Terry Lynn - Kingstonlogic 2.0

Artist: Terry Lynn
Album: Kingstonlogic 2.0
Genre: Reggae: Dancehall
Release Date: Sep 23, 2008
Qualities: Ragga/Electronic/Grime, Club music
Mood: Tough & Raw
RIYL: MIA, Sister Carol

Rating: ****

Terry Lynn's debut is an incredibly raw start, anyone expecting your standard contemporary club banging dancehall album will not find what they are looking for. Instead, Terry Lynn gets her "riddims" by having a number of different UK electronic artists provide heavy, relentless beats, giving her a grime aesthetic. Comparisons to MIA may exist, but the difference between MIA and Lynn is that Terry does not come off at all cute. This is not someone poking fun at the tradition of violence and aggressiveness in hardcore rap (such as in MIA's "Paper Planes")--this is someone trying to chant down Babylon.
She has three or four great different toasting styles--from an above average singjay voice (as on "Consumers") to hard-hitting speed toast. Lyrics are about the grittiness of Jamaican ghettos and the irresponsibility of politicians. And on songs like "System", Terry Lynn releases such intense anger it causes chills under one's skin. The album is magnificent for the first eight tracks, and would be an instant contemporary dancehall classic if it weren't for the two songs that follow. "Destiny" has a great electronic beat, but lyrically drops the ball with a refrain that tells us "There's a hero/inside of us all", with the rawness of the prior songs no where to be found. This is forgivable, because inspiring the youth is a noble enough purpose. But the next song goes against all of the political activism Lynn had set on the table beforehand. It is an attempt at a dance number with lyrics about a man who ignored Terry, but now that she is famous and rich she can put him in his place ("You read it in the magazine/I'm living life like a beauty queen"). When you've just listened to an entire album of biting ghetto anthems this song comes off incredibly petty. Luckily Lynn redeems herself with a wonderful throwback to roots reggae/dancehall with the fantastic spiritual closing number "The Most High"--in which she is accompanied by the Melodians vocalist, Brenton Dowe, set to a sparse nyabinghi drum beat and atmospheric electronics. Besides a couple blunders, this material is excellent (some of the best conscious dancehall of the 2000s) and one hopes to see more from Lynn soon. Highly recommended.

1. Child of the Soil ****
2. Kingstonlogic *****
3. Politricks (Interlude)
4. System *****!!
5. Screaming in the Night ***
6. Streetlife *****
7. Imf ***
8. Consumers ***
9. Destiny **
10. Stone *
11. The Most High (Interlude)
12. Rivers of Babylon *****
13. Kingston Rockers (Kingstonlogic remix [hidden track]) ****
    

Sister Carol - Mother Culture (1991)

Artist: Sister Carol
Album: Mother Culture
Genre: Reggae: Dancehall
Release Date: 1991
Qualities: Genre Fusion
Mood: Tough, Spiritual, Upbeat
RIYL: Sister Nancy, Yellowman, Macka B

Rating: ***

Sister Carol is one of the toughest woman in dancehall history, and this album's highlights are during its rawer, more aggressive moments. The album opener "Shackles" is a fiery tune chanting down both her oppression by Babylon as a rasta and, much more refreshingly, as a woman ("Why do the Eden, dey rage/and fight against a woman like me"). This is followed by "Mother Culture", featuring a heavy dub riddim and more feminist lyrics ("Now when I say DJ/me no mean Disc Jockey... Me mean da Daughter of Jah"). Unfortunately, while there are many incredibly strong songs here, the album wavers overall. Granted they are very early examples of dancehall and hip-hop fusion, songs like "B Who U R" and "Tight Spot" are quite bad and feel much more shallow and artificial than the purer dancehall tunes. Most disappointing are Carol's attempts to assimilate popular rapping styles of the time, rather than maintain her excellent dancehall toasting abilities. The rapping does not resemble the sounds of the well established hardcore underground of the early 90s but rather a cheap knockoff of Queen Latifah. The album is further undermined by Sister Carol's attempts at upbeat escapist tunes, such as the calypso tinged "The Music Nice", which both lyrically and musically leaves the listener begging for her to get back to her earlier demonstrations of tough feminist rasta dancehall. Sweetness is best achieved on "Mandela's Release" in which Sister Carol is accompanied by a lover's rock vocalist I cannot identify (although it sounds somewhat like Beres Hammond or perhaps Luciano). The two beautifully duet back and forth with Carol toasting hard and fast. Finally the album closes on another great note with the impressive ragga song "It Haffi Done".

1. Shackles *****
2. Mother Culture ****
3. Ababajoni ***
4. B Who U R *
5. Tight Spot **
6. The Music Nice ***
7. Mi Glad Mi Find God ***
8. Lovers Rock Style **
9. Mandela's Release *****
10. It Haffi Done *****
    

Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here (2010)

Artist: Gil Scott-Heron
Album: I'm New Here
Genre: Spoken Word, Hip-Hop
Release Date: January, 2010
Qualities: Short Length (28:16)
Mood: Dark, Moody, Gruff, Atmospheric

Rating: *****

Often times when bands make reunion albums after being split up for many years they are awful. But Gill Scott-Heron is an individual singer-songwriter with an intimate sense of the power of music and a sincere purpose. This is what ultimately makes his first record in 16 years incredible. His masterful poetry dominates the album, it contains much more spoken word than his most famous release, "Pieces of Man" (although there is plenty of singing here). And although the choice of updating his sound with trip-hop production may be a poor one, the dominance of his raspy vocals allows the listener to look past that. Most of the time this modern production becomes so ethereal and atmospheric that it simply provides a wonderful backdrop for Scott-Heron's poetry. As relief, it is offset by other styles as on the acoustic guitar title track and the clap rhythm of "New York is Killing Me". Filled with some of the master's best lyrics, this album is enjoyable every listen. Short and biting, Gil doesn't bother with filler, he packs every moment with a punch. Even the brief interludes fit perfectly. Highly recommended.

1. On Coming From a Broken Home (Pt. 1) *****!
2. Me and the Devil ****
3. I'm New Here *****
4. Your Soul and Mine ***
5. Parents (Interlude)
6. I'll Take Care of You ****
7. Being Blessed (Interlude)
8. Where Did the Night Go **
9. I Was Guided (Interlude)
10. New York is Killing Me *****
11. Certain Things (Interlude)
12. Running *****!
13. The The Crutch ***
14. I've Been Me (Interlude)
15. On Coming From a Broken Home (Pt. 2) *****!
    

Music Video: Terry Lynn - System (2008)

One of the toughest female dancehall artists around today:

JW and Blaze - Palance

Learned a little bit about the Soca Monarch competition and the carnival tradition when I stumbled upon this amazing music video:

Palance - JW and Blaze from ForceFed Blog on Vimeo.

JW and Blaze won the Soca Monarch crown this year for this song.

"Palance" is apparently Trinidad slang meaning "Party Lime and Dance" or a term for just having fun and a good time.

This is probably the single most fun thing in the history of the world.

Music Video: The Congos - Chain Gang (2009)

Try not to smile during this reggae Sam Cooke cover...

...well the end is a bit somber but regardless, the song and video are awesome, big up to The Congos for still making great music at their age.

K'Naan - The Troubadour

Artist: K'Naan
Album: The Troubadour
Genre: Rap/Hip-Hop
Release Date: Jan 13, 2009
Qualities: Catchy, Chorus Based, World Fusion
Mood: Aggressive, Party, Somber
Rating: ***

Born in Somalia, rapper, K'Naan's lyrics often reference his struggles as a child living in a war torn country, boasting that he comes from a true street life. And although this album is packed with guest musicians, it appears not a single African musician is credited (perhaps some contributed as numerous songs such as "Somalia" are African fusion). One can't help but wondering if K'Naan is so proud of his roots don't you think you could have hired at least one great musician from your home continent to replace the likes of at least one of the ridiculous guest stars such as Kirk Hammet (Metallica)?
One of K'Naan's strengths is his unique voice, which is, of course, a valuable asset for any rapper to have. K'Naan is instantly recognizable. Unfortunately this is countered by hit-and-miss flow and lyrics. It can go from downright awful (as on "I Come Prepared" where he is vastly overshadowed by pop dancehall heavyweight, Damian Marley) to good but rarely impressive.
This album is incredibly chorus based, every song has an attempt to be a hook. And although, this fails on a few songs (most heavily on "15 Minutes Away" where the chorus is repeated too many times even though K'Naan is delivering some of his most interesting rhymes in between each recital). Regardless, ultimately the choruses are the album's saving grace, as a good fourth of the songs end up being quite catchy bringing the listener back for numerous replays, at least to the good stuff (as about half of it is quite forgettable).

1. T.I.A. *****
2. ABCs *****
3. Dreamer ****
4. I Come Prepared *
5. Bang Bang ****
   
6. If Rap Gets Jealous *
7. Wavin' Flag ****
8. Somalia ***
9. America ****
10. Fatima ****
11. Fire in Freetown ****
12. Take a Minute ***
13. 15 Minutes Away ***
14. People Like Me ****