Signatures Vol. XIII: Vybz Kartel

 

I think I have a unique perspective on this one. Considering the fact that I, effectively, ceased being a fan of Vybz Kartel... maybe some FIFTEEN YEARS ago, the idea of doing a Signatures feature on him represents a classic run and, I'm predicting, A LOT of fun. When Kartel rose to prominence surely no one could have predicted either of the two main things that would follow him: The seemingly endless line of controversies and the heights that he would reach. To my opinion, those heights were made possible because of the tremendous level of SKILL he displayed so early on during his career; the likes of which (in one person), the Dancehall probably had not seen up until then. Today we celebrate a so very, VERY rare talent. Signatures: Vybz Kartel.

1.'Send On'

Heavenly & Celestial. While it is virtually impossible to remember the work Lenky has done in the music, in general (and still is), highlighted by the immortal Diwali Riddim; what immediately followed that track has remained in my mind as well. In 2003, the ace producer would set forth the Time Travel which would give birth to at least solid tunes from the likes of Ele, General Degree, Bounty Killer, Determine and Assassin [Agent Sasco]. The riddim was a damn joy as it changed and changed again into variations for several of the vocalists. With all of that being said, however, the sitting Monarch of the Time Travel Riddim was Vybz Kartel who blessed it with its MASSIVE herb tune, 'Send On'. TECHNICALLY 'Send On' was fairly straightforward in what it was but when you actually dug into it, there was nothing "simple" going on here. 'Send On' was kinda ridiculous. It was high-tech. It was out in the stars somewhere as Kartel sent on a brilliant torrent of words for the ages. It stands as EASILY one of the best he's ever done, having few in the way of peers. This was polished, refined and streamlined Vybz Kartel at his hypnotic best across one of the finest compositions that he ever touched. 

2.'Robbery'

This ain't serious. Vybz Kartel would have some rare, good-natured fun with some of his peers on this oft-hilarious track from the "Up 2 Di Time" album, 'Robbery'. This tune was the heights of creativity as Kartel took on both foe and friend as NO ONE, not even BERES HAMMOND (who was "first pon di list"), was safe from his bout of kleptomania. The true joy of this song was how he made his way through calling up well known phrases/songs/facts about his prey in the process. Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Buju, Ele, Sizzla Kalonji, Don Corleon (who produces the song), Wayne Marshall... and so many others were forced to be careful where they sat their valuables as Kartel was out for EVERYONE. He saved, in my opinion, his funniest run for Roundhead (always did like Roundhead, very underrated, in my opinion:

"Rob Roundhead widout a gun

Tek him chain and run

HOW A 400lb MAN FI TRY RUN MI DUNG?"

3. 'Badda Dan Dem'

Mi no care. There was a backstory to 'Badda Dan Dem'... kinda. When Kartel came to prominence, he did so, largely, alongside Assassin (now Agent Sasco). They weren't friends (at least not as far as I know) or enemies but they came up together so, like Beenie & Bounty and Busy & Aidonia, they almost continuously drew comparisons to one another. 'Sassin dropped a tune by the name of 'We a Bad From' and, here came Kartel with a song called 'Badda Dan Dem' whose punchline was:

"MI NO CARE WHERE YOU BAD FROM"

So, CLEARLY, it was a response to Assassin's song, right?? I don't think that question was ever answered officially by Kartel but everyone took it as a direct reaction; to the point where Spragga Benz, Sasco's mentor, took offense and reacted with his own tune/s aimed at Kartel (some of which was VERY good) in defense of his protégé (I don't think Sasco, himself, ever responded). Not to pick sides (a hundred years later) but Kartel's first reaction/non-reaction, 'Badda Dan Dem' was fantastic. Gifted with the downright STRANGE (in a good way) Kasablanca Riddim, Kartel PLAYED. It isn't here just because of its covering a significant occurrence in his career but it's also... MAYBE top five here as well.

4. 'Slow Motion'

Put a smile pon mi face. The undeniable changeup here, 'Slow Motion', whether it was realized or not (and it wasn't) was special. Listen to this song maybe two times and you don't really need to play it after that because it becomes GLUED into your memory. The great Tony Kelly supplied his Street Bullies Riddim to Kartel (courtesy of Shaggy's Big Yard) and returned to him was an infectious DIAMOND of a tune. Its course was pretty different than most of the tunes that you're going to see here: No one was killed, no one is smoking anything (...well, they are but that isn't really the point here) and nothing X-rated is going on and 'Slow Motion' was still a major winner. 

5. 'Kill Dem All'

And dun. While the origins/inspiration behind 'Badda Dan Dem' may or may not be in question, there was no mystery at all as to who the intended victim of 'Kill Dem All' was. This tune was probably the best of the back-and-forth Kartel enjoyed with Mavado many years ago (which I now remember quite fondly. It was fun!). Many times, such interactions don't really produce THAT good of material (see Sizzla v Khago) but 'Kill Dem All' was scintillating. It was ridiculously aggressive. It was a damn movie scene of a song (it was the part where there's the crazy chase with everyone shooting at each other) captured nearly PERFECTLY by TJ on his epic Beauty and The Beast Riddim. Though he'd hit a point where he'd kind of swear them off completely (because anytime he made one, even one that was super generic, it would give birth to ten different counteractions from people who would not otherwise get that type of attention) Kartel's gun songs, for what they were, were mightily inventive. Whether specific or broad he almost always hit his mark and 'Kill Dem All' was not an exception. 

6. 'Nah Climb' featuring Ward 21

Rise up. While I'm not finished compiling this list just yet (I think this is tune #8 and I have two more already set, going to add another three or four), chances are fairly decent that 'Nah Climb' is probably going to be the only combination that it features. When I first had this idea, 'Nah Climb' was a definite for it as I can claim it to be, arguably, THE funnest tune Kartel has ever made. Joined by the loonies at Ward 21, and nestled SNUGGLY into Jam 2's GORGEOUS Amharic Riddim, 'Nah Climb' is one of the songs on this list at least in the discussion of being my favourite Vybz Kartel song, period and that is largely due to just how exciting and BEAUTIFUL it's been. I was hooked the very first time I heard it and, all of these years later, my addiction remains as strong as ever.

7. 'Up To The Sky'

Don't drink & drive.

"Dung inna Waterford

A that's where the ganja load

A cellblock ah press it til it flat like a board

Di next episode: Pon di plane on it fi load

Di pilot and di flight attendant dun know di code

And then, never hitch, lock off di x-ray switch

Dog nah waste fi sniff, cause a di plane time fi lift

And if mi hundred-thousand pound about a million spliff

Money high like di cliff

Man haffi shot di sheriff- 

Inna di sky

Don't drink & drive

Smoke weed & fly"

While 'Up To Di Sky' has largely gone forgotten, and that hasn't been unexpected, anyone who came across it during its day will surely attest to its prowess. Like several of the tunes you'll find here today, this one so wonderfully exemplifies what Vybz Kartel did at the height of his powers. He could be so PRECISE but it was done in a... GRIMY kind of way. It was polished and it was refined but it wasn't like he learned how to do it, it's just something that he came up with. 'Up To Di Sky' was almost messy in some respects but DAMN what a performance it was at the same time. 

8. 'Proper English'

Is it? SURELY a large chunk of my affections for 'Proper English' and why it appears on this list goes to John John who supplied Kartel with his blistering Nookie Riddim, over which the deejay would deliver this X-rated masterpiece. I listen to songs like this and hear lines such as:

"I'm poor but when I fuck pussy, I feel rich"

And I wonder/hope if/that people can appreciate the creativity (they can) that it demonstrates. It makes you chuckle when you hear it. It makes you smile and, if you really tuned it in, what you heard in 'Proper English' was next level material. Dirty as all hell? Yeah, sure; but also something that stuck with me.... twenty years on. 

9. 'Solomonic Chronic'

Big & iconic. 'Solomonic Chronic' found Kartel making his play for most dramatic weed song of ALL TIME. Something was wrong with this one... I mean seriously fucked up. You're not supposed to have weed songs that, literally, sound like they could be playing behind an action sequence in a movie. They just aren't supposed to be like that but that was EXACTLY what happened with this one. Essentially lost to time by only being found on an obscure 2008 album by the name of "The Teacher's Back" that was only released in Japan (and never went), 'Solomonic Chronic' has likely not been heard by many of his current fans and that's a damn shame because, within its TRULY ridiculousness, this song was had MAMMOTH chunks of genius. 

10. 'Murderer'

Hot coffee. If no one was harmed on 'Slow Motion' and took a moment to cease the violence and put the guns down, that time is over now. Pick up your gun and aim it at absolute anything in your sights and fire at will. Songs such as 'Murderer' have an outlook which is, of course, hellaciously violent; then you look (and listen) into it further and you arrive at realizing JUST HOW FUCKING BRILLIANT IT IS.

"Mi have gun weh work wid pin-number like Nokia chip

Shot contagious like disease, try don't catch it

Head buss like bicycle wheel, try don't patch it

Mi gun dem land plane and turn over ship"

What the hell is that?! Somewhere in this song, which came across the French Vanilla Riddim, is a word-perfect display that... maybe three or four artists in the history of the Dancehall (literally talking about Kartel, Papa San & Aidonia), ever, could have delivered in the way you hear it done here. 

11. 'So Me A Say'

Like Calypso. The wordplay, alone, on 'So Me A Say' is FLAWLESS. This tune, which featured on his opus, "JMT", and was produced by the great Don Corleon came with a downright ADORABLE riddim which sounded like something out of the 1980's, Beverly Hills Cop-style and was brilliantly crafted into Dancehall by one of its greatest maestros ever. For his part, Kartel did not miss a beat and the song, although kind of RIGID (and I mean that in a good way. It's almost he's following a pattern in his head. It isn't the craziness, you'll hear on... something like 'Murderer', for example), that kind of attention to detail almost helped to take it to another level in my opinion. 

"Don, how you wicked so?

You get props from DJ Wayne, Colin Hinds and Liquid so

How the gun pon yuh hip big so?

It make boy haffi jump and prance like Calypso"

"Perfect" is a word to be careful with (though I've found myself using it more than couple of times now today) (I like how I say "today", as if it didn't take me week or two to write this thing) but the lyrical display you find on 'So Me A Say' was wholly without blemish. It was perfect and it may just be my favourite song that he's ever made.

12. 'Kartel Reveal It'

Knock dem out like Riddick. From the very second 'Kartel Reveal It' jumps in, you just KNOW that you're about to hear something TRULY special and it does not disappoint. The KNOCKING composition behind it, nurtured to perfection by Jam 2, provides an enthusiastic backdrop over which Kartel aims at enemies far and wide and does so brilliantly. 

"Dem ahgo dead this minute

Sink dem like Titanic"

There was always something SINISTER about 'Kartel Reveal It' as well. You're likely to find other gun tunes on this list (one in particular I've already chosen) but they have an element to them where... the entertainment aspect is stressed. 'Kartel Reveal It' has that as well at its minimum but it also just seemed like Kartel was kinda pissed off! 

13. 'Wosen'

Girls like mine. I wouldn't think that you'd find this almost obscure now tune on many lists such as this one but there is just something about 'Wosen' that has stuck with me over the years. Maybe it's the very odd Diesel Riddim that it goes on? The Diesel was, just as its name suggests, kind of obese. It was CHUNKY! It didn't get around very much and, off the top of my head, I'm struggling to come up with anyone else who even remotely did damage on it (and now, after having looked it up.... no. No one else did). It doesn't get around very much and it would take someone TRULY gifted to produce magic on it (and that isn't to say that it is necessarily a bad riddim but it comes across as very difficult to ride in my opinion). Fortunately, they (I think Galaxy P made this riddim) enlisted the help of one Vybz Kartel who would BLESS the track with 'Wosen'. This song was everything that it should not have been. It MOVED. It was agile and it was so not in an uncomfortable way (if you do want to hear uncomfortable gal tunes on the Diesel (and you do not), check Galaxy P's own offering, 'Tickle Her Fancy' which is awful). 'Wosen' is not in the upper echelon of songs on this list and there're tunes MUCH better than it in his catalogue that I cut off of this list ( like 'Weed Partner') (and 'War Naah Talk Over') (and 'Ride In') but, given the circumstances, it ranks as one of Kartel's finest performances altogether... but no one knows it.

14. 'Badman Nah'

1. 2. 3. 4. And finally, if this list is meant to be a celebration of SKILL and TALENT (and it is) then it would be incomplete without the infamous 'Badman Nah'; one of the absolute FILTHIEST displays of ability that I have ever heard in the Dancehall.

Da Grammys 2026!

I don't feel like writing an intro. They announced the nominees for the 2026 Grammy Awards. They have a Reggae category. Let us take a quick look at them and make a bad prediction for the winner. BOOM! 

"Heart & Soul" by Vybz Kartel [Vybz Kartel Music + Greedy Lion]

Vybz Kartel was nominated last year for "Party With Me", if he releases an album next year (and he most surely will), it will also be nominated. This year, he was back with "Heart & Soul" which, for whatever it's worth, is clearly stronger than "Party With Me", at least in my opinion. I am working on a tribute to Kartel (called Signatures) but it's full of MUCH older work because it's been quite awhile since he made my type of music, though i am in the minority there. You'd figure that, with such regularity, he'll likely take home a Grammy one of these years and it wouldn't be surprising at all if 2026 was his.

"No Place Like Home" by Jesse Royal [Easy Star Records]

As was the case for Kartel, 2026 represents the second nomination for Jesse Royal as, a few years back, he was tipped for "Royal". His effort for 2025, "No Place Like Home", isn't quite as strong in my opinion but it did have a number of big tunes (the biggest of which probably being 'Hope', alongside Romain Virgo). Also in its favour would be the fact that "No Place Like Home" features a Marley [Yohan Marley], which can only help your chances and 2023's Reggae Grammy winner, Kabaka Pyramid also makes an appearance. Take that and combine it with relatively recent voter familiarity and Jesse Royal could go home with the prize next year. 

"Blxxd & Fyah" by Keznamdi [Keznamdi Music Group]

First-time nominee, Keznamdi, gets a nod this year for his "Blxxd & Fyah" set which reached not very long at all (it was August, doesn't seem like THAT long ago, still) and though I think it's difficult to see him actually winning, he does have a very appealing and OPEN style that I think Grammy voters will enjoy, going forward. This would be an excellent introduction for many of them and, in a few years (or even next year), maybe the roots have been laid for him to win it all. Another thing about Keznamdi is that his album is excellent. "Blxxd & Fyah" is one of the best album's here, it might even crack my top ten list for the year; so what it may lack in star power (it does) it more than makes up for in overall quality.

"Treasure Self Love" by Lila Iké [Ineffable Records]

We're about to wrap a bow around the year that was 2025 and the ridiculously interesting Lila Iké is kind of a big deal and, to go with it, here is her first Grammy nomination for her "Treasure Self Love" release. This album at least seemed to be all over the place but it never truly stepped too far from center and what resulted was an extremely well-received and appreciated project which has led us here. I actually think Iké's chances here are quite good. If voters have paid the slightest bit of attention, this isn't their introduction to her wonderful music (and damn interesting background) and you could make the case that, in any circle, "Treasure Self Love" was one of Reggae's biggest releases of the year (I should probably try to review this thing in the next few weeks).

"From Within" by Mortimer [Overstand Entertainment]

Though it missed the cut-off for this year's awards, Mortimer's 2024 offering, "From Within", did do a considerable amount of damage last year as it was carried on several 'best of' lists at year's end. Perhaps (not likely), that's a fact that has given him a head-start for Grammy voters who've been keen on it for over twelve months at this point. Three other things it has going for it: Mortimer has been very consistently performing at a high level in recent times, it has a very open and easy to appreciate vibes to it as well and between Damian Marley and the aforementioned Pyramid, "From Within" featured two previous Grammy winners (Lila Iké also appeared). It doesn't seem likely but were you looking for anything resembling a 'dark horse' this year - look no further (you couldn't look any further anyway, this is the last nominee). 

AND THE WINNER IZZZZZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

"Treasure Self Love" by Lila Iké

In the absence of a true hammer this year ("hammer" being a Marley or a previous winner), I think it's largely a two horse race, with Kartel & Lila Iké leading the way. I'm towards "Treasure Self Love" because I think (it is) the better of the two, in general, and also think that if/when Vybz Kartel does win a Grammy, it will be with something more substantial. The next time he puts his proverbial foot down on an album --with respect to the competition of course-- I think he takes it but that isn't "Heart & Soul" (despite its name) (and next year it should be pretty good. You'll have Chronixx, probably Buju and I'd be surprised if we don't get something from the Marley clan). I think if voters do their research on the background of Lila Iké, they'll really enjoy her uniqueness and  listen through "Treasure Self Love" will net her the victory, joining Koffee in 2020 as the only females to ever win the award. So, with that being said you can learn who does win it all on Sunday, the 1st of February, 2026 when we give congratulations to Keznamdi for winning the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. I'm going to get something to eat. 

Da Grammy's 2025

Okay so, it is that magical, wonderful time of the year when we all begin to take a look back at the year that was and we do this by... taking a look ahead at what is to come in the form of The Grammy Awards, early next year, given to [what they believe] the year's finest Reggae album [...or what they deem to be an "album"]. Today we take a look at the nominees and end up making a sure-to-be-inaccurate prediction. We do it every years so.... let's get to it. 

{Note: No. CLEARLY I did not feel like writing an intro for this one. So I apologize for its poor quality. The rest of this post is goo... is as bad as it normally is}

"Take It Easy" by Collie Buddz [Harper Digital]

TECHNICALLY, last year Bermy star, Collie Buddz, was also nominated via his lovely riddim, the Cali Roots and his name is back on the bill this year in a more direct form via his own album, "Take It Easy" (...which also released in 2023 but, apparently, it had passed the deadline). "Take It Easy" fully deserves to be her. It is a GOOD album and, given the fact that the people who vote for these things should be well familiar with Collie Buddz' name you'd expect an album of his in 2024 (or 2023) to snatch a nomination. Previous nominee (and winner) Bounty Killer ups the star power present, giving "Take It Easy" a more LOGICAL look at a Grammy. 

"Never Gets Late Here" by Shenseea [Rich Immigrants + Interscope Records]

Given her popularity and her prolificacy (and the fact that she just hit twenty-eight years old), you'd have to think that a Grammy at some point is in the future of superstar, Shenseea so don't be surprised if 2025 is her year with "Never Gets Late Here". Though I've yet to enjoy much of her work when compiled together (pretty sure I'm not her target audience), the ridiculously high level of talent is un-ignorable. Lyrically, Shenseea can do some SERIOUS damage and do it effortlessly. The greatest example of that, here, was a tune called 'Tap Out' but she's shown it in glaring spots throughout the years. "Never Gets Late Here" was quite well received amongst her fans as far as I could tell and heavily promoted as well and, like I said, perhaps this is her time.

"Bob Marley: One Love" Music Inspired by the Film Deluxe [Island Records]

Probably the on-paper favourite this year would be the soundtrack to, easily, one of the biggest moments in Reggae music in 2024, the film "Bob Marley: On Love". The original version of the album features music exclusively from the Gong, himself, while the nominated deluxe set features work of the legendary singer placed into the hands of several different vocalists. Most notable (to my audience) would be the likes of Skip Marley, Mystic Marley and the aforementioned Shenseea. That being said, I don't particularly like this album, AT ALL, but you're not shocked at all if, given its origins, that it goes home with the prize.

"Evolution" by The Wailers [Crescent Moon Records + Marshall Sound]

From Marley's movie to his band. The immortal Wailers checked in for 2024 with the new project, "Evolution" which, although it didn't seem to generate a ton of buzz, was a fine production and one of the finest of the entire year from the genre, in my opinion. I don't find myself keeping up as much as I should with the wailers these days but I did take "Evolution" for a listen when it released (a couple of weeks or so after my birthday) and I was WELL impressed with songs such as 'You Belong To Me', 'Holding On' with Gramps Morgan, 'Generation' with Michael Rose, the all kinds of catchy 'Give It Up' featuring the timeless Marcia Griffiths as well as the closer 'Sins' and the title track. By my count, this is the fourth time the Wailers have been nominated for this award (in one form or another) and you'd think they'd win it one of these years, eventually; 2025 may just be it with, arguably, the single best album on this list.

"Party With Me" by Vybz Kartel [Adidjahiem Records]

To the surprise of absolutely no one, also getting a Grammy nod this year is the recently freed, Vybz Kartel, who, as expected, wasted NO TIME AT ALL, in putting together a piece of work and setting it out to the masses. Said work, "Party With Me", was EONS from his best work to my opinion and he'll likely never hit those heights again (when Kartel was at his zenith, there was NOTHING like him), but his nomination here goes to show that not even thirteen years directly out of the spotlight (.....but not REALLY) have diminished his popularity.

and the winner izzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

"Take It Easy" by Collie Buddz

Just being nominated a year ago, you would think, would have provided Collie Buddz with a familiar advantage because MOST LIKELY many of the same people who voted in 2023 are voting again in 2024. On top of that, the artist has a name which goes back quite awhile ('Come Around' is nearing two decades old at this point) and, as I said, "Take It Easy" is just good. I am rarely correct on these predictions and just assume that I'll be wrong but I am actually EXPECTING Collie Buddz to win it this time. Am I right. Probably not, but who cares. See who takes home the Grammy for Best Reggae album (as well as the rest of them) on the 2nd of February, 2025.

Rest Well!

"School girl tell mi seh she nuh need no tutor

A pure executive man recruit her

That's why di college boot her

Di brown one seh fi her man haffi be a shooter

CBR man, nothin pon a scooter

Gwan dream on like Martin Luther

She want a man weh super

SOMEBODY WID WHOLE HEAP A FAME, LIKE ARIF COOPER

Young girls ah trail man, him a nah Pied Piper

Study fi become a star like Mekhi Pfifer

Mi swear seh: I WILL NE-VER

Go jail fi no girl weh just come outta diaper" 

Rest easy & thank you for your contributions!

{Note: Quite easily one of THE most underrated and underappreciated verses in the history of Dancehall}

Lyrics!: Vibez Cartel

How quickly we forget. Before Vybz Kartel started to . . . Do other stuff, he was quite easily one of the most inventive and destructive lyricists the Dancehall has ever seen. Drawing comparison to such a wide variety of predecessors, including Bounty Killer, Papa San and Madd Anju, the Portmore DJ with the very strange delivery was tapped to be amongst the next generation of artists and a future leader of the pack - Someone who would, someday, seemingly inspire his own fleet of up and comers. Well, a few years on and all of that has come true, although certainly not in the way that most of us would have imagined and maybe not even have hoped. Still, I frequently go back to what I consider to be his prime and pre-prime years of the era circa 2003-06 (the 'up 2 di time' years) (down to di minute!) and am STILL just as frequently amazed at what this man was capable of. This was a time when the Dancehall was truly (and I hate to use a cliché) experiencing someone who was not only at the absolute height of their talents, but was also 'ahead of his time'. Here, we look at ten very random and ‘punctual’ and potent phrases from The Minister of Time - Vybz Kartel [back when no one knew how to actually spell his damn name and wondered why he had the name of an entire crew and was only one person].

"Murderah!
Blood deh pon yah shoulda
Buju gimme di money and report it tomorrow
Tek Mad Cobra drop top ah Southboro
Mi mek Frisco walk lak him a disco
Rob Roundhead widout a gun -
Tek him chain and run
How a four-hundred pound man fi try run mi dung?
Buccaneer seh widout ooman him nah have no career
So mi kidnap every gyal him have an carry dem up a Vere"
-'Robbery'

"Singa Blinga seh, 'Kartel a what time?'
Up to di time, mi hear Singa talk, but mi no matta time
Cah mi have mi weed an mi ah look seven dollar coin
1 fi buy di rizzla
6 fi buy di cigarette -
What kind? Craven A
But no bodda smoke it lak di last time
Inhale it and blow it lak when ref whistle fi halftime
Man deh pon di ends til bout 27 past 9
And when mi look up inna di sky mi si di sun ah shine!"
-'Sen On'

"Come sen on di pussy mek mi show you how fi manage it
Doctor haffi bandage it -
When mi finish damage it
You is acting lak a giant, so mi mek you a midget
Wid di cocky wid di curve weh bend you up lak a digit
Cuz, if you a penicillin, mi ah diabetic
If you a anesthetic, mi ah di paramedic
From you land inna mi bed you get cocky til yah sick
Cah you neva come a my yard fi pussy -
A trick!"
-'Pon Dis'


"From dem highjack mi Q45 Infinite
From mi know who did it -
Knock dem out lak Riddick
No, rude bwoy, kill it
Sen fi di morgue, not clinic
Dem ahgo dead dis minute
Sink dem lak Titanic
Jam 2 wipe dem out!
Mek maggage bite dem out
Di pussyhole light dem out
Marrow fly lak when kite deh bout
Friendly foes
Judge mi fi mi Fendi clothes
Tru dem gyal ah sen mi rose
An no Valentine mi bruk
Jill and Geneva codes
Mi badda dan Walker Texas Ranger
Whole 2118 episodes
So even if you bring di whole a di guns dem and di swords
It nah mek no sense
Cah mi nah go tek no fence"
-'Kartel Ah Reveal It'

"Don how you wicked so?
You get props from DJ Wayne, Colin Hinds and Liquid so
How di gun pon yah hip big so?
It mek bwoy haffi jump and prance lak Calypso"
-'So Me A Say'

"Man a real badman
Buss fiber glass and blue steel badman
Beat likkle youth -
You a baby badman
Beat gyal alone -
You a lady badman"
-'Real Badman'


"Dung inna Waterford
A dats weh di ganja load
A Cellblock ah press it flat lak a board
Di next episode -
Pon di plane on it fi load
Di pilot and di flight attendant dun know di code
And then -
Never hitch, lock off the X-Ray switch
Dog nah waste time fi sniff
Cuz ah di plane time fi lift
If mi hundred-thousand pound about a million spliff
Money high lak di cliff
Man haffi -
Shot di sheriff inna di sky
Don’t drink and drive
Smoke weed and fly"
-'Up To The Sky'

"School girls tell mi seh she nah need no tutor
A peer executive man recruit her
That’s why di college boot her
The brown one seh fi her man haffi be a shooter
CBR man, nuttin pon a scooter
Gwan dream on lak Martin Luther
She want a man weh super
Smaddy wid whole heap a fame lak Arif Cooper
Young girls a trail man, him a nuh pied piper
Study fi become a star lak Mekhi Phiefer
Mi swear seh, I will never
Go jail fi no girl weh just come outta diaper"
-'Little Miss'

"Two party but a di same sad song dem ah play
Poor people money lean back and rock away
Dem raise everyting from oil to Craven A
Then how dem no raise up everybody pay?
Portmore mi bawn and a dehso mi yard stay
So mi nah pay no toll fi cross di Causeway
Mr. Bruce, Mr. PJ -
Dis is just a couple question from Addi di DJ
Question: Kingston mek no AK?
Question: How gun come inna JA?
Who own di wharf, and di airport, di docks and di bay?"
-'Emergency'


"Mi buss mi gun an breeze cock it
Special black blunt, bullet proof cannot stop it
Even if a doctor lay dung inna ya top pocket
Hollow point dead between yah heart and attack it
Bore it and chop chop it
Math automatic -
Multiply bullet, divide yah head and subtract it
When mi fyah shot guard ring caan turn-back it
Mi no fyah one shot, dun gun and dun ratchet
When you seh 'run' -
Watch it!
Mi have gun weh work wid pin number lak Nokia chip
Shot contagious lak disease, try don’t catch it
Head bust lak bicycle wheel, try don’t patch it
Mi gun dem land plane and turn ova ship"
-'Murderah'

Zzzzzzzzzzz: A Review of Pon Di Gaza by Vybz Kartel

The list of artists of whom I have been very critical, at least in my opinion, is very short and I always like to think that I have good reason for it. Almost always the situation which is most likely to draw my ire is simply making BAD music or, even more likely, an artist who has proven him/her self capable of doing much better, making BAD music. The ‘perfect’ case and point (watch this now) would be Perfect, the somewhat radical chanter from out of ST. ANN’Z (!). It is my opinion that, up until very recently, Perfect’s material was very substandard and, unlike many of his peers, there’s not much of a middle ground with Perfect’s music, his style, itself, almost prevents him from being AVERAGE, thus, when he’s not good, he’s generally BAD and that. Perfect’s (in my opinion) bad streak bottomed when released his most recent work Karma, however, as I said, his troubles seem to be in the past these days and the few pieces I’ve heard post Karma have been more of the obviously and unusually talented chanter in a finer form. I’ve been even more liberal with throwing around critiques for Turbulence who was once one of my favourite artists in the game and one who is just so talented, considering his ability to chant, DJ or sing (and do so in a VERY powerful voice) that I felt (and still do) it was a real shame that the now nearly thirty year old artist spent his time in the studio singing INCREDIBLY mediocre love ballads and not doing the BEAUTIFUL Roots music through which he earned his stripes (and even better love songs back then also). There have definitely been others on similar situations and scales, such as Norris Man and even Sean Paul to a lesser degree of whom I’ve had to think once or twice that, “something simply isn’t right here”. That being said, however, by far one of my STRANGEST ‘targets’ of critique over the past year or so has been Vybz Kartel. This is true despite the fact that over the relatively same period of time, Kartel has enjoyed some of his biggest commercial success (especially locally) in his entire career, as with a seemingly endless supply of chart toppers being dropped, he has almost unarguably propelled himself to Jamaica’s number one Dancehall artist at this point. Yet, while I’ve been sure to give due credit to the DJ when he’s done well (as he DEFINITELY did with his most recent album, the MASSIVE The Teacher’s Back, which was easily one of the best hardcore Dancehall album that I’ve heard in quite awhile), to my ears there has been a noticeable shift in his music, which hasn’t exactly met my tastes so well.

So what’s been this “shift”? Well, awhile back the hanging question was always whether or not (and, by extension, HOW) Vybz Kartel could evolve his music. How can you go from a lyrical master of the ‘Three G’s’ of Dancehall subjectry (Girls, Guns & Ganja) as Kartel was, to being an artist who places his proverbial hat into several different things musically speaking. And what Kartel evidently came up with was this very mechanically vibed style which, at least to my ears, made less usage of his main talent (which is, of course, his lyrical ability) and I would even go as far as to say that he did it largely because of the backlash he received from countless upon countless people telling the artist just how much power he had and just how much positivity he could spread. The style he adopted offered only occasional glimpses into the UNDENIABLE BRILLIANCE he once exhibited and more closely resembled the rather ghoulish slow style of vibes you’d hear from Bugle. The difference being that the style is exactly what Bugle is and, unfortunately, it’s what Kartel has become. Apparently I wasn’t in the majority with my thinking because, as I mentioned, Kartel’s popularity hasn’t suffered at all and his ‘empire’ continues to grow for the most part and he’s now attempting to add a jewel to his crown as Vybz Kartel releases his fifth studio album (by my count), Pon Di Gaza and he does so under the most unusual set of circumstances. The album, Pon Di Gaza is apparently (at least initially) only offered to the world digitally, which isn’t very rare these days, but it’s also being pushed by his own Adidjaheim label (in conjunction with the label of his new favourite producer Notnice) and Kartel is an artist who most likely would need only to say ‘Yes’ in order to have a deal with the industry’s leader, VP Records. But, always the trendsetter, Kartel is doing his own thing, as usual and the result is what IMMEDIATELY became one of the year’s most anticipated Reggae/Dancehall albums the SECOND it was announced. However, musically speaking, Pon Di Gaza is a (very) poor man’s version of The Teacher’s Back album as, although it similarly vibed to a degree, it’s literally light years away from that downright destructive piece. I had such a bad feeling about this one going in because, listening through the initial sound clips, the first thought I had in my mind was “BORING”, and as polarizing as Vybz Kartel and his music can be that’s simply a word you should associate with him AT ALL (even if you hate the tunes, it shouldn’t be BORING) and having spun through it extensively by this point, my first thought in reflection is that. . . Well it is boring and it’s kind of flawed also. Vybz Kartel is one of a very select group of artists that we have today who, by virtue of simply being himself, creates a vibes to his music which is his and his alone and, even if you may have not liked them all (and I pretty much did, for the most part) what you’d have to say about his previous albums (Timeless, Up 2 Di Time, JMT and The Teacher’s Back) is that NO ONE in Dancehall could have made those same vibes sound anywhere near as good as he did. Not that he’s just this insane talent (and he is), but that Kartel’s music, like I said, is so categorized by the elements of his own style which is his and his alone at this point. Pon Di Gaza? I could probably name you more than a couple of artists who could have not only made this album but made it BETTER than Vybz Kartel at this point unfortunately.

Two things you should know about Pon Di Gaza before you decide to pick it up, even if you fancy yourself the hardest of the hardcore ‘Gaza fi life’ screaming Kartel fans: The first is that it’s entirely too long (although shorter than The Teacher’s Back) and that should be obvious. Besides being at least seven tracks too long, Pon Di Gaza is also (more importantly) EDITED, so beware. ‘Yeah Though I Walk’ is the first tune you need to beware of, but not too much as the ‘duty free’ song is probably the best tune on the entire album altogether. The story behind Pon Di Gaza is that a down Kartel penned the lion’s share of it last year and, again, that isn’t his style with the HEAVY and almost depressed type of vibes, but Yeah Though I Walk is strong stuff and I could pluck it off and it would fit rather comfortably on the TTB album definitely. Too bad things don’t stay this good! They don’t get bad actually (well, not ALL bad) and certainly not on the next tune, ‘Ghetto Youth’ [aka ‘Haffi Mek It One Day‘]. This tune is one which threatens to prove me wrong as, although it is just a touch mechanical, it’s still a very nice and poignant song. Yes, Kartel can do this type of song (he CAN do any type), but it generally proves to be hit or miss in terms of quality, luckily Ghetto Youth has quality written all over it and it was thusly well received by the masses also. ‘Bail For Me’ concludes matters at the head of Pon Di Gaza and, again, it’s not bad at all. The song, at times, almost seems like it’s about to fall apart and it, by no means, is one of my favourites, but it’s doable and Not Nice’s SCATHING riddim of the same name is downright spectacular and not to be missed. All in all, Pon Di Gaza’s is an opening which packs some of the biggest vibes of the albums in one small section and, tellingly, even IT could have been better.

Now to the madness. Two of the most (including THE most) high profile tunes on Pon Di Gaza have been disgustingly mutilated. The first is former MASSIVE hit ‘Romping Shop’ alongside Spice. The tune was a huge hit for the pair and was pretty x rated. However, you listen to this THING on Pon Di Gaza and not only is it with the remixed (I.e. legal) clunking riddim, it’s HORRIBLY edited. Some of the words cut out and replaced by noises include ‘breast’, ‘nipple’ and ‘ride it’. At least it got to keep its name though. Why they chose ‘Versatility’ instead of the original tune ‘Virginity’ is an absolute mystery to me. The original was a hit, because of the change; however, the remix makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE linguistically. And while those two tunes suffer from the censor’s axe, several other tunes on Pon Di Gaza suffer from the far more sinister BAD or WEIRD. The latter rears his ugly face on the forced ‘Broken Cry’ which features a moving sample from one of Martin Luther King’s speeches (it also features Kartel Portmore Empire protégé Blak Ryno) The song goes absolutely NO WHERE. It would have, in my opinion, stood better as an interlude with just the speech alone as the actual tune takes REALLY takes away from it. ‘Can’t Frame Me’ seems to try and follow in the footsteps of the opener, but it doesn’t have similar lyrical success and although it definitely isn’t a BAD song, it never really catches on and is ultimately forgettable. ‘For Love’ is just BAD. The song takes its hook from, of all places, Bobby Caldwell’s 1970 something hit What You Won’t Do For Love (which is a good song!) and flushes it right down the toilet. Kartel changes things up (not really) on the pedestrian Love of Money across the decent Slaughter House Riddim and it has some solid wordplay (duh), but nothing really that strikes of the DJ at his best. This is child’s play for Kartel. The wine up - wine up tune has never really been his forte and ‘Whine Up You Body’ on Pon Di Gaza isn’t terrible, but Kartel can definitely do better (see ‘Beyonce Wine‘). ‘Get Wild’ isn’t very good, but STILL it happens to be one of the better tunes on Pon Di Gaza. You’ll hear and you’ve heard several tunes like this one from Kartel in the past and this one doesn’t feature anywhere near the level of lyrics as some of the others, but it’s decent enough for the circumstances. Jump ahead to the Chimney Records vibed Movie Star riddim which backs the tune ‘Like A Movie‘, which is similar to Get Wild in the sense that it’s also one of the better tunes here, but ultimately nothing special AT ALL. ‘You A My Baby’? Another decent number, but the evil censor rears is back taking the adult goodness from the tune which used to be quite popular. See now you take that and fill in the gaps between the mentioned tunes with those which I didn’t bring up, ‘Love At First Sight‘, ‘The World Turns’ and ‘Gaza Love’ and you take a decent stretch and basically ruin it. Of those three, The World Turns [aka Move Ya Body] DEFINITELY gets off to such a nice start before descending into something which sounds like Kartel is making it up as he goes along pretty much after the very first verse (however, the riddim on that one is RIDICULOUS. Another one from Tarik ‘Russian’ Johnston, who also helms Virginity/Versatility). Three tunes down the stretch of Pon Di Gaza actually get my attention and do so in a good way. The first is ‘Life We Living’ which is a very SOLID social commentary and rather easily climbs to the heights of tunes on the album. There’s also the very strange sounding ‘Struggle’ which, initially, sounds like the theme song from some TV show from the 1980’s. The song is a similar one to Life We Living and at first I didn’t like it too much, but it definitely grew on me after about five spins or so. You may not favour it very much (or you may LOVE it) and if you don’t, at least give it a few spins before giving up on the song completely. ‘Tear Drops’ another similar one actually started much higher with me, in terms of my appreciation of it compared to Struggle (I now rate Struggle higher), it didn’t have much ‘growing’ to do at all and it’s still a pretty decent song, although at this point I’m dying for that finish line. Said line comes in the form of Want My Weed which, unfortunately, just like the other tune from the last bit Vybz Kartel’s Pon Di Gaza which I didn’t mention, ‘Video Recorder’, is damn near terrible from all ostensible levels. It’s not a great ending, not anywhere near it, but at least it’s OVER!

Overall, I’m pretty sure this album is going to do well and I’m pretty sure the fans are going to enjoy it for the most part. And I would even go on to predict (as I have in the past) that with this newfound digital linking from Kartel and his crew, we could very well see a rather steady stream of albums coming out of the Portmore Empire and not all of them from Vybz Kartel either. As for me, however, I just don’t like it. The ‘version’ of the artist I liked was the one who was full of CONFIDENCE and knew that he was the baddest lyricist in the Dancehall. Maybe this version still knows it, but the downright depressed and boring vibes I heard on Pon Di Gaza just doesn’t seem like he does. For the hardcore Kartel faithful, again, I’ll remind you that this one is edited so if you see your favourite tune here, you might want to listen it first. And to the newer fans, either pay the arm and a leg for The Teacher’s Back or pick up JMT. Pon Di Gaza while definitely the biggest album in the Dancehall right now in terms of star power, just doesn't pan out, at least not to my ears and he can do SO MUCH better. Maybe I’m just a ‘hater’, but if I am, material such as what is to be found on Pon Di Gaza doesn’t make my job very hard at all.

Rated 2/5

Adidjaheim/Notnice

2009

The Vault Reviews: Timeless by Vybz Kartel

Of the many and many WONDERFUL things to coincide with Reggae and Dancehall music stretching worldwide, definitely THE greatest would be the fact that our artists are now afforded the opportunity to be marketed more and better, thus increasing their portion of the funds. You’re just now starting to see Reggae albums start getting somewhat consistent sales in the tens of thousands of copies, despite not being big household names like the Sean Pauls, Beenie Mans and Elephant Mans of the world. Bubbling near the top of the charts right now as he has been for the better part of the last year or so is Little Hero (here is where you say “WHO!”), for some reason unbeknownst to me (other than the fact that his album, Revelation, is MASSIVE) and most people. Of course that’s absolutely wonderful that such a thing could happen for him and definitely others are receiving similar attention (such as King Hopeton, who produced Revelation, with his own album King Of Kings) but something which has virtually disappeared from the Reggae landscape is the ‘underground’ album. With almost every album being available from some distributor selling in some remote corner of the planet (or online), it’s pretty difficult for any artist of note to release a project which just seems to resonate with the hardcore fans and go pretty much unnoticed by the casual masses. The only thing we have similar nowadays is this exodus like movement to the Far East where, virtually every other month or so we see some artist of note release an album strictly for the Japanese market but even those projects are making it easier back to this side of the planet through various means. What used to happen was that an artist (usually, but not always, one of a VERY active degree) would release more than one album, around the same time, with one receiving the lion’s share of the publicity, while the other, released almost always for some very low ranking label and one which sometimes just would all but disappear. These albums have been replaced by countless and basically untraceable mixtapes and only occasionally does such a thing happen but if you were go through the not too distant past you see some examples of BIG underground albums. Probably the best example is Beenie Man’s 2000 album Trendsetter which has since gone on to become a ‘cult-classic’ of sorts. That album arrived just before the Doctor’s Grammy winning Art & Life album and was definitely the better album for Dancehall heads (it was released by his own home label at the time, Shocking Vibes). Of course, the ultra-active Sizzla has had more than one. He actually (and technically) had more than one in the same year, back in 2002 when all the buzz was surrounding his VP release, Da Real Thing, the underground album Hosanna would find a very nice audience as would the continuously delayed and downright mysterious Up In Fire. And, most recently he delivered Jah Bless Me With Life in 2007 when the world was well in tune with his I-Space. There have been other very nice ones such as Mad Cobra’s Snypa Way in 2002 and Perfect’s Rasta Rebel which have gone on beneath the radar, yet done so in GRAND fashion.

An artist who would have EASILY been one of the first choices to have such an album, in lieu of the mixtapes he released almost DAILY around the same time on his own, would have been Vybz Kartel who would release his own official debut album, Up 2 Di Time in late 2003 on Greensleeves Records. Kartel had attracted SO MUCH attention at the time, due, in large part probably to his relationship working with famed Dancehall ‘Warlord’, the legendary Bounty Killer, but on his own strength as he had developed a style which hadn’t been seen in only a single artist, probably EVER in the game. Kartel’s rise to prominence, in retrospect, was probably unlike anything I had ever seen in Dancehall music and since then he has definitely (musically speaking) fulfilled on much of the potential he showed back then. Kartel made his name primarily working alongside Don Corleone who produced the majority of his Up 2 Di Time, but he also worked for a variety of other names as well. Thus, after linking with Greensleeves for the debut album (and another two since then also on the label), Kartel then, bright and early in the following year, 2004, went on to release his own underground album, Timeless. This album was basically a compilation of nearly ALL of the tunes he had voiced for his next largest source of producers after Corleone, King Jammy and his extended family of producers. Timeless was released on what I think is Jammy’s own album label, Father & Son Records (and distributed by one of the King’s songs Baby G) and was a Jamaican release. Now because of the aforementioned buzz around the artist, it made it outside of the island fairly quickly, and I, living in the States at the time, had it no more than a week after its full on official release date if I recall correctly but was still far out shadowed by Up 2 Di Time and I would be willing to bet that even though Kartel was (and arguably still is) an artist who SPECIFICALLY captures the attentions of only the hardcore Dancehall fans (even though he is much more popular on an international level now than he would have been at the time Timeless was released, although still not among the TOP names in that respect) who would have flooded the place to get that album, most of those fans probably don’t have Timeless and maybe have not even heard of it. Be that the case, its definitely unfortunate as Timeless was BY FAR the more hardcore album between it and UP 2 Di Time. U2DT wasn’t a ‘soft’ album by any stretch of the word but it was far more POLISHED and FRESH than Timeless. Greensleeves chose that album to show off the rather strange qualities than Kartel possessed at their finest and most marketable. Timeless, on the other hand, had much more of a distinguishable EDGE to it. It was dark, grimy and everything which would own up to that underground classic label which it would eventually earn.

Alongside the obvious shift in vibes between Up 2 Di Time and Timeless, another very obvious difference is the music itself. Don Corleone has a very ‘loose’ style of production, his riddims are ALL OVER THE PLACE, whereas the Jammy’s crew has a more structured (albeit harsher at the same time) and straight forward style and it’s also, from Kartel‘s point of view, more lyrical (again, while harsher). Exhibit A for that on Vybz Kartel’s album Timeless would be the opener, the big combination we had hoped to see on U2DT but one which definitely fits better on Timeless, the SCATHING Maths Automatic alongside former longtime mentor Bounty Killer. Listening to this tune now as opposed to back then, it used to be well known that Kartel wrote for Bounty but exactly which tunes and how many was unknown; Maths Automatic is CLEARLY a Kartel construct. From the words drawn and the patterns flowed, this tune was a big combination of a (DUH!) very violent nature. Killer has gone on to serve similar roles on tunes with other disciples like Busy Signal and Aidonia, but this one would definitely be one of the most wicked even still. Speaking of the Killer, the next tune on Timeless should sound familiar as it flows on the same ‘stringy’ riddim which Bounty Killer shot out on with his HUGE tune Fitness, John John’s G-String riddim. This tune, My Hubby (aka Bag Gyal), doesn’t even approach those levels, but does feature quite a bit of HEAVY wordplay as is to be expected. Easily the best tune of the opening few on Vybz Kartel’s Timeless was the third, Big Man A Big Man on CJ’s Engine riddim. This one was a bonafide Jamaican hit for awhile (and you STILL hear it playing in certain areas) and it really did a lot of damage for the artist. Its also VINTAGE Vybz Kartel (if such a thing exists) and I can remember being damn near hypnotized by the way the man threw together his words and phrases. He doesn’t say a whole lot in terms of the tune itself, but Big Man A Big Man is BRILLIANT.

Timeless is loaded with tunes which ultimately didn’t do much internationally but were pretty big locally and definitely went to solidify his status. None were bigger, to my ears at least, than one of my favourite Kartel songs of all time, the WICKED Nah Climb alongside member of the Jammy’s camp, Ward 21 crew over Jam 2’s SICK Amharic riddim. I’ve LOVED the crazy wordplay on this one since the very first time I heard it and was kind of miffed that it wasn’t on the U2DT album (although it was on Ward 21’s second album if I remember correctly), but it fits FAR better on Timeless actually. LARGE tune and the album’s best. The second best would probably be (if it isn’t Big Man A Big Man) the WICKED Kartel Reveal It. Going Michael Prophet style is Kartel on the tune which doesn’t quite live up to that CLASSIC standard but definitely places a nice modern spin on the legendary tune, Gunman. Kartel Reveal It is high-tech Dancehall at it’s finest and it just KNOCKS in and you’ll love it guaranteed. Not far behind Kartel Reveal It (literally) is Stop Nuh Look Nuh Listen. This one is pretty complicated but it grows on you after awhile, in spite of its erratic and damn near frustrating melody (or lack thereof) at times. A Dem alone is WICKED. It was also another type of subterranean hit for the Portmore lyrics machine. It was Kartel’s take on the Tight Clothes and he just BUILDS the lyrics on that one! The tune is almost an over-impressive bit where Kartel clocks in with a style which is almost freestyle-like but SEAMLESS at the same time. LARGE work there. The next BIG tune going off is definitely How Wi Roll (although Di Subject isn’t bad) which hit’s a HIGH level following a downright AWKWARD opening. The riddim on this one is just KNOCKING! The lyrics are, of course, on point throughout, but I wouldn’t necessarily put them amongst the top class of Timeless, but that riddim just takes the tune to somewhere else! I recognized the tune Hot Gal [Forever] from the Toe To Toe album Kartel had with Elephant Man (which came out literally the same week as U2DT I believe) and I liked it then and it remained one of my favourites through Timeless as well. The tune just has a nice dance floor appeal to it, which isn’t exactly easy to find on this one. As Vybz Kartel’s Timeless begins to wind down you start to get some really ‘healthy surprises’ which jump up the strength of the album. The first is the STREAMLINED Ready Fe Buss It. This one, although on the surface rather typical Kartel, is probably the most MATURE song on Timeless. Go and listen to this tune and just pay attention to the vibes of it. Yeah it’s a pretty violent tune, but this is the type of song that Vybz Kartel is making RIGHT NOW, more than a half decade later. Transelator is the undeniable changeup on Timeless and it is ADDICTIVE. The song has an East Indian type of vibes to it which will CATCH you the same way it caught me about five years ago, TRUST. I mentioned there were some ‘healthy surprises’ down the stretch of Timeless, but the exception would be Face Off which features Zumjay and Wayne Marshall (two of my LEAST favourite artists honestly). It is the same anti-oral sex condemnation Kartel and Marshall tried (and scored) with Why You Doing It, but it doesn’t work AT ALL on this 1970’s R&B vibed riddim. Thankfully, Da’Ville rides in to save the day (someone should have saved the day on his recent album Ichiban) on Timeless’ closer, the very nice Caught Up. This tune is actually dominated by Da’Ville for the most part with Kartel chiming in here and there and that’s a good thing. The result is a pretty straight forward singing style which Timeless could use really to lighten things up (because you can’t call that stuff Wayne Marshall does straight forward at all) and it does that indeed and sends Timeless out on a high note.

Overall, no, of course Timeless isn’t a timeless album. And, by comparison it doesn’t stand up quite well to the Up 2 Di Time album, it’s redone counterpart which arrived a year later, More Up 2 Di Time or DEFINITELY not his most recent two pieces JMT or the BRILLIANT The Teacher’s Back, but if you’re looking at it like that, then you’re missing the point here in my opinion. What Timeless was, was an acknowledgement of a very powerful and a very unusual talent in Vybz Kartel being on the scene. If you take that and PAIR it with what because the U2DT album, then, as a whole, what you have is VERY impressive and you can do that because neither album, in and of itself, is/was a fair and accurate representation of the two or three trick pony which was Vybz Kartel (girls, guns and ganja). So, when you, you big time fan of hardcore Dancehall who didn’t know that Timeless existed because you hardly ever buy albums anyway, track it down and LOVE what you hear for the most part, remember to put in some Up 2 Di Time. Timeless was and still is an album crawling underneath the surface of publicity and being well known. It wasn’t the high glossed project with the double freestyle disc release that Up 2 Di Time turned out to be and it didn’t have a remix edition a year later. Timeless was murky, dark, disgusting and just MEAN at times. And that’s exactly why we liked it so much.

Rated 4/5 stars

Father & Son Records

2004