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

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

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

2023

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

--NO WAY IN HELL--

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

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

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

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

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

"This one for sale

That one for sale

So much for sale

Oh, for sale

She is for sale

He is for sale

They are for sale

Oh, for sale

I'M NOT FOR SALE"

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

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

"Beat that drum"

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

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

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

Rated: 4.6/5

JahSolidRock

2026

New from Micah Shemaiah & JahSolidRock

 

Okay so, I was sitting here working on a Grammy post (which you should get in the next two or three days) and a Chronixx review (next week for that one) and I decided to go check up on some old emails and, luckily, I stumbled across a link from our old friends from the highest region, JahSolidRock, who let me know that they were in the kitchen, cooking and in the lab... labbing [?] and had a new album forthcoming from the criminally consistent Micah Shemaiah. In fact, they already had the project's first single up and running, 'Not For Sale' which is billed as, "An authentic, deep roots  tune composed and performed by real human beings and recorded in the legendary Tuff Gong studio in Kingston, Jamaica"; and, of course, I was interested (I was interested at "Jahsolidrock", they had my attention right there). When I actually took a listen to it, as expected, 'Not For Sale' was exceptional and I thought YOU wonderful human beings would enjoy taking a listen to it.... and I was right! 

Higher Education by Naya Rockers

"Higher Education" by Naya Rockers [Naya Rockers & Floki Studios - 2025

Okay so, I definitely meant to get around to this one much sooner than I did but because I had  bit of catching up to do (and I'm old as hell), it took me so long that what started out as a preview is now a mini-review. Today we take a look at a very special project, pulled together by the Naya Rockers collective, "Higher Education". The album, which brings together many different artists from varying walks of life and places (like Iceland); and does so in the name of benefitting the famed Alpha School of Music in Kingston. WHAT AN AMAZING IDEA [!] one which certainly is deserving of our support and yours as well. Today we take a look at a beautiful album for an even beautiful[er] cause, "Higher Education" from the Naya Rockers, Floki Studios and Friends. BOOM!

1. 'Come With Us' by Clinton Fearon

BOOM! When I first heard the riddim on 'Come With Us' it made me smile and probably made me tear up a little as well. IT IS STUNNING (and wouldn't it make for a nice instrumental/dub????)! So nice and light and jovial with an old school HEART given to it courtesy of the legendary Clinton Fearon. 'Come With Us' is a musical celebration. It is a standing ALTERNATIVE TO NEGATIVITY ["Leave them guns and bombs outside"] and, REALLY, how can you possibly feel like doing something bad after hearing this tune. It's literally impossible! 

2. 'Higher Education' by Ivan Neville

I do know who Ivan Neville is, by name, but I couldn't name a single piece of work of his until he contributed the title track to the "Higher Education" project. This tune kind of combines a Jazzy feel to Reggae with Neville being from New Orleans in the US and it definitely makes it stands apart from the pack here, because of its sound. It's direction, however, is right in line with balance of the album as Neville puts forth the typical uplifting and inspirational messages that you've come to expect from the genre. A lovely song! 

3. 'Teach The Youths' by Sister Nancy

We all have to come together and do a better job in setting a proper example for the youth of the world is the sentiment behind Sister Nancy's offering to "Higher Education", 'Teach The Youths'. When I first heard this one (and still now) what I initially felt about it is that 'Teach The Youths' is very EASY. What I mean is that, while you will find other tunes here which maybe are more free and 'risky' (not literally, of course), Nancy keeps it very level-headed and consistent. She also introduces ideas such as humility and respect (of oneself and others) 

4. 'Thanks' by Hector Roots Lewis

Impressing St. Catherine native, Hector Roots Lewis, is one of a few here who can lay a significant claim to having the single strongest tune on the whole of "Higher Education" with 'Thanks'. This thing is GORGEOUS! It also fits in quite nicely with the theme, at least in my opinion as, along with the knowledge and education to be found within books, it's also important to be rewarding and fulfilling to YOURSELF on an emotional level and Lewis well wraps that within giving praise. A BEAUTIFUL SONG!

5. 'The Right Path' by Stephen Marley

Definitely the biggest name to leap out at you, on paper, is that of the great Stephen Marley who blesses the album with another of its genuine highlights, 'The Right Path'. Like the song it follows, 'The Right Path' (as its title suggests) is one more concerned with your spiritual health and morals over what you might pick up out of sitting in a more traditional and ACTUAL classroom.

"I say we learn from the past

Make our futures last

CHOOSE THE EARTH FIRST"

Although the vibe here is a SWEET one with an infectious bounce, it is the vocalist who takes the brigihtest of spotlights on 'The Right Path' as Mr. Marley delivers information in heaps and heaps which is not to be ignored.

6. 'Dub With Us' by Mad Professor & Clinton Fearon

What a shock! I mentioned how well the riddim to the opener, Clinton Fearon's 'Come With Us', might translate to an instrumental or a dub and look what we have here! The equally venerable, Mad Professor takes his hands to the tune and comes up with 'Dub With Us'. The Professor, as expected, doesn't take things in a straight course but what the dub lacks in that kind of 'wholesome' simplicity as the original song, it makes up for with a heavier but still fairly LOOSE vibe and it's the first from Mad Professor. He'll be back with us in a minute.

7. 'Long Way Down' by Mike Love

Despite the nature of his song, I'm going to make the assumption that, when he recorded 'Long Way Down', Mike Love was in a pretty good mood! He sounds like he is THOROUGHLY pleased with the material that he's singing and he's feeling the music behind him... and he has no reason not to feel good based on what I'm hearing. He's also trying to simplify things in his life and turn away from not all things modern but things that are contemporary and far from healthy.... downright poisonous at times:

"They'll make you ill then sell you pills

Call it medicine"

'Long Way Down' is a tune whose VIBE threatens to overwhelm its direction -- you can HAPPILY lose yourself in it and not hear a word Mike Love says, but a special gifts awaits those who take the time and do a bit more digging because the writer hits his notes as well. 

8. 'The Brotherhood' by Angelo Moore & The Tamlins

While I am familiar with his band, Fishbone, the name Angelo Moore was one commpletely unknown to me prior to "Higher Education", on which he gives us the delightful 'The Brotherhood', alongside the mighty Tamlins. There's a hint of old[er] school R&B (I guess that's what it's called. You know that song 'YMCA'? This one sounds NOTHING like it but something about it gives me that same genre for some reason... and maybe only me) here, mixed with Reggae, definitively, of a passed era. What results is a very unique vibe in support of theme of a pure unity from Moore and The Tamlins.

9. 'Words of Wisdom' by Queen Omega

LOOK WHO IT IS! Unsurprisingly, the tune that had me THE most excited to hear on "Higher Education" was definitely 'Words of Wisdom' as it is the handiwork of one of my absolute favourites EVER, the incomparable Queen Omega. Sitting as the album's longest track (clearly everyone involved knew with whom they were dealing), the Queen puts on an INFORMED display which builds up to a downright dazzling crescendo in its latter portion.

10. 'Same Lessons to Learn' by Micah Shemaiah

The well gifted Micah Shemaiah doesn't miss a beat following the Queen with his LOVELY effort, 'Same Lessons'. There is a well infectious BOUNCE to the riddim here and Shemaiah makes the most of the track with message of unity - in bringing up oneself, you also turn around and bring along others with you as well. That, INHERENTLY, applies to knowledge as it doesn't do much good taking it to the grave with you . PASS IT ON! 

"No man is an island, no man stands alone

Even the wickedest one will give their dog a bone"

11. 'Thanks Dub' by Mad Professor

The maddest of all mad professors, Mad Professor, returns to send us on our way in closing shop on "Higher Education" with his second creation, a dub of 'Thanks' which Hector Roots Lewis provided the original vocals for. I actually prefer 'Thanks Dub' to the previous 'Dub With Us', probably because it's a bit more straight forward. As I said (or at least I think I did), 'Dub With Us' takes the original sound in several different directions, that isn't the case with 'Thanks Dub', which is far closer to a straight instrumental (it isn't though, don't worry). The Professor's additives are more subtle but are sterling and, for me, delightfully go to accentuate what was already a HUGE creation. 

"Glory" by Akae Beka

"Glory" by Akae Beka [Zion High Productions]

I have long developed a certain level of excitement and anticipation when it comes the music of one Vaughn Benjamin over the years which is unlike the feeling I get when looking forward to the works of anyone else. This is a vibe which is very much of the rare type of feeling that you used to get (or maybe still get) as a student who is actually eager to go to class on a certain day. Whatever the subject is, you're looking forward to learning more (I actually recall that happening far more at university than prior to that, when you had no control over what you learned and from whom) and you are also so very much looking forward to the METHOD of teaching. Will he be ever so slightly more direct? Will he meet you halfway or will Benjamin ultimately leave it up to the student ENTIRELY.

Another question you tend to have is who will he bring with him in order to get the message across. A group of his greatest and most fruitful of associates can be found within Zion High Productions and the Zion I Kings who... we've covered extensively over the years in regards to working alongside Akae Beka and many other extremely talented artists (I was about to go into that more and then I realized that I've probably done that DOZENS of times by now) (and did it not too long ago in a still forthcoming review, actually), so when I saw that the link had been once again behind yet another project, I got EVEN MORE excited to hear it and then when we talk about the actual artists involved - that took "Glory" to an even greater stage 'I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY need to hear this'. Well, I've heard it and if you have about half an hour or so, I'd like to tell you about what I think of "Glory", the latest release of the legendary Akae Beka.

'Aqueduct' featuring Micah Shemaiah & 'Aqueduct Dub'

Each of the four vocal selections on "Glory" features Vaughn Benjamin working alongside another vocalist and the first of the quartet is the very gifted Jamaican chanter Micah Shemaiah who (has an album of his own this year, "Jamaica Jamaica") displays his ample abilities all over the GORGEOUS 'Aqueduct'. I have had SO MUCH fun with 'Aqueduct' and it actually helped me take this write-up in the direction that I chose to in the end because what I took from the opener is that it is about the CONVEYANCE OF KNOWLEDGE and how important it is to give something to someone in a way that they can comprehend it and be able to have more of a chance to actually apply it and retain it after the lesson. When I arrived at that 'conclusion' (and I use that word only because it sounds like where it would fit in, but it is most certainly NOT a "conclusion". If you ask me what I think of 'Aqueduct' a year from now (or in twenty minutes) my "conclusion" may've shifted), I got this wonderfully loose image of knowledge transferring seamlessly from place to place and never actually settling at one final destination - like an aqueduct.

"OVERSTANDING COME, INNA DEGREES DIFFERENT FOR SOME"

Musically speaking, 'Aqueduct' comes through on one of those ZIK riddims that you listen to and enjoy, casually, but when you REALLY dig into them, you hear such a wide array of sounds and mechanisms that don't stand out unless you spend that extra time working with them. Unsurprisingly, it makes for a lovely dub and one which can lay a large claim to being the single best "Glory" has to offer altogether.

'Glory' featuring Kabaka Pyramid & 'Glory Dub'

Our title track here features Akae Beka alongside the genius and current holder of the Best Reggae Album Grammy, Kabaka Pyramid and the two deliver a lesson which is downright HUMBLING! This song is a potato chip - you CANNOT listen to it just once. No chance! Along with the message being delivered, 'Glory' is delightful to HEAR. Benjamin will never be the most melodic of chanters (you will find dozens of tunes by him which will have you wondering if he can even hear the riddim at all), but he is in a fine form on that front on this tune (coincidentally, if you'd like to hear another good example of a more musically aware Vaughn Benjamin, check a tune called 'Daughtaz And Sunz' from the "Livicated" album, another ZHP set) (I wouldn't be too surprised if those tunes were recorded around the same time, actually) and when the vocals are removed, 'Glory Dub' continues to SHINE! Something which does really stand out on the original track that is wonderfully interspersed (that actually is a word) (...unlike "subjectry" which I made up and LOVE to use) is a horn (and later a saxophone, I believe) and it's little things like that which really make for a LUSH sound on these type of tracks. 'Glory Dub' is BEAUTIFUL!

HOWEVER, it's just pretty damn impossible to ignore and not be impressed when someone erupts like THIS:

"Luminous beings in dis yah physical manifestation 

All working together, participating inna creation

Guided by The King, the highest idea of initiation

Balancing di material and esoteric in the equation

STEPPING OUT OF ATLANTIS, WHO CREAT DI THE FIRST CIVILIZATION?

IT WAS A BLACK AFRIKAN INNA ITHIOPIAN MOUTAINOUS REGION

Stretching forth from Kemet to the Indus-Kush Valley through

THE EVIDENCE OF THE CULTURAL CONNECTION BEAR DI RELATION"

I mean... what... what do you do with THAT! That Kabaka Pyramid - he's a wise one. 

'Son' featuring Mykal Rose & 'Son Dub'

I was pleasantly surprised to see the venerable Mykal Rose join Akae Beka for 'Son' and I don't know why exactly; it just didn't seem like a likely combination to come at any point, but after listening to it - I am damn happy whoever chose to attempt to bring these two together actually made it happen. 'Son' features such a powerful and almost addictive simplicity that I found myself listening to it not just because I enjoyed it or because I was trying to root out its meaning, but also because I just found it so comforting. For his part, Rose (who has been gifted with one of the most distinct voices that we've had in Reggae music) also thrives in the straight-forwardness of the moment and what you have hear is a nearly divine piece of music for the senses. LISTENING TO 'SON' MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD! That is a trait which well extends to 'Son Dub' as well as, although the its beginnings have more of a flare (I think that's a flute at the head of the tune), it settles into this ultra COOL vibe which dominates throughout its duration (you listen to it at ~2:10 or so, 'Son Dub' is in the STARS! It is so nice!).

'Still Small Voice' featuring Reemah & 'Still Small Voice Dub'

.....and then.... and then there's this.... thing. Were you to actually ask me WHO I would most love to hear make a song with Vaughn Benjamin, I'd come up with quite a few names. I'd name people like Luciano, Determine might be somewhere on that list and maybe even a wildcard like an Aidonia (because, why not!) (CAPLETON would also be there as well). Somewhere near the very top of my list would also be the brilliant Reemah and LOOK WHAT THIS IS! The downright SHATTERING 'Still Small Voice' brings together two of the greatest lyrical minds modern Reggae music has ever produced AND THEY DO NOT DISAPPOINT! I'm still working on this one (and that process will only end when I do), but where I am is that 'Still Small Voice' is about conscience.

"A still small voice, with principle speaking

OF WHY LOVE IS NEEDED

WHY LOVE IS NEEDED"

It's about that present tiny thought that we all have in the back of our heads that (hopefully) helps to steer us in the right direction when we have those moments of doubt. It is far too often overlooked (it comes with being flawed, which is what we all are), but IT IS THERE! Reemah puts 'Still Small Voice' to the sword and absolutely destroys everything everywhere with her contributions and, I have to say, virtually each and every time I hear her work at her absolute best, I have this feeling that we are listening to someone TRULY powerful and special. Musically, 'Still Small Voice' is interesting because it is so complex, to the point where you notice it even behind the vocals. The dub seems to be more streamlined at times, which is more of what you would have thought it would be and the mix ultimately does work.... as you knew it would for a dub of, easily, one of the best tunes of 2023.

You don't need a closing paragraph, don't act like you do! It's Akae Beka, it's Zion High it's the ZIK. That's all you need to know (.... along with all that other stuff I just wrote up there^) (that stuff is important as well). "Glory" is available now.