seemingly inspired so much of the coming generation (friends and foes alike) that, really without changing a damn thing, he has not only dealt incredibly well with the changing of the times, but has orchestrated it in some respects as well. Today, we take a look at the UK scene which, as we've thoroughly examined throughout the life of this blog, has been undergoing a landscaping of its own with powerful names such as Mr. Williamz and definitely Gappy Ranks becoming, arguably, the most identifiable acts from out of the region. Still, as you might expect given the type of old school Roots and Lover's Rock music which was far and away the dominant sound coming from the UK not too long ago, they have very much established a group of anchoring artists who continue to be big names and serve up big work. Included in this lot are names such as Tippa Irie, Achis Reggae favourite Lloyd Brown (he'll come back too) and, of course, Macka B. 

Although I don't watch for his output as much as I probably should, Tippa Irie is still very active and anytime I do take a look at what he's been up to, the process is one of catching up to what he's been doing as both an artist and producer alike. Brown - up until last year he was good for an album a year and, obviously, has been amongst the more prolific UK artists and artists of his stature in the entire world, altogether. For his part, Macka B is and has always seemed to be somewhat different from his peers, at least to me. And it was, at least in part, in the way that he managed to distinguish himself that made him such a powerfully interesting figure.  

"More Knowledge" [2008]

The other part of that surely had something to do with him… being phenomenal at what he does. Macka, much like Luciano and Mikey General and very precious group of others (maybe a Prince Malachi, maybe a Yami Bolo) has remained this very stoic and musically incorruptible figure and it's been an image which he has carried proudly throughout his career and one which continues to shine on his brand new album, "Change The World". The last time we heard from Macka B on an album (which wasn't one of Brown's, he did make an appearance on the singer's decent 2010 record, "Cornerstone") was now way back in 2008 when he delivered the nice and expected "More Knowledge". That set was another display of the curious talents of Macka B and although it went overlooked in my opinion, was ultimately a success in terms of getting out his message. That's always been another penchant of the artist's and his most unique delivery which is so flat and so straight forward that it's developed SO MUCH character over the years and has become really a revolving musical signature of his and only his. Also, Macka uses that striking method of approach to underline what his most major of talents is - his writing. I'm not going to sit here and make this point about Macka B being this crazily outstanding lyricist (even though he is but that isn't my point here), but what he is, definitely, is one of the most UNIQUE writers the genre has ever seen. Somewhat like Tanya Stephens, whose style is one which thrives as being based on this HUGE foundation of a supreme level of common sense and intelligence which is then piled upon by copious amounts of genius and, in Macka B's case, a beautiful old school approach and charm and wit which makes his style, although as straight forward as I said, one of a kind, downright inimitable and a complete joy to listen to and write about when he gives us the opportunity. Previously a great deal of Macka's work came via Ariwa Records, while the aforementioned "More Knowledge" was on the Humal Records imprint. "Change The World", however, was actually released on Chinelo Records, which I believe is Macka's own label and this album was their very first venture. You would hope that they would also do other things for other artists (like I said, the last Macka B album reached back in 2008) because the idea of Macka actually DEVELOPING young artists is a powerful one. On "Change The World", however, he was DEVELOPING himself and he did so, as expected, to the tune of yet another strong release. Let's have a listen. 

I can't point to any type of significant change in Macka B's approach on this album or really a different sound or style either. The album's title may give you that type of an idea going into it, but long time fans of the artist's (who should already have this album) are sure to appreciate what they hear here and new fans are just as certain to get a proper introduction to Macka as well through "Change The World" from Chinelo Records. The album gets up and moving via its LOVELY title track which features Macka alongside the aforementioned Luciano, as well as David Hinds from Steel Pulse. This song was a bit more vibrant than I was actually anticipating (for some reason I was thinking of a very slow, almost crawling, type of a social commentary), but it is excellent. The idea here is that the "change" is one which has yet to come, which also changes my early notions surrounding what I was going to hear. The tune is easily one of the album's best and signature moments and, given who is involved, I'd automatically suggest you have a listen if you haven't already. Next in, Macka B tackles the topic of 'Nuclear Energy'.

"Wi no waan no nuclear energy

Nuclear power is the enemy

We got the sun, we got the wind, we got the rain - 

Coming on our windowpane

Wi no waan no nuclear energy

Nuclear power is the enemy

We got the sun, we got the wind, we got the rain - 

Coming on our windowpane

Seh Mother Nature is there for us

And she can care for us and give us all that we need

Radiation is strange to us and it is dangerous and so you better take heed

Dem ah seh dat it is prosperous

At what cost to us?

So mind how you proceed

Politician they lie to us 

So can you really trust and can you really believe?

They're cutting down the trees

They're killing all the bees

They're messing up the breeze and they're polluting all the seas

They're mashing up the soil

Addicted to the oil

And now they realize it only last for a while

And the nuclear waste, you know it isn't safe

What you gonna do with it?

Have you found a place?

I know that if they could, they woulda send it inna space -

Detrimental to the human race"

BOOM! Besides being just about perfect lyrically, this tune is also one of the most sonically pleasing tracks on "Change The World" and one which I immediately gravitated towards. Actually, if you wanted to call it the single most impressive piece here, you wouldn't get an argument from me at all. And then Macka B mines a classically vibed track (and classic/old school riddims abound throughout the album) to dip into one of his favourite topics on the absolutely delightful 'Medical Marijuana'. The tune finds the artist, returning to England after going to California and trying to see if the title subject can run for him as well. This is a lovely tune and one which makes its point while being funny and entertaining concurrently. 

As "Change The World " plays out more and more the real story becomes the very interesting way the tunes are set up. As I alluded to, Macka B's lyrical approach is completely one of a kind and there're several undeniably BRILLIANTLY written and arranged selections on this album. Joining 'Nuclear Energy' and 'Medical Marijuana' is a song like 'Never Played A 45', which was a pretty big hit and deservedly so. Here Macka, besides dealing with the topic precisely, also is basically examining the music as a whole and how many different and new people are coming into it and not really appreciative or even knowledgeable in some cases about what they're dealing with. 

"Well I'm not saying, that you should be playing

The seven inch 45 only

But if you are able, go buy a turntable

You can also get dem with the USB

It's alright to play laptops 

Alright to play CD's

Its alright to play yah MP3's

But don't leave out the vinyl cause you can use them side-by-side with the modern technology"

This song is just gorgeous and a clear big winner on the album. Similarly, you can check a tune like the very clever 'Reggae Daddy' where the artist goes through and identifies the influence of Reggae and it's impact on all of its 'progeny' (literally, the song actually changes in spots, which is just a stroke of genius to my opinion). Macka B touches nicely with 'Can't Sleep' (biggup Capleton) where he talks about some of his fowl living peers in the music who have troubles when laying in their bed at night knowing how much nastiness they've done in the music. You REALLY have to listen to the words on this one (which I really want to write for you, but I'm probably doing that too much right now and it'd be nice to finish this review at some point!), because he takes it in a wide variety of directions, all of which eventually become crystal clear. There's also the DEEP 'Post Code War', which is a social commentary and an excellent one observing an instance of the changing of the times for the worse. The aforementioned Lloyd Brown comes through on the very interesting 'Enemies' which is HUGE. This tune specifically says to give love to people who do not like you and intentionally step in your way because… maybe if you do they won't do that anymore. You'll hear songs and sayings like that in other places - people giving love to "haters" for giving them some type of motivation - but this song is different because it directly says that maybe you can help them see the good in you, what you're doing and even themselves. And I should also mention here, the DELIGHTFUL repatriation anthem 'I Return', which is definitely one of the biggest moments here. This tune won't get very far into itself when you, like me and very likely everyone who has heard it, will begin to start singing along and it isn't just a sonically gifted track, it's packed with a whole heap of knowledge within its swinging flare. Still, my absolute favourite tune on "Change The World" is also the one which I consider to be the most clever, the devastating 'Make A Claim'. 

"I said I want to make a claim!

I'm seeking compensation for my name

Somebody tried to take my culture

I wanna make a claim!

I'm seeking reparation for my name

My heritage and my culture

I'm seeking a solicitor who deh pon di ball

Rest in peace Johnny Cochrane, a you mi woulda call

Hey, cah dis yah claim yah no small

Di whole a babylon coulda fall

I get contacted by firms all the time

Calling me, stalling me on me phone line

Most of the time I doh pay dem no mind

But this time, for some reason, I stopped on the line"

Macka B goes onto go through this song which, almost overly ingeniously, features him trying to make a legal claim for the travesties of the Afrikan Diaspora throughout history. If you've read my work in the past, you might know that I love songs like this which deal with that subject and I don't know that I've heard a single one this powerful in its creativity. BOOM! 

The remaining tunes on "Change The World", while maybe not as immediately and intensely captivating as that lot are just as strong in many respects and even stronger in others in my opinion. A pair of tracks right next to one another and similar in subject, 'Good Woman' and 'Bless U Mama', definitely stand out big as they both, in their own respective way, go about giving honour and praise to the good Women of the world and both are excellent songs to my opinion, particularly the latter which is ultra smile-inducing. VETERAN vocalist Earl 16 joins Macka B in doing a remake of Sylford Walker's [Jah] 'Golden Pen' which is the first of three really powerful praising tunes on this album. The album actually closes with another, 'Still A Seh Rasta', which almost comes off as a freestyle from Macka B, but it has a central theme for the artist which is that, throughout all of his research and all of his time on the earth and seeing things and individuals come and go, Rastafari remains his path in life, which is a MIGHTY statement. The best of these three in my opinion, however is also my second favourite song on the whole of "Change The World", 'Jah Will Provide'. TEARS! I LOVE this song which, on the surface, may seem merely within the pack of thousands of others which you've probably heard similarly, but I'd tell you to go back and have another listen because I did the very same thing and probably on the second or third time through - it just become a DIFFERENT song and something on a much higher level! This song could help a great deal of people if it got the opportunity. And finally is a tune which, I believe, was the first (or second) single from this album, 'You Could Be Wrong', which finds Macka B giving his opinion on the case of Troy Davis and the death penalty in general. This is an interesting piece which, obviously, has a direct subject, but it also comes off so naturally and free, which is a quality that makes you think, even before you get into the lyrics, that it was a very interesting case for Macka B and one which, obviously, he was very passionate about and it stands as one of the finest songs you'll hear on this album altogether. 

"Rasta Soldier" [2012]

I also wanted to mention the fact that from the time when "Change The World" reached, Macka B also has released a fine EP by the name of "Rasta Soldiers" via another example of change in the UK Reggae scene, the  mighty Necessary Mayhem, so pick up this album if you haven't already and then go back and get that one as well. 

Macka B

Overall, I had a rating in mind for this album and, like it seems to so many times, my opinion has changed in analyzing it for the sake of this piece and it's now going to be something ahead of the presupposed 4/5. This album is fantastic and it is for several reasons, not the least of which is that Macka B seems to be in another gear than he usually is and he usually is… much better than just about everyone else. This seems to be even a step ahead of GOOD Macka B music to my ears, which is definitely saying a lot. Clearly he spent the four years in between album releases writing and studying and researching and the results have to be considered one of the best albums of his very active and populous catalogue in "Change The World". Change can be a very good thing in music and no one probably appreciates it more than I do. But certain things should just stay the same - like Macka B remaining one of the most crucial artists in Reggae music today. A fact which hasn't changed in a very long time. EXCELLENT. 

Rated: 4.5/5

Chinelo Records

2012

CD + Digital

Review #398

Nah Stray: A Review of More Knowledge by Macka B

For a genre of music which speaks so much of Righteousness, Upliftment and Positivity in general, if you really start to pay attention to the matter, Roots Reggae isn’t exactly FULL of PURELY positive artists. It seems as if nearly ALL of our artists have had spats or downright stretches of time where they either flirted with the slackness and violent style of vibes before eventually ‘righting the ship’ again (for however short or long a period of time it may stay righted) or was just that type of an artist, full on, before finding a more serene and responsible place in life. Of course, the three main examples would be artists who fell into the latter case, rather than the former in Buju Banton, Capleton and Spragga Benz. Particularly in the cases of Capleton and Spragga who literally built their statuses, initially (and in the case of Spragga that ‘initially’ phase lasted quite a long time), as VERY rude bwoy Dancehall DJ’s of the highest order. It almost seemed ODD that their conversions to Rastafari, not only in life but in music also, even took place. With Capleton I find it hard that someone who sang tunes like Dem Bend, Bumbo Red and Lotion Man would ever find a more peaceful way to do things and would end up singing tunes praising His Imperial Majesty and bigging up the Afrikan Empress and chanting down disrespect of them. Spragga Benz, spent quite awhile as, arguably, the single most slack DJ the Dancehall had seen since the death of the legendary General Echo. The Benz also just happened to be one of the most TALENTED DJ’s as well which made him virtually ‘unignorable’ and from since he has sighted up His Imperial Majesty, his output (although very much slowed these days) has remained just as crucial arguably (although unlike Capleton and Buju forthcoming, Spragga hasn’t TOTALLY abandoned his former vibes). In the case of Buju, the shift seemed to be brought on by the death of his good friend and fellow artist Pan Head, however (who, himself, was apparently undergoing his own shift as well) it was still rather unusual to see that the same man who has HIT with “It’s like boom bye bye inna batty bwoy head” and was the virtually LOCK heir apparent for the title King of the Dancehall, had pretty much left the Dancehall on a consistent set, only to return with very much, more MATURE and less controversial ideas for his Dancehall pieces since. Other examples would be the madness Sizzla frequently engages in still these days and has been for five or six years now; Norris Man’s AWFUL recent run with slackness and violence; I can even recall a tune or two from seemingly CLEAN Junior Kelly with a violent vibes to it; and, most recently, the squeaky clean Luciano who has never recorded such music, however, as more and more details are revealed of his personal life, it seems as if he may be an individual having a difficult time practicing what he preaches. There shouldn’t be too many people throwing stones in Reggae music, at least not as many as you might think.

Aside from relatively new artists who simply haven’t had enough time to screw up (and they will) as of yet and a select few of predominately younger veterans who seem to have stuck to the righteous path (like Queen Omega, like Lutan Fyah and like most of the artists from out of the Virgin Islands), there are VERY few LONGTIME artists who have avoided the more slack and thereby popular type of music. One of those such artists who has approximately THIRTY years in the game to his credit is the UK born and bred veteran chanter/DJ Macka B who also happens to be one of the more underrated and overlooked names in the game as well. As I get more and more into the UK Reggae scene, courtesy of one Lloyd Brown for the most part, and I look in and see artists like lover’s rock specialists Peter Spence, Peter Hunnigale and Bitty McLean it’s very easy to look over Macka B as he doesn’t make that VERY ACCESSIBLE and VERY easy to enjoy style of music as his lover’s rock peers and the biggest complaint that you’ll ever hear of the artist is that he can be somewhat mechanical at times (thus less accessible). HOWEVER, let it be said that, at least to my knowledge, NOT ONCE, in his ENTIRE career has Macka B EVER done any type of material or participated in the making of such material that one would find offensive or degrading (unless you are just living nasty, then I imagine you would have a bit of complaint against him). He has also remained wonderfully active, despite being past his prime in terms of popularity (not in skill AT ALL) and has remained quite popular in certain circles, particularly amongst the more mature crowds. His albums have also remained in relatively steady streams as he has continuously been releasing projects steadily since the mid 1980’s to my knowledge. Now, Macka B arrives with his latest piece for 2008/2009, the very well done More Knowledge. This album comes via Humal Records which I didn’t necessarily recognize beforehand but has apparently been going pretty strong from quite awhile since the turn of the century and the Birmingham, UK based outfit has worked with the likes of Frankie Paul, Admiral Tibet (for whom they released an album named Determination back in 2003), Jimmy Riley and even the aforementioned Junior Kelly (interesting note here: Humal, led by Ransford ‘The Great African’ actually produced what is one of my favourite Junior Kelly tunes of all time, the downright BRILLIANT tune God Bless from the Conscious Voice album). Previously, Macka B’s albums have come via other reputed UK labels, most notably Ariwa and JetStar (and there are some RAS Records releases in there as well) and I was honestly looking forward to seeing him follow the trend of many of his aforementioned peers and heading to Cousins’ Records who, although they seem to be slowing down these days, have virtually locked up the talents once frequented by JetStar who has operationally fallen apparently. Regardless of who gets the honour of putting More Knowledge into stores and onto shelves, this one is SKILLED! You couldn’t and shouldn’t expect less from an undeniable talent such as Macka B and More Knowledge definitely doesn’t disappoint.

If you’ve never really vibed Macka B I have to say that he very well may be one of the most skilled Reggae lyricists to have EVER lived and his style, simultaneously, is one that is SO simple that you may just look around him full on. He writes about the ‘standard’ topics, more or less, but he almost does so in a conversational or a lecturing type of manner whereas other gifted wordsmiths may be more metaphorical, I don’t even think Macka B would know what the hell a metaphor is and he’s better off for it. Reggae fans are better of for the existing of Macka B’s More Knowledge and Macka B drops into his latest album with one its finer outings, the Reggae uplifting tune and fitting one for the opener, Greetings. This song epitomizes EXACTLY what I mean when I say that Macka’s style is one which is so simple but brilliant at the same time as he simply weaves a song saying hello to all of the places in the world, how they say hello in their language. On the surface it’s almost elementary but you listen to Greetings and then imagine how hard it must have been to look at a map and a translation dictionary and write this song and you’ll see is only by a master’s hands that it is created. Big opening definitely (and check the end of the last verse!). The first of three official combinations is next with the aforementioned suddenly controversial Luciano, the WONDERFUL Satan Leave. The team-up here is on paper is impressive already and the two veterans definitely don’t disappoint with the BIG uplifting tune which is, to my ears, the finest piece that More Knowledge has to offer altogether (and its close with a few others including Greetings). HUGE tune. Another tune on that same level is the BEAUTIFUL and well written tune Murderer, a tune on which Macka throws blame for the violence going on at more than just the one who pulls the trigger (as he says, “The one who make the gun, the one who send it come and make the youths shot down, is a murderer, is also a murderer”). It is a concept which I don’t know I’ve heard explored DIRECTLY in Reggae before and it is, of course, a big tune at the same time.

If you favour modern Reggae then you will definitely appreciate some of the topics Macka B explores on More Knowledge and definitely from his very straight forward and simplistic world view which is really refreshing style (someone not trying to sound smarter than they actually are). Such a tune is DEFINITELY Empress Divine which not only throws big praises to the Afrikan Woman, but really steps against those who defile and degrade her. This one is just SOAKED in INTELLIGENCE and a nice charm to it as well and if you aren’t praising your woman then you definitely need this one is massive dosages. The vegetarian anthem Wha Me Eat is a similar tune to the opener which is, yet again, brilliant and maybe even more so. This tune espouses on the virtues of the vegetarian lifestyle and is like other tunes he has done like such and the EXCELLENT highlight comes in the second verse when he just runs down the list of what he eats (and I’m a vegetarian as well so LARGE UP Macka!) and the third verse keeps it going! This is a HUGE tune and really one of my favourites from More Knowledge altogether. Keeping it going, of course Macka B follows the Rastafarian path in life and that is expressed throughout, but specifically on the tune Rasta, which has a nice horn backing which does for the Rastafarian what Wha Me Eat does for the vegetarian (and I’m both, YAY ME!) Another large tune there. And Homeland Africa keeps it going, uplifting the Afrikan nations and all of it’s children worldwide. I love when he says, “Call a Chinese man a Chinese and he’s cool. Call an Indian man an Indian and he’s cool. Call some Black people Afrikan, they look pon you like you’re a fool!”. Definitely need to get back to representing the BIRTHPLACE of our people and Macka is doing his part full on. The second half of More Knowledge well has it’s nice bits as well, particularly two more combinations as well as the title track. The combinations, Oh Jamaica and Original feature the very familiar Justin Hinds and Jimmy Riley respectively. The unforgettably voiced Hinds chimes in on the wonderful acoustic set of Jamaican praise, Oh Jamaica and he definitely teams well with Macka and we well wish he was still with us making this DIVINE music. Jimmy Riley (or ‘Father of Tarrus’ as he is quickly becoming known) comes in on the arguably even more beautiful tune Original which has a big sounding old school vibes and really wins you over by the end and you shouldn’t expect less from such CLASS on both ends. The title track had double interests for me because not only was it one of the biggest tunes on the album named after it, but it also came across the SWEET Determination riddim which backed another favourite of mine from Junior Kelly, Burn Rome (also Conscious Voice album). Kelly did a better job, to my opinion, but Macka isn’t that far behind and is lyrically, of course, even more impressive. Other tunes down the stretch of More Knowledge which more than catch the attentions are Black Christ which takes a bit to get going but once it does erupts into a slow stream of knowledge about the misconceptions of you know who, especially very personal and somewhat humorous observations from Macka B, on Macka B’s interpretations of Him. Big tune. The obligatory herbalist War On Drugs has a bit of a Dancehall swing to it and shoots offensively against those who fights against the marijuana but still readily (and FOOLISHLY) support alcohol, cigarettes and all these other forms of over the counter things. And ending things here is a nicely vibed tune in Would You Like which is a tune for those people who want to reach the heights spiritually but can’t manage to even live on this planet clean. Excellent way to end things there (and lyrically you HAVE TO get into that one).

Overall, big album. Macka B is an artist who I feel is hard to recommend to most people who haven’t been exposed to him and as he is still relatively unknown (especially on this side of the globe), I’m sure that’s many of the people who will be looking at this album and considering it. The ‘hitch’ of course with him is that, as opposed to most artists where I could instead recommend a more accessible piece before the one at hand, I can’t do that with Macka, not only because I’m not as up as I should be on his music but also because his style is one which is constant and hasn’t changed, at least not ostensibly so, in quite awhile to my ears. Therefore, what I will say about his album More Knowledge is that if you are a fan of modern Roots Reggae music (a BIG fan) AND a fan of old school Roots Reggae, then there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll enjoy it. The album, like most of his music as I mentioned, would be relatively easy to follow to your experienced tastes and knowledge and is strictly very MATURE and just damn SMART vibes. For me personally I’d like to see Macka B get more press on this because he is an artist who has a style which I think could literally BOWL over so many Reggae heads. And on More Knowledge, that style has rarely sounded better. Pure Roots from beginning to end and I don’t think Macka B would have it any other way.

Rated 4/5 stars

Humal Records

2008