New from Kalash: Tombolo

"Tombolo" by Kalash [Mwaka Moon Music/Take Two]

Okay so, many a moon ago (like a dozen years or so) (almost exactly, actually), we introduced you to an up and coming fire-breathing artist by the name of Kalash from out of Martinique. He had well caught attentions with early offerings such as 'Pran Pié' with Lieutenant and, even before that, the truly ridiculous 'Bust It Up' alongside Crocadile from out of St. Lucia. Kalash pretty much stayed in our rotation throughout the years, we reviewed his self-titled debut album and mentioned several things the booming voiced DJ was involved in over time. Since then, and during our hiatus, he's remained well active releasing several albums, he's actually become a VERY big name and he's back with his latest, "Tombolo". Kalash's music has seemed to shift more and more towards the Hip-Hop side than I can recall from his earlier work (although I could be wrong about that. Still, listening to his debut, there's more Dancehall in it that he has had in his later work), but he has given Dancehall and Reggae heads a few bites in more recent times, such as the excellent 'Calle La Boca' from his most recent release, 2019's "Diamond Rock", 'Bad Like Me' with Admiral T and others (if you get into his albums, Kalash will give you at least one killer Dancehall or Reggae tune. Check 'System' from "Mwaka Moon", for example). Because of that, when I saw that "Tombolo" was forthcoming and I got a look at the tracklist, I immediately had selected the tune I most wanted to here, 'Everybody Falla', which featured Kalash alongside Dancehall royalty, Bounty Killer. Having now heard the full tune, it did not disappoint. 

And it isn't their first tune together (and from what I can piece together, apparently Kalash grew up a big fan of the Killer's, like so many others), but 'Everybody Falla' is very nice AUTHENTIC DANCEHALL music. Also making appearances are Mavado (on 'My Life', which is also pretty good), Skillibeng, Rvssian and Achis Reggae favourite, Guyane Zouk singer Fanny J. And though not Dancehall (... I don't even know what to call it), check the album's delightful title track as well.

So, if you're looking for something a bit more colourful and varied, definitely check out the latest from an old favourite of ours, Kalash.... just thought I'd let you know. I'm going back bed.

'Make It Happen': A review of "In My World" by Jah Van I

Follow the vibes. Even just as a fan, it can be very a difficult and often somewhat strange experience to really find an exact type of music which works best for you. Reggae music, in particular, is an excellent example of just that as the kind of stereotypical fan of the music is one who has had a rather massive image rearranging over the past decade or so. It's just something which now brings together such a wide and varied lot of individuals and, presumably, many of these people come to the music looking for different things, which they all eventually find in one way or another. Now think about how that must register if you're actually an artist. Of course, you're going to work with those whom you have the most chemistry and, ultimately, success, but as we go on and on and the music spreads out so far, you start to see that sometimes that's a task which is far easier said than done. Just this year we saw the unlikeliest of pairings which linked Swedish based, Ethiopian grown brothers, The Nazarenes, link with I Grade Records from out of St. Croix for their sublime new album, "Meditation". We could draw lines on a map from Ethiopian (and Eritrea originally, if I recall correctly), to Sweden and then to the Virgin Islands so you could see exactly how far spread that project is and in due course we found that it was worth it. You've also seen countless Jamaican acts head to locales through the European continent for similar works, most notably at the moment I'm thinking of Hi-Kee who has now made his home in Italy. Taking the specifics out of matters just think of - A Jamaican who wants to do Reggae finding that his best opportunity for success comes in heading  to Italy. On a far smaller scale we see, basically local by comparison, instances of people like Vaughn Benjamin and Midnite linking with Andrew Campbell, King Cephas and Tuff Lion, Pressure Busspipe and Don Corleon and others (Jamelody and Bobby Digital) who have bridged smaller, sometimes not likely, gaps in order to find the biggest vibe possible. Today we take a look and listen to another such case as Portmore native, Jah Van I, has clearly hit his prime level of efficacy and done so while working through a fairly unusual set.

Royal Warriors Muzik is a label which is based in Martinique and while that certainly can't be called unusual (more on that in a moment), again it is relatively rare, as far as I can recall, for a Jamaican artist to find his musical home in a next location in the region. Of the examples that I gave, only King Cephas' linking with Tuff Lion fits that description and while there're surely several more, it's definitely not common at all. Martinique does have a very established Reggae base, however, while it may not have as big of a wide and reaching presence as the St. Croix and the Virgin Islands, you do see quite a few artists reaching from Madinina who are clearly talented (the obvious change here, of course, is that most of them deliver in French/Kreyol. Names such as Paille, Mighty Ki La and definitely Kalash as of late, highlight the strong Dancehall talents from out of Martinique, while there's also the extremely gifted Saël, a personal favourite of mine, and Straika as well. Another name you should know is that of one Bhy2R who (releases an album every half an hour) comes through on a little label called . . . Royal Warriors Muzik.  

Up until recently that's been the way you generally hear of RWM, doing Bhy2R's music. And he's done a great deal, having already worked alongside the likes of Turbulence, Fire Star, Daddy Morry, the aforementioned Straika and others. The owner of RWM is one Etifier Johann and . . . Yeah, he is Bhy2R, they're the same person. I don't know what were the circumstances via which Jah Van I and Bhy2R (who looks almost exactly like Slikee) originally came together to do work, but it has taken the career of the former and the name of the label of the latter to higher stages as both have well benefited in the partnership. As I said, you only really heard of RWM in doing Bhy2R's music and now they've become a pretty big deal and, previously, Jah Van I existed as Jah Smood, an artist who did have good music (check 'Freedom Streets'), but lacked a proper notoriety. That's changed over the last couple of years or so and the new "Jah Van I", has become a bit of a hitmaker. To place it all in context and to slap a nice package on it in full, Royal Warriors Muzik now presents the debut album from Jah Van I, "In My World". The basic foundation of it is well interesting, as we've just examined, but the obvious next step comes in whether or not it, and JVI's music in general, are any good. To date, the singer has wrapped up a few big tunes in his career and this album collects several of them and it also pushes new[er] pieces as well  to serve as some type of a formal introduction to the rest of the world who may not have been as attentive to the artist. What you are also going to learn, if you are such a person, is that besides coming through under different circumstances, Jah Van I has clearly paid his proverbial dues in terms of sharpening his skills and his successes thus far haven't been the products of flukes at all. Also, again, all the work wasn't for naught as he and RWM have a large amount of chemistry and familiarity in making music together so one could only hope that "In My World" is eventually looked upon as a very productive and fruitful (and hopefully he is the first in a string of artists taking a similar route to success). Right now, however, all that we can do is judge "In My World" for what it is and what it is, is a set which proves itself to be one satisfying debut album. Let's go!

Jah Van I has a very interesting little 'twist' to his style - his vocals. I don't know who I would compare his voice to! He has this thing where it almost seems like he's singing apart from the riddim. It's not like he's singing offbeat or off-key, but it's like he's the leader of the song and the riddim adjusts itself to him as opposed to the other way around, which is the norm. Regardless of how you want to classify and compare him, you do have to admit that whatever it is he's doing when he sings, it works for him. The greatest example of  this (ALL of it) comes on the biggest moment on "In My Life", which doesn't start the album, but I don't have to go in order all of the time (I make the rules!), the HUGE 'Down A Yard' [track #3]. This tune is probably one of the most original and ingenious social commentaries that I've heard from the turn of the century. It's an extremely poignant observation on the state of the times and as Jah Van I sees them, and for me it really was the tune to showcase his immense gifts in the brightest of lights. Joining that signature tune in starting the album are another couple of very familiar pieces, the title track and 'Neva Forget'. The first is song for the women which really went on to do very strong work and despite an opening which I've never liked, the song is nice and even with it having done large things, I still think it's rather underrated. 'Neva Forget', on the other hand, is an even better tune and no less than the third finest flash on "In This Time".

Said album, in its only twelve selections is full of recognizable parts which, to me at least, is a good thing because it shows just how prolific Jah Van I and Royal Warriors Muzik have been together. Along with the first three songs, you may also recall from 'Home Alone' RWM's Jungle Cry Riddim from last year. This is a love song and it kind of makes its place because of its sonics. It is immediately catchy and for that reason, not to be missed. On that same wave is 'Hello Suzy' which is a tune I began just jumped up right before the album reached. The first time I heard it, I didn't really enjoy this tune and I still definitely wouldn't call it amongst my favourites now, but it has moved up slightly in my estimation. I can't imagine it would go much further for me, but have a listen for yourself. Another relatively recent bite, 'Reggae Music', is the album's closer and it, shockingly, kind of has a Hip-Hop vibe to it, but I do like this one. It's the definitive changeup on "In This Time" as it kind of speeds things up and bit and changes the pace to give credit to the music itself ["music is flowing like a river through my mind"]. The other tune I recognized before digging into the album is the joyous 'Tak A Walk', easily one of the best songs aboard.

"I take a walk in the streets sometimes

See di ghetto youth dem ah suffer

Some ah wipe car glass 

And dem caan find bread and butter

And they don't even know -

If they're gonna get a next night dinner

And away dem go

Inna di streets, di slum and di gutter

This is the time

Time is now!

Get up and work, achieve your goals

Life ain't so easy

It used to be before 

So I sing-

This is the time

Time is now!

Get up and work to achieve your goals

Life ain't so easy

It used to be before" 

I love songs that can make a point, a powerful point, and entertain the senses simultaneously and that's what you'll find on 'Tak A Walk' in both instances.

The new songs on the album, for me, also offered some memorable times and perhaps a few to look forward to enjoying and seeing in the future (literally, they make videos for every song) (biggup Stevy Mahy). Surely you've noticed by now that Jah Van I is fond of the love song and two more remain on the album, one of which, the sterling 'Don't Go Back Home', is nearly exceptional. Here we find Jah Van I entertaining a very special woman in his life for the first time who subsequently likes the experience so much that she . . . doesn't want to go home! 'I Need A Girl' is another tune which I'm not overly excited about, but my main complaint here is that it kind of 'teases' the listener. Somewhere in there, not very far from what you end up hearing, is a BIG tune threatening to leap out. The actual results aren't bad, of course, but you get the feeling that there was something more in here. Back to making more social/cultural/spiritual sets (at which he is very strong), the singer continues to impress. Check 'Warrior For A Cause' which I really liked and took as a song suggesting to the masses, indirectly (and directly at times), to really just strive to do positive and make constructive actions in whatever you do - big or small. That ULTRA simple approach is at least a portion of the charm of this track and hopefully it gets a chance to shine like many of the record's offerings. 'Dutty Babylonian' is another one which would do well with such a spotlighting prospects, but maybe not in the same way. Like 'I Need A Girl', you just get the mindset that there was something even better here, but in this occasion, you actually hear that bigger performance as this song goes along and develops into something downright mighty. And lastly is song which is either the album's second or third strongest in my opinion, 'Give Thanks Fi Di Rain'. As soon as this creation dropped in for the first time I SMILED and it didn't disappoint at all. First of all the heavy riddim, which is quite 'moody', may just be the best on the whole of "In My World" and It plays a master painter's backdrop to a song which gives a MAMMOTH thanks and praise for every single piece of positivity and brilliance on the planet. The song also has a very free vibes to it which isn't normally a good thing, because it can kind of make a song sound messy, but here it literally sounds like Jah Van I set down with a subject in his mind and started singing and talking about it and Bhy2R and company just laid a track right behind and these were  those most natural of outcomes. 

My biggest critique of the album is certainly its length. There are twelve songs in all, which is kind of short, but not too bad at all (when you write like I do, you actually look forward to albums with twelve songs on them). But eight of those twelve are less than four minutes long (the title track is actually less than three) and only one is longer than five. So it would've been nice if they did just a bit more and, again, Bhy2R seriously makes new music like everyday, so you know they have the material. But I guess we'll to wait for album number two. 

Jah Van I

Overall, hopefully that sophomore venture isn't very far off at all (if Van I records like Johann, it'll be out by the time I finish this conclusion) (biggup my oldest reader who I still talk with too, John B, who is probably Bhy2R's biggest fan, despite the fact that, to my knowledge, he doesn't comprehend French AT ALL), because the first is very promising. "In My World" is an album and a collection of tunes which I think really shows Jah Van I's peculiar talents in a very favourable light, but I also think that in, getting back to my prevailing critique, his are talents which are somewhat difficult to TRULY capture in such brevity. That being said, however, one of the most interesting aspects of this album is its direction and the positioning of its star and that is something which is readily identifiable here. So, while Jah Van I may've taken an unusual route to get where he is today and where he is likely headed, as in so many cases before his and as is probable in so many cases to come - it was worth it. Nice. 

Rated: 3.75/5

Royal Warriors Muzik

2012

Digital

Review #382

Zanmi Kreyol

So! In about a week, the first half of 2011 will be over. You’ll be six months older than you were at the beginning of the year (I'll be about 7 weeks away from thirty) and hopefully, six months smarter. In Reggae, coming up in the second half of the year, you're undoubtedly (and hopefully), looking forward to big and brand new albums from the likes of Jah Cure, Perfect, Sizzla Kalonji, Elijah Prophet and others (like Bambú Station???). Yeah! And all of that is great, but you know I like to dig a little deeper and in doing so, I have my own eyes and ears pointed firmly in the direction of and tuning into the area of Reggae and Dancehall from out of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane - These areas pushing BIG talents in Kreyol and French.

This year, we’ve already seen BIG releases come through from the likes of Tiwony ["Cité Soleil"], Paille ["Inflammable"], X-Man ["Atypique"], Sista Majesty ["Ouvrir Les Portes"], Colonel Reyel ["Au Rapport"], Guy Al MC ["Sé Love Sélman"], Little Guerrier ["I & I"] and I’m sure a few others as well. This has all followed a 2010 which saw albums from Admiral T, Lieutenant, Kalash, Krys, Sam-X, Damaniak, E.Sy Kennenga, Young Chang MC, Blenda and Yeahman'C. Of course there is the top of the top notch (and I’m about to tell you about one of those), but ALL of these, in some respects, are big names and would be the equivalent to . . . A seriously STACKED line of Jamaican artists (predominately Dancehall) releasing albums in about eighteen months - Something which probably has not happened (specifically in regards to Dancehall) in nearly a decade.

'Turn Around' featuring Lady Sweety & Natty Bwoy by Sista Majesty

And there's more! The final half of 2011 tentatively is scheduled to offer up three more big release from a trio of big named and very talented performers. One of which is someone who has suddenly become much improved in my eyes, another is a DJ specializes in FURY and the other is someone who is . . . Wildly talented beyond his time and is almost GUARANTEED to have the best Dancehall album of 2011 and maybe even THE best album altogether. Let's take a look.

"Dalycious" by Daly [Hit Maker Mizik]

'Rèspèkté-w'

I haven't exactly been shy in expressing the fact that I am, by no means, the biggest fan of Gwada Dancehall veteran, Daly, but I think it says something that I know enough even to formulate an opinion - I have been paying an attention (not a great amount, but attention still). SO! Because of that, I wasn't at all apprehensive to check what he was up to as of late and it has subsequently turned out to be probably my favourite piece of work from the DJ to date. Not too long ago, Daly returned with the first single for his forthcoming album, "Dalycious" (his third, by my count, and his first from 2007's "Mista Dal"), the VERY strong 'Rèspèkté-w'. Either I just wasn't giving Daly the credit he was due previously or the tune is a significant step-up from a great deal of his previous work. And I should add that it wasn’t that said "previous work" was bad ('Konstriksyon' is a HUGE tune and always will be) (alongside Admiral T), it just never grabbed in this way. "Dalycious" will likely be his best album to date, and I'm WELL looking forward to hearing the entire thing.

“K-Rakter” by Mighty Ki La

'Régine'

How do I describe what Mighty Ki La does??? At his absolute best, MKL has a skill of blending an undeniable talent with such a strange level of intensity that you kind of wonder which, exactly, is his base. Did someone happen to stumble upon a crazy guy who learned how to rhyme from Martinique? If not, was he just a REALLY skilled lyricist who just . . . I don’t know, bumped his head one day and LOST it! In either case, he’s really become one of my favourites over the years (I "lost it" a long time ago) (I'm not even entirely sure that I ever had "it") and it would seem that 2011 would be a very good year for him to return. "K-Rakter" [see note again] is set to be his third album to date and his first from 2008 and if you know what to expect from MKL (and I just told you), then you know that there is almost NO WAY that this project could even be remotely close to substandard work.

Saïk [Don’s Music]

'You & Me'

I don’t even know what to say about this one. A few years back we learned about a youth from Guadeloupe by the name of Saïk, on the strength of his debut album (and material from), "Face à la Réalité". That album showed young Saïk to be, already at that point, amongst the very best lyricists that the Dancehall had to offer, potentially surpassing, ALREADY, his good friend, the very respected Admiral T. Saïk was basically off the registers and the album proved to be one of the greatest Dancehall albums since the turn of the century in my opinion. I've been a fan from then and now is the greatest time to jump up because Saïk, now older and more mature is set to bring his sophomore release later this year. To get things rolling he pushed what is likely the second best video I've seen at all this year (biggup Tarrus Riley) for the album's increasingly excellent first single, 'You & Me'. There is no way that this album isn’t going to be GREAT! And the only thing that keeps me from pronouncing it the best Dancehall album of 2011 (besides the fact that I haven't heard it yet) is that Assassin also figures to be in play later in the year. But make no mistake: this will be a MAMMOTH album.

Oh! And I suppose that there maybe an outside chance that we might FINALLY get the next album from Achis Reggae and Earth favourite, Lady Sweety - But I'm not holding my breath on it.

{Note: As always, check out Antilles-Mizik and the SSBStore for FWI releases}

{Note 2: Releases, titles and pretty much any other thing I may've said in here which proves to be completely wrong and/or DUMB are, of course, tentatively scheduled}

'The Warehouse': A Review of "Atypique" by X-Man

Although a few relatively recent conversations I’ve been apart of with a few people whose opinions I respect relatively well might lead one to think otherwise - As long as there’re Jamaican people in Jamaica, there will always be a warehouse, of sorts, of aspiring Reggae and Dancehall artists. The music can (and will) change as much as it can (and will), but neither we nor even our most descending of descendants are likely to ever experience a shortage of Reggae artists in Jamaica. However, if it that were the case (and it weren’t), there are still more than a few very RIPE and consistently producing areas of the world we could look at for future stars. Of course we’ve been through these very healthy European ports such as the UK, Germany and now the Netherlands, but here, we’re going to specifically focus on an unfortunately unwatched (in the prevailing sense) area of the world . . . The French Caribbean. Specifically, we’re going to be headed to an area to which my readers have become more and more accustomed, Martinique. Just last year we dealt with two MAJOR big deals coming from the island in the form of albums from the Lieutenant [”Dancehall Anarchy”] and Kalash [”Kalash“] (and E.Sy Kennenga) (and Yeahman‘C). This follows a year in 2009 which saw releases from both Achis Reggae favourite, Saël [”Témoignage“], and the very impressive Blenda [”Operationnel”] and who knows who else. Martinique Reggae and Dancehall had been on absolute roll leading into the year and, to my opinion, it is to no coincidence at all that the rise of the island’s vibes has run concurrently with a re-rising of Reggae, in general, from out of the (French-speaking) FWI. On the broad level, so many of the French stars and biggest names, such as Admiral T, Krys, Saïk and Tiwony, are from out of Guadeloupe, but for the heavy fans, such as you and me, going just a step beyond reveals some absolutely SHINING artists. With that being said, releases in 2011 have ALREADY been a big deal with one of the biggest names Madinina has to offer, Paille, delivering his expectedly exciting sophomore set, ”Inflammable”, earlier this year. Also, not to be overlooked, was ”Ouvrir Les Portes”, the recent first album in eight years from respected veteran, [Sista] Majesty and were that not enough (it were), also set to release later this year is another of the island’s most popular DJ’s, the always interesting (and agitated) (hopefully), Mighty Ki La. And all of that comes with me not even paying the best of attention, so obviously they’ve all been REALLY big deals there and now we welcome one more to the flock as one of the most talked about young DJ’s from Martinique makes his own debut with ”Atypique”.

X-Man

As I’ve mentioned in the past a bit, Dancehall music, generally, from out of the area is much more varied and less ‘rigid’ than is the case in Gwada. And, as an example of that, we get people like Paille and Mighty Ki La who stretch the more traditional boundaries of Dancehall music (I said “stretch” not ‘redefine‘) (biggup authentic Dancehall music) and incorporate a great deal of intensity and musical ‘pyrotechnics’. This music, itself, is very ‘atypique’ and everyone of note has added his/her own brand of aesthetics to the scene. Here we meet the young X-Man who has done the same and he’s done so to the degree of creating quite a stir for himself across the past few years and, clearly, making the demand so great for a debut album that - Here it is.

The first time I heard of X-Man was maybe two or three years ago and it’ll show you what ‘wrinkle’ it is that he brings to the game because I fully thought him to be a Hip-Hop artist. Further efforts would reveal him to be an artist who combines Hip-Hop to his base, which is very much firmly rooted in the Dancehall. That’s not my favourite thing in the world, obviously, and typically I’d ignore such an artist even when there is such a great deal amount of hype surrounding them, but I didn’t do that here. Why? Because when I heard X-Man, I also heard a great deal of natural talent and while I don’t necessary enjoy Hip-Hop, I LOVE natural talent (like oxygen) and for me, the hope going into ”Atypique” was that X-Man could create some type of vibes where he could mix in the Hip-Hop, but not to the distraction of, or the detraction of, displaying his gifts as a Dancehall artist. He was successful in part. A quality which I was dumb to overlook, going backwards, is that normally these albums from out of Martinique, whether or not they’re any good not withstanding (and most are), they’re usually very FUN and this project proved to be no exception to that. So while we do learn a great deal about the artist, going through, we also learn that he likes to have a good time (as if that were under any question following the downright pornish video for ‘Piscine Party’ from a couple of years back) and that is a QUALITY which resonates throughout his music, even when he’s trying to be serious. And, as I tried to stress, that’s definitely a quality which can make your music even better - When you make music like it is an act which you really enjoy - just ask Paille. So while this one surely won’t make any personal “best of” list for me and it actually shows itself to be pretty much exactly what I was expecting, that’s not a problem because the X-Man (cool name) keeps the entertainment level throughout and, at times, puts on FULL and VIBRANT display the significant amount of talent that I heard from him going in.

Suns Music

The first thing that I noticed in regards to the behind-the-scenes issues on this album was the fact that it doesn’t come through the FWI’s biggest label, Don’s Music. The same stop which delivered sets from the aforementioned Lieutenant, Saël and Paille (as well as Mali, who is a Hip-Hop artist), would have, ostensibly, seemed like an definite fit for X-Man, but instead, he does his business with the previously unknown (at least to me) Suns Music (and doing subsequent research on them, it appears as if he is their very first signed performer). So, if big things await the X-Man (and they do) he’ll likely be doing it under their wing and keep an eye out for their future signees as well. First, however, they have to prove that they can do the job with X-Man’s debut album, ”Atypique” which gets going with a hilarious Intro track, which finds our star going through various forms of music before settling on a favourite (and we get a ‘cameo’ from what I’m sure is one of the old Main Street riddims whose name, most unfortunately and frustratingly, I can’t recall) and delving into the first actual song on the album (although he does give a ‘demo’ later in the intro), the ICE-COLD autobiographical ‘9 Novembre 1984’. Surely you’ll realize the title is the DJ’s date of birth and he backs it up with a POUNDING tune which marks not only his arrival on the planet, but his journey from his origins to your ears and mine. The tune is just so dark and has a bit of a grimy Dancehall appeal to it which works crazy with me because I’m damn close to reconsidering my choice of the album’s finest effort. BIG BIG start. Things loosen up just a bit on the dance floor aimed next track, ‘Elle Est Lá’. This tune is pretty unremarkable, save for the fact that the greatest of luck be with you in prying it and its melodious chorus from your brain LONG after the tune has ended. ‘Imaginé’ presents us (me) with the very first musical ‘dilemma’ on ”Atypique” as it is, for the most part, a fairly straight forward Hip-Hop tune and that means that I’m not very fond of it - Right? Wrong. Besides being a Hip-Hop song, it’s also probably the single best song, lyrically, on the whole of the album, a fact which distracts me from the notion that I may not be too fond of the music (although it isn’t too bad in this case) or the pacing of the tune. Definitely pay a keen amount of attention on this one.

'Abondamment'

Going through the tracklist for this album, I was somewhat surprised to find that I was actually familiar with THREE of the fourteen tracks on the album already, going in. Perhaps credit goes to Suns Music in that instance for keeping X-Man’s name about and his releases in a nice rotation that I’d, as I said, pay not the greatest of attention and still be familiar with his work (despite not actually knowing it was his work at the time, perhaps). The first tune here which I knew previously is probably the album’s biggest hit to date, the electrically infectious ‘Abondamment’. This tune has been doing a damage recently and is likely to be the X-Man’s most recognizable effort to date, as well as for the foreseeable future. It’s not my favourite here, but it isn’t far from it and for as catchy as it really it is, it’s no surprise to see it catch on as much as it has. The album’s closer, ‘Madinina Kuduro’ was also a song which I knew and some research reveals it to be older than I thought it was, but here it is, enjoying its second wind for your listening pleasure. The piece, ultimately, is TOO MUCH for me, in a very Euro-clubbish kind of way, but it certainly isn’t a horrible song, although clearly one with a purpose to entertain . . . And then entertain some more (an idea furthered along by the fact that the final forty-five seconds or so of the song has no vocals at all). And finally and most curiously, there was a song here which, as soon as I began playing it, I started to sing a long with it - the ridiculous (and I mean that in a good way) ‘Soirée Arrosée’ - And I had no idea where I might’ve known it from. As it turns out, the song is one of the older offerings on ”Atypique” and apparently caught fire about a year ago, which is undoubtedly where I picked it up. It IS one of the best songs on the album, to no surprise and for X-Man’s hardcore fans it’s a big deal. I’m not a hardcore fan of his by any means, but it’s STILL a pretty big deal for me.

'Madinina Kuduro'

Definitely if you know my work, you can rather quickly and simply predict what my favourite tune on this would be and be accurate in doing so in fairly short order. As he has done in the past for many a young artist, the incomparable Admiral T lends a helping hand to the X-Man on his debut album with guesting on a tune, ‘Dancehall Feeling’. On so many other levels I could lift a next song above this one for various reasons, but this one grabs me with an intense sonic appeal - I could listen Admiral T rhyme all day and night and when you take that vibes set and mix it with X-Man, who definitely holds his own without having to rely on any type of gimmick or trickery - I’m HOOKED and this is the best song on this album. The Admiral isn’t the only guest stopping by on X-Man’s album. He’s also joined by star Zoukie, Teeyah. I should probably be a bigger fan of Teeyah’s than I am, given her sweet and STERLING style is generally what I go for in Zouk, but I honestly haven’t followed her as closely as I wish. Perhaps her offering her on ‘Déchirure’ will point me in the proper direction. I hate to say this but I actually think it may’ve been even stronger sans X-Man (who goes with a flow which, with its kind of ‘hitch’ is more rapping than it is deejaying, which is what I’m used to (and like) over Zouk riddims). Again, I wouldn’t go as far as to call this one BAD by any means, but for me it serves greatest as a showcase (another one) for Teeyah. And the X-Man also teams up with the very familiar Elegant (yes, the one you’re thinking of) for the agitated ‘Clap It’, which sounds exactly how you might expect it to, but it isn’t bad and the wordplay, on both sides, is impressive. Also impressive is the chorus which just seems to JUMP out of nowhere in a very LOUD way - a good thing, when you consider that it is one of the better hooks on the album.

'Dancehall Feeling' w/Admiral T

The balancing four selections of ”Atypique” all have things which make them stand out and for various reasons. ‘Mon Antillaise’ was NOTHING like what I was expecting it would be, because it is a Hip-Hop track and not one which I’m too fond of (although big respect goes to the nameless backing singer). And both ‘Nou Kay En Drive’ and ‘Pa Fé Yo Sa X’ sound like I know them from somewhere, but that may have something to do with the fact that they kind of sound like one another. Both are excellent, but the latter, with its intoxicating riddim, is a SPECIAL tune and if you wanted to deem it THE single best song here, you’d get no big arguments out of me. Finally is ‘Coup De Foudre’, which I paid a great deal of attention to because it features a slightly ‘warmed up’ version of my favourite Dancehall riddim of 2010, Ward 21’s Cosa Nostra. I have NO idea how that link would’ve come to be and how it all may’ve worked out, but we can very safely say that, at the very least, X-Man (or his manager), has VERY good taste which is evident not only by the selection of this particular riddim, but by the standard maintain throughout his debut album.

Overall, even though it may not be as much straight Hip-Hop as I made it seem initially, I can confidently say that if you enjoy that genre of music more than I do (and you probably do), ”Atypique” will be even better to you and that’s saying something, because I like it as well. Besides the compositions, X-Man also demonstrates a great deal of the pacing and cadences which are more closely associated with and found in Hip-Hop music and French Hip-Hop, even less than English Hip-Hop, has always sounded somewhat ‘choppy’ (I believe I described it as a “hitch” earlier) to my ears. HOWEVER, with that being said, what I do WELL enjoy on this album and from the X-Man, in general, is the same thing I mentioned previously - His natural talent. X-Man has potential to spare and I’d REALLY like to see him focus more and streamline his style into the Dancehall because, like many of his peers, I feel that he has the potential to the proverbial ‘next step’ and become an even bigger star than now. If he does or not remains to be seen, but the one sure thing is that, in either case, I’ll be listening and you will too.

Rated: 3.5/5
Suns Music
2011
CD + Digital
X-Man
X-Man @ Facebook

'The Shadow': A Review of "Inflammable" by Paille

Hang around here long enough and you’ll soon discover that I’m someone who likes to often focus on some of the ‘heavier’ aspects of music such as the artists themselves, the message behind their music and definitely their lyrics. I think I have pretty good reason to also. You just won’t find Reggae music discussed in such a way many other places and I really think when you can actually see words to songs in your face (particularly in Reggae, where the dominant language isn’t widely comprehended across the world). However, with that being said and supported, I also think that it’s important to not lose sight of the fact that Reggae, Dancehall, Soca, Zouk and all music, in general, is also a form of theatre and pure entertainment to an extent and one of the ways in which this is most evident is looking at the list of CHARACTERS you’ll encounter in the music. Now, with that being said, I think that I can rather confidently state that we don’t have very many outrageous or amazing personalities currently in Reggae, but there’re a few. At the top of the heap, obviously, is the ultra/constantly controversial Vybz Kartel. Almost to a painful degree, his actions are seemingly THE actions of an entire genre and I think even Kartel, himself, would agree that he is too closely followed (and I’m probably guilty of adding to that as well, but in my own defense (as if I care), I do, unlike just about everyone else, focus on his music). We also have the inimitable Elephant Man who, from a purely visual standpoint, may just be THE most interesting figure ever cast in the Dancehall (which is saying a TON). Ele is the main comparison point here (more on that in a minute), because he’s been that way for such a very long time that, much in the same way Bounty Killer’s name will come up ANYTIME there is a young artist excelling at gun lyrics, anytime someone comes about who seems just a bit out of the ordinary, Ele’s name will almost certainly be the one most brought up. There’ve also been the likes of Beenie Man, surely Lady Saw, recently Protoje who’s proving to be one the genre’s most curious finds in quite some time and Ninja Man (and even the Killer to some degree) who, by other musical means than strictly what they’re capable of doing in the studio, have reinforced how crucial it is to be entertaining. Still, almost without exception if you put all of them in silhouette, they’re likely not to be as recognizable as one of the lesser known EXPLOSIVES in Dancehall music, Paille.

"N'Oublie Pas"

Where do I start with Paille . . .? Okay, ‘paille’ or ’pay’ is French/Creole for ‘straw’. When I first heard of the DJ from out of Madinina his full name was Le Homme Paille [The Straw Man]. So we have a Beenie Man and a Ninja Man and a Straw Man. What is likely to make the outline of Paille so interesting is the fact that, as his name would suggest, he is almost never seen without his . . . Trusty (?) straw hat on his head - A trait which is undoubtedly his own in Dancehall. Now, much like Elephant Man (thankfully), what you’ll notice after looking at Paille and then listening to him is that he OBVIOUSLY has talents and his talent has raised him to the point where he is arguably one of the most popular names on the Dancehall heavy FWI scene. Back in 2008, Paille caught the attention of the region’s dominant Reggae/Dancehall label, Don’s Music, who would serve up ”Mots Pour Maux”, the debut album from the DJ and that album, along with his various singles (before and since) would help to solidify not only his talent, as a whole, lining up with his other impressive young peers such as Krys and Saïk, but also someone who injected quite a bit of colour into the genre. Although VERY lyrically proficient, Paille seems to do his absolute best when the ‘limits’ on what he can and cannot do are taken away - The crazier the tune is, the better he can be. And now apparently he’s gotten mad again because he’s back with his sophomore release, the fittingly and appropriately titled, ”Inflammable”, also for Don’s Music. Last year, which happened to be one of the best for the label in recent times (and maybe even the best one ever, actually), their releases included a two track EP/preview for the forthcoming album, ”N’oubile Pas” [pictured], which had the title track, of course, and what became the album’s first single, the ’off’ ‘Fé Yo Mal’. Apparently not only did the release do a nice bit of damage for Paille (I was pretty surprised when I noticed that it had also been released on CD (as well as digitally), which is just very strange for an EP these days), but the single, in particular did as well and although this album somewhat crawled out to the masses (I found it had been released and was pretty fucking surprised), the anticipation for this release has become quite high. I cannot say that Paille registers on levels such as Admiral T or Tiwony or Krys as THE top and most popular names that Kreyol Dancehall has to offer, but he exists more on the kind of level which is above the ’underground’ and with projects like these, at least presumably, his popularity will rise. I should also mention that Paille, in one way, is emblematic of Reggae and Dancehall from out of Martinique. Guadeloupe, with names like the aforementioned Admiral T, Tiwony, Krys and Saïk has a reputation in music which is refined and detailed. Madinina, by contrast, with artists such as Mighty Ki La, Kalash and DEFINITELY Paille (maybe I could also include Straika, but he is the potential exception to that rule), has much more of a free-flowing type of vibes and they simply do not get any freer than Paille. SO, when new fans come looking at ”Inflammable”, what they’ll find is a very talented DJ who, as I said, gets only better as things become more and more chaotic. They’ll also find a pretty good album (with a very cool cover), which we should discuss now!

'Réd Son'

Thankfully, although thriving more and more the closer and closer he gets to chaos, much like Ele, Paille is just very talented in general. I hold talents such as those possessed by the likes of Admiral T, Lady Sweety and Saïk to be TRULY at the top of the game in Kreyol Dancehall, but honestly Paille isn’t very far from those names and I’d say he’s more naturally gifted with the spoken word than others such as Mighty Ki La, Kalash, Lieutenant, SamX (although damn strange on his own) and really most of the names on the scene these days (and some of them are my favourites as well). All of that definitely helps going into his the new album from Paille, ”Inflammable” which gets started in a fairly expected manner with the HUGE sounding ’Spartiate’. I think that it’s changed these days, but when I first got into listening to this music and REALLY began to pay attention to it vibes from out of the FWI, the Dancehall tune that was almost overwhelmingly LARGE sounding was very very common. Like I said, it’s not the case these days (thankfully. I do enjoy them mixed in, but it’s almost like Dancehall Heavy Metal when overdone), but this tune, which is, essentially a very long intro, is very good as Paille gets things started as flamingly expected on the album. With the introductions handled, it’s time to have some fun and that’s EXACTLY what we get on the second track, my favourite on the entire album, ‘Réd Son’. This tune is downright intoxicating with its old school Dancehall vibes backing Paille who attacks the riddim on what may be the album‘s next single as it can currently be heard mashing up radio stations in certain parts of the Caribbean. The song is also a roaring example of just how destructive Paille can be at the height of his formidable powers and these just may be my favourite tune that he’s EVER done to date - It’s HUGE! The tune charged with keeping that intensity up actually slows things wayyyyyyy down - the haunting ‘Elle Me Hante’ [‘Haunting Me’]. This very unpredictable track just adds to the attraction of the album, as a whole. You can’t guess what Paille is going to do next and although I don’t rate this one as one of the album’s standouts for me, personally, it very much is easily one of the greatest sonic experiences to be found here (particularly later on in the song when things really pick up).

‘Fé Yo Mal’

On the ”Mots Pour Maux” album Paille was joined by a number of his big named peers such as Straïka D, Kalash, Mali, Pleen and even Anthony B, and while not as many join him here, he definitely has a nice contribution from just a few names. The biggest of them all, Jamaican star Konshens, turns in an expectedly excellent performance on the social commentary, ‘Assez’. I can’t actually say that either big artist outshines one another (because neither does), but both set forth a lyrically explosive track which is definitely not to be missed. Somewhere in the middle of his verse Paille hits a perfect stride and never looks back and even if he did, Konshens wouldn’t have been very hard behind with his offering. On the album’s second combination, ‘Inmin Mwen Anko’, Paille links with the most reclusive songstress, Lea Galva. You’ll still find quite a few people who’ll swear that Galva is simply the most talented Zouk singer EVER and whatever you think of her, you’re sure to come to the conclusion that she makes a very nice pair with Paille on the nice lover’s track (and hopefully this is just a signal Galva being just a bit more active). And later, the young MC Kim Angel joins Paille on the biggest single to emerge from ”Inflammable” before it dropped, the aforementioned ‘Fé Yo Mal’. This DAMAGING tune is madness from it first reaches and for me, it’s every bit as fun as anything you’ll find on Ele’s latest release. This is the type of song which distinguishes Paille, because not only can he do it (and many of his peers can), he’s managed to perfect and although I still favour ‘Réd Son’, this tune basically blows over the listener and forces them to take notice of just how big it is.

'N'Oublie Pas'

Certainly the DJ isn’t going to suffer left on his own, not with this type of talent, and he actually excels as a matter of fact. A song like the gal tune ‘Fanm Lan’ is a good example of why because it is outstanding. If you want extremely fun Dancehall, this is another big tune for you and on an album which isn’t starving for such moments, ‘Fanm Lan’ is still one of the most fun. There’s also the aforementioned tune ‘N’Oublie Pas’ which comes through on a most refreshing and fulfilling one-drop and is gorgeous. And the actual album closer is another big tune, ‘Assé’ which took a minute to grow on me (because I didn’t actually listen to the entire thing the first few times through (even though I’m pretty sure I’ve heard this one somewhere before), but when it did, it really flourished into this incredible vibes and another big sounding Dancehall tune (although not as big as the opener) (but a better song). And the album also features two interludes which are actually pretty funny, the rather clever ‘Paillardise’ and 'Le Retour De La Vengeance De L’éclate’ (yes that’s the title). Both are pretty nice, but especially the latter.

There’re two tunes on ”Inflammable” which I don’t like very much, ‘Révé’ and ‘Dr. House’. The former is a Zouk song. Paille sings it and it’s very straight forward (and lovely sounding too), but you know I can’t listen to men sing Zouk and the song (at least to my most uneducated of ears) is in dire need of a female vocalist to play along (one named Goldee, specifically). The latter is a Hip-Hop song and doesn’t reach far enough, in my opinion, to take advantage of Paille’s talents - But I should say that this one is currently growing on me.

'Pleurer' [Studio version featuring Cindy Faustin. Not on album]

And finally surviving from the first album onto ”Inflammable” is a stretch of live songs (this album has three, the first had four and also on ”Mots Pour Maux” - They later released a collector’s edition which (you should still be able to find) featured a full DVD with interviews and performances - A tactic which Don’s Music, HOPEFULLY, repeats here) (and they also did it with an old album from Saël) (I digress) which really takes you into the vibes of Paille even more. Again, just like Ele, he has a reputation of being one of the Dancehall’s greatest performers and some of the album’s most exciting moments comes in this trio of tunes (especially the second one). I should also mention that I don’t know for sure if they’re actually LIVE or just made to sound like so, but I don’t care that much either. Getting us started is ‘Dexter’ (yes, Dexter) which is, initially, too electric for my tastes, but in its time, well over six minutes, it eventually rights its own ship. Then we get the fucking flaming ‘Pa Sa Palé Bay’ which also takes a little while to get going (not a problem when you’re six and a half minutes long), but when it does it’s clearly one of the best moments here and if it is an actual show (and I’m convinced that it is), I wasn’t there and I’m jealous as hell. The tune also changes in its latter stages to a SWEET Soca tune which is very nice as well. And lastly is ‘Pleurer’, one of Paille’s big hits, which the crowd (real or computerized) really responds to. The song slows things down (which isn’t hard to do following what it follows) and Paille hands singing duties off to his crowd who do so well as do the backup singers. Just like the tune which precedes it, ’Pleurer’ also appears (in studio form) on the ”Mots Pour Maux” alongside the delectable Cindy Faustin who doesn’t join Paille here (at least I don’t think she does), but is well accounted for by the fans.

Overall, yeah - This one is very nice. I should say that, at least in theory, for all of Paille’s flair, he holds something in common with most of his ‘terrestrial’ peers: His is a talent which is very immediately appreciable. I often reach these points where, and just as I’ll say of songs (and as I’ve said about songs on this album as well), I’ll say that the artist, in general, is one whose vibes take awhile to REALLY grasp and that is not the case with Paille. His talent, in my opinion is likely to resonate with most fans of Dancehall. ”Inflammable” isn’t leaps and bounds better than its predecessor, but it is slightly and it’s also another rousing display of the abilities of one of the most interesting characters in the music - Paille: The Scarecrow of the Dancehall.

Rated: 4.25/5
Don's Music
2011
CD + Digital
Paille @ Myspace
Paille @ Facebook

'The Real Deal': A Review of "Dancehall Anarchy" by Lieutenant

I do so much love how all of these wonderfully talented artists are able to flip and mix different styles and make such a beautiful and ever-widening variety of music. You have to think that, at their cores, probably every single genre of music is a combination of different styles and to see that continuing forth and doing so right in front of our very eyes and ears is a very powerful thing. Just a back in July, we saw such a thing from the impressive Busy Signal on his third studio album, ”D.O.B.”. That album featured the always interesting Busy pulling in influences from all across the board, including Phil Collins of all people. And while Busy certainly is the most compelling of recent examples, and one whose results turned out probably better than most thought that they might, many (if not most) of his peers have taken their music to the brink of simply being . . . something else. Of course what I’m talking about is DANCEHALL and I’d so hate to sound like some old and arrogant bastard (even though that’s clearly what I am), stuck in ‘his day’ and refusing to change with the times but seriously - Is it getting to the point where I’m simply asking too much of the people if I want an - Oh 85% HARDCORE Dancehall album? And I am not talking about a riddim album or other compilation, which may qualify, I’m talking about someone going into the studio and doing a project, which results in a Dancehall album! The last time such a thing happened, on a grand scale at least, the results were DAMAGING, in the form of a particularly venomous Mad Cobra with ”Helta Skelta”. Besides that, however, we’ve seen high profile release after high profile release from big named artists which, although a few of them have been pretty good (such as Busy Signal’s album), they’ve seemed to offer up what I’d describe as maybe 65% Dancehall, with the rest being predominately Hip-Hop. Not only that, maybe it’s just me, but have you also not tired of hearing artists say something along the lines of ‘I’m not really a Dancehall artist, I consider myself able to do so many different things’ or something like such??? Well when you get back to the Dancehall let me know. It’s gotten to the point where I’m so fucking angry that I’m ready to declare full-on “Dancehall Anarchy” against the powers that be in order to get some serious Dancehall in 2010. N who is with me?!

Well apparently, someone beat me to it. Earlier this year, while not registering in more ‘mainstream’ Reggae circles (for obvious reasons), an artist from out of Martinique, absolutely teeming with potential by the name of Kalash, released his self-titled debut album. THAT was a serious Dancehall album, for the most part. Even earlier in 2010, French Caribbean Dancehall/Reggae superstar Admiral T also returned to the scene with his most recent piece, the BIG and BAD ”Instinct Admiral” and while that was another piece of ‘mix and match’ type of vibes, the Admiral definitely offered some hype Dancehall vibes which is his norm. What these two albums had in common, besides being two big releases from the FWI was the fact that both happened to feature a pretty underrated hardcore Dancehall DJ, also from out of Martinique, by the name of Lieutenant who didn’t have to wait even until the end of the year to make his own debut album (I THINK) with the apparently well anticipated, ”Dancehall Anarchy”. Certainly the Lieutenant’s own ambitions with the title aren’t along the same lines of mine), but I was very happy to see that he had an album forthcoming and for more than just the fact that the man is pretty wicked (and if you don’t know of him (and you probably don’t) what I would tell you is to take into account that his two guests spots for the Admiral and Kalash just happened to be on ‘Gladiator‘ and ‘Pran Pié‘ and both were early singles and hits on their respective albums). First of all, it continues a very nice stretch of big album releases (and big tunes in general) from FWI artists as, along with Admiral T and Kalash as aforementioned, also showing up this year has been both Krys and SamX (and hopefully Lady Sweety is still on the way) (and biggup Yeahman'C). Secondly, it also marks yet another step in a very active year for the big label in this case, Don’s Music who really continues to bring a heavy vibes in one of their more active years in recent history (and they probably have another release coming in a minute from (SEXY) new Zoukie, Ludy). Moreover, at least for me, the Lieutenant belongs to this very nice group of talented hardcore Dancehall artists from the FWI (more on another group he REALLY belongs to later) who just do not seem to get the type of recognition as the big names such as Krys, Admiral T and Tiwony. These are people like Mighty Ki La, Daly (who I’m not very fond of), SamX and a few other names and all of those artists who I just mentioned have at least two albums to their credits and now, with ”Dancehall Anarchy”, Lieutenant joins that pack and does so with one of the strongest efforts from amongst them to my ears. It should also be mentioned that, as I spoke of in the Kalash review, this album further goes to define the style of vibes you are going to hear from Martinique, in general, when it comes to the Dancehall. There will be brief excursions to other styles (even on this album), but for the most part, Madinina seems to rather routinely deliver these kind of ‘rough around the edges’ type of artists. If you look at Guadeloupe, things are a bit different with the Gwada artists always seeming to have a bit more refinement and ‘schooling’ in the music - And that’s certainly not to say that Martinique artists are unintelligent AT ALL - But they tend to come in with a bit more aggression and a bit more GRIME, along with being, at the top level, supremely talented. Lieutenant is at that top level for Martinique Dancehall and if you didn’t know it before, I have the feeling that his debut album is going to make believers out of more than a few new fans.

Certainly merely being a mostly Dancehall album will help, but it isn’t going to be ENOUGH to sway the masses and, more than that, because of the talent displayed by this artist in the past, I don’t think that it’s unfair, at all, to hold him to a high standard. Well, even in doing that, the Lieutenant scores fairly big on his debut solo album, ”Dancehall Anarchy” for Don’s Music. In the case of the opening two selections for the album, I have to say that, although I was impressed to some degree, it’s kind of typical BIG sounding FWI Dancehall style and both were expected. First is an intro which leads directly into the album’s title track. I would imagine that the reasoning behind these really big sounding intros is to literally create frenzy for the listener, but it’s something that I think works much better in person, in a live show. Here, like I said, it’s impressive, but largely expected. The title track is even more expected, yet even more impressive and it really goes to lay the foundation for the album, in terms of its sounds and exactly what I was hoping to hear. It’s not the most melodically gifted thing you’ll ever hear, but it’s HEAVY and hardcore Dancehall music, which is what we wanted. And then there’s the boom. The next tune in is the MASSIVE first single from the album, ‘Artmada Party’. Okay, first thing that you need to know - Artmada is a collective of artists from out of Martinique and two of them, Valley and Pleen Pyroman appear on the track alongside the Lieutenant (the crew also includes young artist Sergeant (who may, in fact, be three years old) and Achis Reggae favourite Saël (both of whom, in the video, adeptly manage to escape capture and thus don’t appear on the tune)) and this tune is, essentially, a party track from part of the group and it is BIG. It’s bright and beautiful Dancehall music, but it’s also quite heavy. For my opinion, the Pyroman steals the show ultimately, but all perform very strong and despite the fact that there’re a couple of tunes, in particular, that come close to toppling it, ‘Artmada Party’ is the finest tune I hear on ”Dancehall Anarchy”. The song ‘Démystifié Yo’ stands out for more reasons than for its big title. It slows down the pace and it also takes things on a social level (the Lieutenant actually mentions people like Malcolm X, Frantz Fanon and, of course, Aimé Césaire) which helps to make it the strongest of a few changeups on the album to my ears.

And as far as said “changeups” go on ”Dancehall Anarchy”, it just so happens that literally all of them are situated near the middle of the album, sandwiched in between this somewhat hectic and frantic Dancehall start and a similar ending. Right after ‘Démystifié Yo’ we dive into the SWEET ‘Palé Raté’, a Reggae tune for the girls. I call it a changeup, but going from Dancehall to one-drop Reggae certainly isn’t much of a stretch, but it’s definitely good that Lieutenant can make the minor leap, because the tune is one of the stronger efforts to be found here (and I LOVE later on when the Zouk-ish sound kicks up). Then there’s another Reggae tune ‘Oú Tu Vas’, which happens to feature a very impressive young Zouk singer by the name of Senario. These two make a very strong duo and I could REALLY see this one serving as a single for the album at some point with its very transferable vibes (and if they were speaking English, this one might be quite the big hit, I think). And also mixed in is the somewhat solemn ‘Ba Yo Love’, another combination which features Martinique veteran chanter, Djama Keita. Keita is an artist who I could speak about for quite some time because he’s definitely not gotten his fair share of hype to go along with his staggering talent levels and hopefully his appearance on ”Dancehall Anarchy” opens up fans to his vibes as well because, again, his time is long overdue in my opinion. As for the tune, it’s somewhat of an R&B type of vibes and it’s another with social ramifications and colours as well (which was a given with Keita’s presence). It’s also another BIG one as well (love the chorus on that one).

And that’s it! The balance of the album is Dancehall music and fairly hardcore at that. As I said, there’re a couple of songs which, to my ears, come very close to knocking ‘Artmada Party’ out of the top honours on ”Dancehall Anarchy” and they’re both very hard Dancehall tracks. For one, if you read my blog (or even if you just read the first part of this review), you should already be quite familiar with because it also appeared as the first single for the aforementioned Kalash’s debut album. ‘Pran Pié’ is fucking RIDICULOUS! It is utter chaos and I love it. It also is remarkable that, despite my affection for this song, it’s bested by two others on the album, because not only is ‘Artmada Party’ a huge song, but so is the delightfully HARD and old-school ‘Gigik’. I don’t even know what to say about this one past that because when I first heard it, I was probably still knocking my head on that riddim well after the tune had completed (and the much differently vibed ‘Oú Tu Vas’ had began) because it’s just top notch material and it’s also probably one of the oldest efforts on the album because you may remember it from the third installment of Don’s Music big compilation, ”Don’s Collector”, where it was also a standout. Big big tune!

As the album winds down, it still has FIVE big Dancehall tracks for your listening pleasure and I couldn’t be happier. Going in order, the first, ’Pa Mété Nou A La Fét’, is also the first of two tunes which just so happen to feature one of my LEAST favourite artists from the FWI, Mali. Mali, to my opinion, is more of a Hip-Hop (biggup Dee Kross) artist than a Dancehall artist and there’re elements of Hip-Hop on this song, it fits right in and I simply have to give credit where it’s due, because Mali’s major contribution on this tune is INSANE! He does an excellent job! Two tunes later Mali returns on the ‘dramatic’ sounding ‘Bad Man Bullet’, where he is less impressive (as is the Lieutenant), but I’m going go back to the first tune to summarize his presence on this album because it’s rare than I’m THAT impressed by him, so big him up. Of the other three tunes mixed in here, one is ‘Dancehall Battle’ on which the self proclaimed -Dancehall Teworist’- goes to war and is the victor with one of the album’s finest moments. But that tune is felled by the MUCH stronger ’Infama’ which APPROACHES ’Gigik’/’Artmada Party’ levels at times with its brilliance and again, this is the type of music that you REALLY wanted to hear out of this album, just nose busting type of Dancehall. The Lieutenant’s special brand of anarchy wraps up with ’I Di Yo’, another very strong piece, which probably boasts the strongest riddim to be found on the whole of the album. I’m smiling from ear to ear because this tune has absolutely no shine whatsoever and is nearly as disgusting and grimy as ’Pran Pié’ and I can’t imagine that it’s going to blow anyone way, but as STARVED as I’ve been for tunes like this, it just hit the spot and made for a very fitting closer for the album.

Overall, yes - Call it a winner. Lieutenant isn’t, unfortunately, going to win any type of popularity contests, but to myself and the many people, who follow French Caribbean Reggae and Dancehall, this is a BIG time release and I would imagine that, to anyone with semi-functioning ears, it’s a big release in terms of quality. It is better than Kalash’s album and it’s a push for Admiral T’s (which means that it’s clearly much better than either effort from Krys or SamX, both of which were somewhat disappointing to me), which makes ”Dancehall Anarchy” definitely in the running for French album of the year, but even with that on the side, it’s just quality work. I definitely would have liked a tune featuring Saël mixed in somewhere, but they’ve worked so much together in the past, so maybe focusing in other directions isn’t such a bad idea, necessarily. Still, this album, while by no means the greatest of its kind, IS a Dancehall album and I don’t think it was too much to ask for, but if we had to declare ANARCHY to get it done, well then much like a Lieutenant debut album, in general, I kind of wished we’d done it years ago.

Rated 4.25/5
Don's Music
2010
CD + Digital




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New Video From Kalash!

Yeah. Curious that they chose this one as the second single from Kalash's debut self title album, but they did and I actually like the tune a bit more after going through the video. Check it out.