Cosmic Hustle Group

Pray for Sizzla

2011-08-26T03:09:00.000-07:00

Controversial Reggae superstar Sizzla has been in an bike accident and has been seriously hurt, let's pray for his fast recovery. Get better soon!!!! Here's an link to Jamaica Star's coverage

http://jamaica-star.com/thestar/20110825/ent/ent1.html

The Maytones & Vernon Buckley

2011-08-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

Out of the many great vocal groups that came in the late 60 ies and all throughout the 70 ies iv'e always felt that "The Maytones" where among the best and most underated. They originates from the May Pen area in Clarendon and consisted of Vernon Buckley and Gladstone Grant.

They got their start recording a few cuts for "Studio One" that never got released and moved on to record for Alvin Ranglin and his GG Records. The hits kept on coming throughout the 70ies but compared to the output from many other groups "The Maytones" never did release that many albums.

Fans of Roots Reggae should not be fooled by their clean cut looks, many of their tracks are str8 Rasta dealing with Zion, repatriation etc.... "You dont haffi dread to be a rasta" In 1980 Vernon Buckley moved to Canada and "The Maytones" split. I have no idea what happened to Gladstone Grant but Vernon Buckley has kept on recording and releasing albums, although very irregularly.

There's 3 albums i know of; Raw, Rocky road and the latest, Words of wisdom who was just released on his label "Music Life". I just ordered the album and an review will follow, the samples iv'e heard sounds very positive. Time may have passed, Vernon may be getting older but his voice is still one of the best in Reggae music. You owe it to yourself to check "The Maytones" out, their music is too good to not be heard.

http://musiclifemovements.com/

Check out Caribinghi

2011-08-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

Im always for trying to support the Swedish Reggae scene and make folks aware of it. This guy may not be all that established and big yet but quality wise he can hold his own. This new video showcase him at his best, it has an hit factor while staying true to the roots. Go check his site, he got plenty of free music for y'all to download.

http://caribinghi.com/

Let's open our wallets.......

2011-08-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows about the hunger crisis on the horn of Africa by now. I dont care who you are or how rich or broke you are, if you can get online and read this post it means you have the resources to give at least something.

Does not have to be much, i know i did not have a whole lot and im sure many of y'all are kinda broke as well. But please, skip buying that CD or vinyl u where planning to get and donate a few pennies. There's plenty of causes that i would never donate to (some of y'all might get offended if i mentioned which) but this is not one of them. Be as generous as y'all possibly can.

Ghettoman - Justice

2011-07-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

If you belong to those who are fed up with riddims and prefer traditional band set-up's with musicians composing original music youre not exactly spoiled nowadays. There's a billion new ( & often digital) riddims coming each week but few group/band releases. It seem as if one of the last places for this form of reggae is Africa. Aside from the more famous acts are "Ghettoman" and his group "The Believers" who comes from Biafra (in Nigeria).

While being a new acquaintance for me these folks aint no newcomers and have released several albums stretching back as early as the 90 ies. I could make it easy for me and just state that this is some high quality stuff and end it here but im sure y'all want a slightly meatier review so i promise to examine the album a little closer. My first observation is that it's kinda short, just 8 songs long. Don't let that scare you away though, quality is more important than quantity (and this sure delivers on the quality part).

First song is "Mama Africa", an uptempo song about the trials and tribulations Africa is facing. While being strictly roots this song also has a strong cross-over potential with it's groovy afropop vibes and positive feel, the serious lyrical content don't weigh down the song. Next up is "Peace in Jerusalem" and it's hard to not think of a certain Alpha Blondy song when listening to it. Not that it sounds the same but still, the song is a lil less uptempo but still far from an "sufferers" song. Ghettoman continues with the seriousness for 2 more songs before he decides to light things up a bit with "You're my sunshine". It ads some variety to the album and is another potential radio hit (in an ideal world they would play this sorta songs on the radio).

Slightly related to the previous song is "Stop violence against women", it's hard to disagree with the lyrics and it's very catchy and features an Spanish speaking toaster who ads a nice vibe to the song, another uptempo winner of this album. Skipping one song we come to the albums last song "Which way" who just like the first song has an afropop vibe to it and deals with the confusion in the world and what the politicians do to come to terms with it.

This album is far from most music being produced in Jamaica nowadays, it has an timeless vibe to it rather than the "listen once and throw away" attitude that permeates much of the riddim based music nowadays. It's quality ll the way and will sound just as fresh 10 or 20 years on as it does today. Guess it's another artist to keep my eyes on. Don't forget to visit Ghettoman's website, it has an free download of an promo album with 13 full songs. As im having problems with my mp3 encoder i will not include any streaming samples. Once the problems are solved i will ad some.

http://www.ghettomanlive.com

Flash Fever

2011-07-23T01:44:00.000-07:00

It was quite some time i reviewed an African movie on here, been watching em regularly though and thought it was time to write another one. My review for Spade (im awaiting the sequels shortly and will review them) has almost gone viral popping up on Nigerian sites all over internet. Let's see how this one does. Ghanians has a taste for horror movies, i like that and i most certainly like this movie. It was a big hit when released in Ghana and it's easy to see why.

The plans where that Akose's boyfriend Kwranteng where to seduce & marry her rich Employer madame Serwa and kill her so that they could live happily ever after in her big house. The plans changes when he really falls in love. Akose kills her herself and assumes everything is back on track but is instead thrown out of the house. Scorned and hurt she takes help from an evil wizard and kills Kwranteng who has just signed over ownership of the house to this poor family he decided to help. Akose will stop at nothing to get "her" house back and the stay at their new house will be anything but joyfull for the unfortunate family who moves in there.....

Wow, I did not expect all the special effects or how good they are, people catches fire, spikes are shooting out from bodies, folks puke worms and the miscarriage scene is both atmospheric and whit imaginative FX work. Iv'e seen plenty of American low-budget horror movies looking way less polished than what "Flash Fever" does. Being the Ghanian "super block buster" that this movie is im surprised it has no big actors. Not that it needs them though, the cast does good and Ewurabena Bray who plays Akose is quite an looker.

Coming to the question of pace, it do clock in at around 180 minutes and 3 parts but it feels a lot shorter and never feels as if it's dragging or has a bunch of scenes that's unnecessary. One good thing with long movies (if they work) is that you really care about the characters and it's very much evident here. I liked this movie a lot, it has cool effects, a good story and I strongly recommend y'all to watch it.

Books, books and more books

2011-07-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

I said i would be back and im no liar, my first post on the blog was a book report and im back with another. It's not enough for us true fans to just dig the music we dig, there's plenty of history around it, anecdotes from the studio, collaborations and performances. Of course, we wanna know all about it. Rite now there's no a whole lota English spoken magazines out there (thanks for "Irie Up", it does an important job) but there's lotsa books. Enjoy this report on some of these books.

Jamaican Warriors (Stephen Froehr)

I dunno what to make of this book, i got mixed feelings! Obviously Stephen Froehr is a good writer, his research is good, he knows how to present stuff in a straight forward way. He has a way of bombarding you with facts without overwhelming you. Whit that being said, at times he has a real superior attitude that really bugs me. The book itself is some sorta mix between an fascinated outsiders expose' of the reggae industry and an traveling book. He meets tons of interesting folks, gives us plenty of background info and research along with tons of tourist observations and anecdotes. We get pieces on Mortimo Planno, Leonard Howell, Sugar Minott and many more. Regardless of what you may think of Mr.Froehr and his approach you will learn plenty from reading this book and considering you can get this book for like2$-3 + shipping it's a great purchase.

Dancehall, the rise of Jamaican Dancehall culture (Beth Lesser)

Without a doubt, this will go down as one of the ultimate books on reggae ever made, from the photos all the way down to written material, this book leaves very little left to be desired. If you're into the 80 ies reggae scene this book is quite an treasure. While being an cofeetable photo book the texts accompanying the photos are very good and just as much an reason to get it as the photos themselves. This is an eyewitness account of the scene and with books like "Volcano Revisited" and "King Jammy's" it provides a more complete documentation of the scene than what makes sense. Hopefully the other eras in the history of reggae will be just as comprehensively researched and documented as the 80 ies have been. A must, both for the photos and the accompanying texts.

Reggae International (Stephen Davis & Peter Simon)

The title of this book is misleading, it hints at documenting Reggae around the world but at the time this book was written there was no international scene (besides England, wich this book deals with) except for Jamaican immigrants trying to create a slice of home abroad and a few scattered clicks of international fans with the focus on Jamaica. This is not a bad book though (although a bit predictable) and has chapters on the history of Jamaica, it's religious life, RastafarI, the history of Jamaican music, Deejays, vocal trios and political unrest. It's accompanied by a wealth of images and most definitely a recommended purchase. It has been out of print for a while now but can still be found in good shape and for a decent price on Amazon. Hurry and get your copy though, i have a feeling this is a book that will pretty soon be quite pricey and rare.

The Rough Guide to Reggae (Steve Barrow)

In my first ever post to this blog i featured a book called "Reggae & Caribean Music", an attempt to write an encyclopaedia on everything Reggae. I was not crazy about it and felt it lacked in several departments. I guess this is the successful version of that book. You don't read "The Rough Guide to Reggae" from page to page. There is no coherent narrative that ties everything together. However, this is one of the most complete books on Reggae you will ever read, it covers every era and all kinda artists and scenes. Early Ska and Rocksteady, 70 ies roots, dub and recent dancehall all along with local scenes like New York (Wackies) and British Reggae (Roots as well as Lovers rock) in easy to digest, compressed pieces. There are several editions of this book available and they are all increasing in price so it might be a good idea to buy it now while you can still afford it, another must have addition to your Reggae library.

One love, One heart (James Haskins)

It's every parents duty to be a positive influence in their childrens life and what could be a better example of this than to steer them into the wonderful world of Reggae? But besides bombarding them with music, how do you do it? Perhaps with a book aimed especially for children, it's a very thorough book starting with the history of Jamaica, slavery, african roots and RastafarI. It's amazing how X is able to pack so much information into so few pages and still keep it easy enough for a child to understand. He continues with Jamaican music history, how it ties to african traditions, the birth of Ska and it's transformation to Rocksteady and later on Reggae. He deals with soundsystems, Bob Marley, the Rootsreggae of the 70 ies and more modern dancehall. The final chapter deals with International Reggae and has info on African acts like Alhpa Blondy and Lucky Dube only to continue with Europe and the UK where X mentions that the original skinheads where white, British teens fascinated with Jamaican music, not the Racists many think of today. Sprinkled throughout the pages are a bunch of photos and in general im quite impressed with this book. It may not have that much to offer to adults but it's an excellent way to introduce kids into Reggae.

Well, that concludes my book report for now, there's plenty of titles i have not dealt with so i will be back with more as soon as I've bought and read more titles. I'll try to be back soon again with more interesting post, i feel rested and ready to get going with the blog again, i told y'all it wasn't dead!!!!!

Is the blog dead?

2011-06-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

Some of y'all might have checked out the blog lately and wondered why it's never being updated? Don't worry, it's not dead, it's just taking a nap. Been bussy whit stuff in my life and have not been too motivated but i will be back, just be patient.

Was going to do a post about the genious of Yellowman but another blog where faster than me and im no copycat, lol :D So to keep it short, i'll be back in a moment.

News from Cocoa Tea...

2011-05-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

Been wondering for a while now whatever happened to "Cocoa Tea", his "Obama" album isn't exactly new anymore. As i was surfing around i found this article on "The Gleamer" where he reveals he got a new album coming, hopefully we will not have to wait till next year as he hints.

He's also droping a few lines on the current state of Reggae and it's future.

"....However, the overall project 'Whe De Reggae Deh?' speaks to something that he says people are asking about when he does performances outside Jamaica. "Everywhere I go in the world, people ask me where the reggae gone from in Jamaica. People are saying we are trying to export hip hop, rather than import hip hop and export reggae," Cocoa Tea said.

He said the queries have come across Europe, England, the USA and Canada, as well as Japan. "People used to the type of reggae that we sing. It is music that can inspire a people and a nation," Cocoa Tea said. That is in contrast to a lot of music being produced in Jamaica now, which Cocoa Tea said "is about dancing and the riddim."

Read the whole piece here:

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110523/ent/ent1.html

Joey Fever - In a fever

2011-05-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

Many of y'all probably don't know but Swedish "Joey Fever" is no new cat on the block, he started way back in the late 90 ies with the now defunct group "Collision" and it wasn't until they split that his rise to fame as an solo artist started. It's taken some time but here he is, a rising star on the international scene with plenty of collaborations and experience behind him. He's an versatile and modern dancehall singer/dj with strong influences from the 80 ies scene. AS a matter of fact i kinda thought this album would be kinda like the 80 ies dancehall version of Bitty McLean's highly praised "...on bond street" album. It may be influenced by that era but not to the point where it sounds exactly like it (at least most of the time).

He starts on a serious note with "Someone out there", a mellow track where Joey Fever advices folks who feels that life has no meaning to seek Jah. It's a good song but not too representative for the album. If we skip a track we come to "Rock you" a duet with Desmond Foster an emigrated Swede with a great voice and potential. It has an slightly more retro, organic feel to it and we get a taste of Joe's toasting abilities. This should work well on the dancefloor or at an party with it's uptempo feel good vibe. A coupla songs later we get "Game on" featuring Mary Ndiaye (an artist i have never heard anything of before), a song about a girl who live a fancy, fast life but to what price? Mary does a great job (whoever she is) and compliments Joey really well.

My favorite on here is "Dj School" who has a nice vibe to it, he switches back and forth between singing and toasting. This song sounds extremely 80 ies, Waterhouse dancehall a 'la Prince Jammy and got great lyrics about how u have to study and work hard to reach anywhere in the dancehall. If all songs had sounded like this i think this album would have went from good to amazing. "Serious things" is a plea to all youth's to keep it cool and not deaql with guns, drugs and badman stuff in general. It does not differ too much from the other songs on the album but i like it. Last on the album is the love-song "Truly deeply", it sounds a bit too comercial and artificial for my taste but it's not a bad song.

If you have followed "Joey Fever" for a while there is no doubt he has grown incredibly much as an artist, he has a flawless patois flow, can sing and toast and got nice riddims to perform over. If you like the style of Swedens "other" international star, "Million Styles" you will be happy with this album. I definitely like it but not as much as i was hoping to, i would have liked it if Joey had kept things more 80 ies retro. I'm not all that crazy about modern dancehall with plenty of "autotune" and there's some of that on here. But when all is said and done, it's a good album and i will jam it way after this review has been written.

New Lee Perry documentary

2011-05-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

There already is a documentary about Lee Perry consisting mostly of him talking bout stuff in front of the camera, without any history, archival videos or anything. Now there's a more complete movie around who seem to tell the complete story of "The Uppsetter" and im very excited about it.

Hopefully there will be a DVD out soon, this is one movie i have to get. While waiting, go and check out the website at:

http://www.theuppsettermovie.com

Earl Zero - Market place

2011-05-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

We read a lot about how the rootsreggae stars of the 70 ies are dying of one by one and it is sad that we are loosing a whole generation of artists much appreciated. It's enlightening and much needed to hear about players from way back when that is still doing good. Earl Zero may not be the most prolific of all the acts from "the golden era of reggae" but he sure is the real deal and seem to be doing great both health and career wise. Last years "And god said to man" was a great throwback to the 70ies sound with live instrumentation and high quality work all the way and now we got "Market place" who promises the same organic, high quality vibes as the previous album.

It both is and isn't at the same time, we get tons of live instrumentation and high quality vibes but the feel and sound they went for is completely different. The first song is "Get up", an energetic track with a heavy "rockers" vibe to it, i kinda get a Bob Marley feel when listening to it, like as if he was still alive today and did a song trying to cross over to the masses. I don't say this in an negative way, even though it's very far from what i usually listens to it's not bad, if you like songs that's 50% rock and 50% reggae this is a great track with all it's wailing guitars, piano etc.. Second song "Black mans time" sounds way more "Reggae" than the first song with a distinct back-beat and typical conscious lyrics fusing black pride with a RastafarI message. This is easily the most rootsy song on the album and one of my favorites on here.

Pretty good also is track 4, "Back up in the woods" where he looks back at how things where in Kingston back in the day. It has a slight back-beat but also a strong rock vibe to it. The lyrics are very interesting and very much ads to the songs quality. There's a coupla dubs on here as well such as "Lion dubs again" which i guess is okay if u are into dub music. Im no huge fan of dub and cant decide whether it's better or worse than a lot of other dubs. Last song before the 2 finishing dub tracks is "I love you little darling", Earl might sing about doing things "in a roots man stylee'" but the song feels very funky with a heavy bass presence an plenty of assorted sound effects.

Being a good reviewer (I try to be) you have to be able to look beyond your own taste sometimes and determine if an album is of high quality regardless of what you think of it. That's what i did here, being honest im not all that crazy about this album. It's too much rock and influences from other genres to really get me going, sure the reggae's still there and this ain't no sell out a'la Ini Kamoze 's "Lyrical gangsta" but im too much of an purist to really appreciate this album. Still, denying that it's a high quality product from start to finish would be unfair. It's nice to see old veterans still doing good and still being relevant so in a weird, indirect kind of way i still dig this album. Have a good listen to it before you decide to buy it though, it will alienate a lot of listeners (but then again, it's on Ernie B's top seller list so maybe not).

Volcano Revisited - Tero Kaski & Pekka Vuorinen

2011-04-19T23:01:00.000-07:00

Reggae and dancehall from the 80 ies is kinda trendy now among the folks who are really nerdy about their Reggae. Artists like Burro Banton or Outlaw Joey Wales are thought of very highly so the timing couldn't be better for a book about the early 80 ies dancehall scene. Way way back in time two guys from Finland (Tero Kaski, R.I.P. & Pekka Vuorinen) actually went down to Jamaica to document the scene and interview just about every popular artist around. They collected their material in the book "Kingston Dancehall Scene 1983", it has been out of print for ages and much appreciated among the fans of the genre while being very hard to get.

Luckily they decided to release an expanded and improved version of the book, "Volcano Revisited" full of color photos, better design and more interviews. It features guys like Barington Levy, Charlie Chaplin, Burro Banton, the last interview with Prince Far-I and many more. The focus lies on the (At the time) popular soundsystem "Volcano Sounds" but covers plenty acts not tied to them.
Not only are there interviews with artists but also producers like Sylvan Morris who worked at "Studio One", "Treasure Isle etc... It was really interesting to read how some of these classics where recorded and what primitive equipment was used for all these amazing tracks. We also get to hear from Sassa, a man responsible for many of the flyers and posters being done for the soundsystems at the time. Without being a travelogue this book really gives u the feeling of "then and there", within the interviews u get a strong feel for the vibe of the time.

Among the artists featured it was very interesting (while being a bit sad knowing what would happen) to read the interview with Prince Far-I and of course the one with one of my favorites, Johny Clarke. It's nice to read a book about 80ies reggae mainly written back when things where happening, before the unwritten rules pf what you're supposed to think if you know your reggae was laid down. Nowadays it gets a bit boring that there are some artists you just have to like to be considered a fan worthy of being taken serious.

As far as the design of the book goes i like it, a lot but some of y'all might have issues with it. I know many hated the design of the re-printed "King Jammy's" book and this kinda reminds me of that one. However, it's like the creators of this book noticed this and decided to please the critics of that book by including plenty of untouched, original photos as well. There's plenty of material for both camps. And besides, from what i know the old book had no photos at all so anything is an improvement.

When talking about this book it makes sense to mention what the targeted audience for it would be, or at least whom might enjoy it. It's an absolutely brilliant book, written by folks who know their subject but it ain't for the casual listener as it digs really deep into a limited time period and sub-genre. If you're not die-hard enough you just may not care about many of the artists and industry insiders interviewed. For us who eat, sleep and breathes Reggae though this book is a godsend and a must. Go buy it, it may just be the most complete book of it's kind you will ever read.

http://www.dubjazzsalsa.com

Mystic Vision - Still praise

2011-04-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

Thought i was done with my "New Mexico" and "Mystic Vision" coverage on here? Well, think again cause i got many more goodies coming up for y'all. This is a very productive group so there's plenty of music to savor and enjoy. Im not sure when this was released, it's not their newest so it's a few years old although it sounds fresh in a timeless kinda way. Starting the album is "Light the way", it's another religious anthem praising "Haile Selassie I" and the holy trinity etc..... Sometimes more is more and sometimes less is which would be the case for this song and it's scaled down melodies. This song very much reminds me of a dub cut with added vocals, mr.Bento and Andres Estrada does their usual great job and sound as spiritual as always. Great start to the album.

It would be a shame to go downhill after such an amazing start and "Jah is forever" is amazing both on a musical and lyrical level. These guys are great philosophers and their lyrics on how your body grows old while Jah and your soul keeps on living is very, very far from old Rasta cliche's some artists stick to. It's a lil bit more melodic that the first song and while still being authentic quite smooth and relaxed.Even more relaxed is "Breeze" a coupla tunes further down with it's female singing and acoustic base. It's easy on the ears whit a strong "feel good" vibe to it and ads strongly to the well rounded impression i get from "Mystic Vision". This is a group that handles everything from rootsy "one drop" anthems to chilled songs with a strong crossover potential and they do it all with a die-hard "keep it real" attitude. Im impressed!!!! This album does not have a lot of features but Vaughn Benjamin drops in on "Honeycomb" whit his patented singing style and deep philosophic lyrics and kinda owns the song.

I think no one has failed to notice the conflict between science and god and the stance "Mystic Vision" takes on this is explored in "Geometria" and it's a healthy one. Science does not have to be at war with god who want us to elevate our minds. "Even upon the scientific view of just a water molecule them see how jah jah rule........ sacred geometry of jah, geometria of earth structure......jah is the grand architect" Jah created all this and exploring it is not denouncing god, coming to wrong conclusions is. Well, enough about that but the subject intrigues me as i would like to think of myself as believing in god and having a progressive mind at the same time (cant stand the right-wing, conservative kinda Christianity).

It's easy to sum this album up, i could do it with just a few words: "Great and well rounded". There is a great variety of songs on here, some are kinda sparse and toned down while others have a grand sound with plenty of instrumentation, some sounds very smooth and relaxed while others are rootsy and heavy. All this is done without loosing the focus which is always RastafarI seen through a mystic lens. Im grateful that i have been able to discover the music of "Mystic Vision" they are very original, skilled and i simply loves the vocal qualities of the 2 lead singers. Don't do "Mystic Vision" a favor and check them out, do yourself a favor and check them out.

Another practice cd-cover....

2011-04-10T00:35:00.000-07:00

While writing new reviews i decided to upload another of my "practice" cd-covers here. Artists and labels who sees this, im available and inexpensive.

Volcano revisited

2011-04-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

Seem as if rite now is a good time for Reggae books, this one is brand new and seem very exciting with plenty of fancy photos and interesting interviews. This book is on it's way to me so expect an review as soon as iv'e got it and read it. Until then, here's the info from the publisher/author:

Tero Kaski – Pekka Vuorinen:
Volcano Revisited
Kingston Dancehall Scene 1983
Eronen, 2011 (company based in Finland)
208 pages, 4/4 colours
169 x 211 mm, 460 grams
ISBN 978-952-92-8643-0
R.r.p. 24 € / 33 $ / 20 £

" In September 1983 Kingston dancehall scene was full of energy and excitement.
New sound system Volcano was giving tough competition to established sounds like
Gemini, Lee’s Unlimited, Black Scorpio, Killamanjaro and others. Producer and
sound system owner Junjo Lawes had brand new equipment, best dubplates and a
talented crew led by deejay Burro Banton and selector Danny Dread with prominent
artists like Josey Wales, Charlie Chaplin, Barrington Levy and Tony Tuff. Night
after night Volcano Hi-Power was playing in and around Kingston for a loyal and
enthusiastic following.

The backbone of dancehall music is created inside the studios. At Channel One
where we meet Horace Andy, Johnny Clarke, Al Campbell and many others; at Harry
J we discuss with ‘the original Scientist’ Sylvan Morris and producer Roy
Cousins, and interview Prince Far I for the last time, a few days later he was
brutally murdered. King Tubby tells about his future plans - which were only
partly fulfilled. We meet Studio One veterans Devon Russell, Pablove Black and
Bagga Walker, and Jackie Mittoo reflects the past and future of Jamaican music
in a rare interview. And Brent Dowe smiles when Rivers Of Babylon comes to mind,
and gets us assured that dancehall is not a new thing but the very essence of
Jamaican music.

In 1983 Jamaican dancehall culture was rapidly changing: modern dancehall
music was born with Volcano. Volcano dancehall tape selection gives accurate
evidence of how many prominent artists passed through the Volcano stable in
1983.

Forward!"

Sugar Minott book

2011-04-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Let me revise the info, this book by Beth Lesser is already out and available to buy, it's 212 pages and contains photos (dunno how good the reproduction of them are) if youre outside of the UK it's £ 10.50 and that includes shipping. U order from Small Axe and they do accept paypal.

It seem as if this book is already out of print, at least for the moment (new copies is said to arrive shortly) but i will try my best to get me a copy and review it here. This is a book im very eager to get.

The Bristol Reggae Explosion - Various artists

2011-04-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

Being a huge fan of British Reggae it was only a matter of time before I laid my hands on this album, a matter of a short time. Except for the dub/steppers scene i thought i knew the scene good, having a quick peek at the tracklist reveals i only know one of the acts on here, "Black Roots", the rest are names i haven't even heard of. Needless to say, im very excited about this album and my expectations are high!

It's easy to assume that the only place that matters for British 70ies Reggae would be London with it's Brixton and that "Steel Pulse" and Aswad would be the exception to the rule. This is far from the truth, Jamaicans established themselves all over the UK and wherever they went Sound-systems and Reggae would follow. This album showcases acts from Bristol and judging from this album they had quite a scene going, equal to London in quality if not quantity.

Things are starting of with "Bristol rock" by "Black Roots" and it's a quite fitting start as it sums up the scene at the time and what this album is all about. It's thick, organic and recorded the old fashioned way with skilled musicians. Im not against today's Riddim driven, digital scene at all but it's nice going back in time every once in a while. The next song is by an artist iv'e never heard before, "Joshua Moses" who performs the song "Africa", a heavy roots song. As surprising as it may sound this realy isn't a repatriation song but deals more with black pride and how black folks should not let anyone exploit and use them. It's an amazing song and among my favorites on here.

More unknowns (at least to me) is being served with "Talisman" and their "Run come girl", a slightly faster Roots-rockers tune which is also one of 2 live songs on here. Im not a fan of live records but i'll make an exception, it's straightforward (no audience interaction interruptions etc) and with good sound quality. This is not the album for fans of Dj tracks, the only tune of that nature on here is "Four point plan" by "Restriction", it's not bad at all, kinda like an early "Yellowman" tune. Fans of Loversrock will be pleased with the song "Mr.guy" by "Sharon Bengamin" (the only female artist on here), the saxophones kinda dominates the track and makes it sound relaxed and rootsy at the same time. I like this song a lot and while not being well known or prolific at all Sharon Bengamin does an outstanding job singing.

There's a coupla more artists on here (such as The Radicals and Buggs Durrant) and they all do a great job although I've decided to not mention them all in my review. It's amazing, virtually all acts on here are unknown to me but sounds great and further proves that the more music I hear, the more do i realize how much great music i will never ever get to experience. It's a nerdy, insignificant problem, im very aware of that but it still bothers me, lol :D Well, if you're a fan of the British 70 ies scene and liked albums like "Don't call us immigrants" (by "Pressure sounds") you can't go wrong with this album.

Irie Up so far......

2011-03-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

I've been reading "Irie Up" ever since it's first issue and have kept on buying every new magazine coming. I did an thorough review some time ago and as this is being written 8 issues have been produced. Perhaps it's time to take a look at the journey so far and asses what's good, what's bad, what needs to be changed and what's not. One thing needs to be stated and very clear before anyone continues reading, everything is written in good faith and im grateful that there's at least 1 English spoken magazine dedicated to our beloved genre and will keep on buying every new mag. as long as they are distributed in the country where i live.

In the review of the first issue i said it kinda lacked a structure, this have been worked on and the way the content is presented makes more sense now. It could be tightened up even more but it's not anything urgent. I mentioned that i was wanting a review section and there is one now. It's great that they review both vinyl and cd's (along with digital releases) but i wish they would cover a wider section of the market. Rite now it's mostly the small, local underground acts tht is featured, forget releases from VP, Greensleves or any of the bigger guys like Anthony B etc....

As far as articles go, what is covered? Just like the first issue they have continued to have a strong focus on the soundsystem scene and the promoters. There is interviews and features with artists and groups as well but nowhere near as many as i would like to see. To generalize it seem as if we are more likely to have a feature on a flyer distributor in (let's say) Bulgaria or a concert promoter in Cologne than an artist. I would love to see a more balanced magazine, keep the stuff that's in there but ad more artist coverage. When and if that is being done, feature all sub-genres. I wanna read about new and old acts, roots as well as dancehall/ragga and established artists as well as those who is barely starting out.

When it comes to the look of the magazine i have absolutely no complaints, it's gorgeous and professional looking whit nice color photos throughout the pages. Whit that being said, if there is a choice between producing a fancy magazine or a thick one with plenty content i would rather go for the later. If you could ad 20-30 pages by printing on paper of a lower quality and mix color pages with black and white ones i would rather go for that. Still, what you got going is flawless.
The passion from the first issue is still there and i comend you for not loosing interest or getting lazy, every issue oozes with love for Reggae. Seem as if plenty of folks are getting fed up with the scene nowadays and looses themselfes in nostalgia trips over how good it used to be way back when.

When talking paper magazines i guess the web presence is less important but their re-vamped website is looking a whole lota better than their old one (which was still good) but i would love a web-forum and perhaps a consignment shop selling material from all the obscure acts one reads about in the magazine. There is no convenient way of obtaining anything with all the local act's being mentioned. Also, a web directory would be great but not essential. Well, i guess that's it from me, i hope this wasn't to long and incomprehensible. I love the magazine, y'all are doing an important job and is filling a big void.

Swing-A-Ling Soundsystem Volume One - Various artists

2011-03-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

The popularity of Reggae in Sweden may have exploded in recent years compared to what it used to be and there's no lack of talent among local acts. Unf. it does not seem to be much support for local releases. This have however not stopped the albums from coming, Swedish artists have dropped titles since way back in the 70 ies when veterans like native Peps Person and immigrants like Babatunde Tony Ellis entered the scene.
This is the first of several reviews where i take a look at some Swedish releases that's dropped through the years. I start whit one of my own favorites, the compilation "Swing-a-ling Soundsystem Volume One" who dropped in 92 when i took my first stumbling steps as a fan. It features some of the biggest names of the scene at that time, some who are still active and even at least one minor hit who managed to receive Tv exposure. Whit that being said, the main thing this album did for me was to introduce me to "Daddy Boastin", the funnyman of Swedish reggae. He has remained a favorite throughout the years and nowadays he's mostly active as a part of Sweden's premier soundsystem, "Trinity".

Starting things of is "Drum & bass" by Lion/Sly, an duo (i assume) i know little about, Lion has continued with soundsystems like "Meditative Sounds" but who and where Sly is i don't know. I remember i really liked this song but im not 100% sure that it has held up all that good, it's still nice but i notice it's flaws way more now. To start of i'd say it's a fast song whit drums that feels flimsy and artificial. It owes a lot to the current, commercial club sound of the time, good? Yes but not the masterpiece i remember it to be. Right after it comes "Newspaper say so", a vintage "Daddy Boastin" cut about current events and the news medias reporting. While i love the goofy, humorous image he has nowadays it's nice to hear him on a more serious note. One can tell mr.Boastin has more intellectual capacity than what he's showcasing nowadays. Also, his kinda trademark rough voice is not present, he sounds smoother and more melodic than what he does now. Over all, this sounds good.

I skip one song (whit the artist Papa Dee, which i never liked) and we get another "Daddy Boastin" cut, "Aids warning" which is one of my favorites on here. While having serious lyrics on how you gotta protect yourself and wear condoms this is a party track with a bubbly beat and a infectious (pun intended, lol) harmonica loop. This would work just as well on the dancefloor now as it did then. After this comes "Reggae down on me" by Isust, a lighthearted crossover track who gained radio play and Tv exposure when it came. Not bad, melodic with Saxophones and real instruments but to "urban contemporary" for my taste. Isust have been active in various constellations thru the years and is still recording.

More suited for sweaty bodies on a dancefloor is "Slammin body" by Rudy, another artist i know nothing about and never heard outside of this compilation. He is doing a good job and toasts well. I wanna get out of my chair and start dancing when hearing this, the lyrics do what they where set out to but will not impress (then again, that prob. wasn't the intention). It's a short album with only 9 tracks so next up is the last song, "Heartical vibes", another track by "Lion/Sly". It's about coming to Sweden and features a few Swedish phrases which makes u go, "hmm...... was that in Swedish? ". It's a catchy, anthem like song and a great end to an good (if not perfect) album which deserves it's place in the Swedish Reggae history. Just wish i knew more bout some of the artists though......

Earl Zero - And god said to man

2011-03-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

Way back in the early 90 ies when i started listening to Reggae i was very much all retro in my taste and almost exclusively listened to 70ies Roots-reggae and vocal trios. Somewhere along the line my focus changed and my taste became way more current. I feel that might change again and go back to a more 70 ies flavored taste. While being a new album i consider this an important turning point as it sounds just like something being released in the mid to late 70 ies and features an artist who was in his prime during that period (although this release proves he still got it).

It was released last year by the Spanish based "A-Lone Productions" who recently released the amazing "From creation" by Alpheus (who most likely will end up being the album of the year). Ernie B reggae summed things up good when they wrote "You can no longer say that "they don't make roots reggae like they used to". " This showcase album does not sound anywhere near being recorded in 2010. Im not huge on dubs but the ones on here are quite massive, tons of instrumentation and incredible production values.

There's 6 different song with dubs included so it total there is 12 tracks on here, a few new songs like the title track "And god said unto man" along with re-makes like "None shall escape the judgment" which most potential buyers should know already. All in all this is an amazing album, they obviously took their time with it and i hope folks have and are buying this album so that we can get more in the same flavor. I got absolutely no complaints!!!!

REggae Britannia

2011-03-18T03:49:00.000-07:00

Someone posted the whole show on youtube, enjoy!!!!

Native Roots - Rain us love

2011-03-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

One thing i love about music is how it breaks all cultural and ethnic barriers and unites people. Nowadays you can find Reggae acts from all over the world featuring all kinda races but me knowingly there is still only 1 "Native American group, "Native Roots" and they happen to come from New Mexico where i live. I wasn't sure whether they where still active but they seem to be although it was some time since they released a new album. This release im about to do now is of their first album released way back in 1991.

I have to admit, i had not heard anything with them (not even online samples) when i got this album and i was not too keen on it. For some reason i felt it was going to sound to bland and washed out, something like perhaps UB40. It could be because of the kinda generic design of the cd-cover, being a designer im sensitive to these kinda things. So, i put it on and start listening to the first song "Fry bread" (about an native dish) and had all my negative vibes confirmed. It sounds like a classic Rock groups semi-failed attempt at Reggae. It's kinda fast paced and very rock-ish in it's approach with far too many electric guitars and nothing that even remotely interest me.

What happened, this blog usually ain't this negative in the reviews, true..... this review does not start out that good. Well, next song is the title track "Rain us love" all i really have to say is WOW!!! This is a great song, the tempo is lowered, there's less electric guitars and i thoroughly enjoys the native american chanting in the background. It's impressive how they manages to mix their own native culture whit reggae and make it sound so natural. The song is about how younger natives needs to show the elders respect and how that will have an positive result for them as an people. It's a great song with a unique perspective, can't believe how wrong i was about them.

Things continue in a positive way with "Native say" which is another Rootsy gem about how Natives must pay respect to the past while looking to the future. These guys really are into their culture and how to promote it in a positive way. There's some toasting on it and while sounding acceptable it kinda sounds like it's coming from someone who usually does not toast. All in all a good song, a lil bit faster but still not as fast as the first song of the album. Skip ahead one song and we come to "Rez yard", one of my favorites on here as it has a infectious and simple melody along whit more conscious lyrics about questions concerning "Natives".

Very fast moving whitout too obvious Rock influences is "Native dancehall", a perfect party track whit some toasting in it. Again, i dunno how comfortable the toaster is, kinda like they asked themselves "who is the best toaster in the group ?" and went for it. Like i said before, it does not sound too bad but still... There's a coupla more songs on here, most of them conscious and dealing with the harsh reality that many "Natives" are facing, im not too familiar with their struggle so this album is a much needed lesson.

Assuming that this album would not be all that I have to say "Native Roots" grew imensely on me with their "Roots-Rock-Reggae" vibes and very original perspective. I get the feeling they appeal more to folks usually not into reggae but don't let that stop y'all. It's all very authentic and with a musicianship you don't hear every day. Don't be like i was and ignore this group, they deserve to be heard, i gotta go and get the rest of their albums now.

(btw, if the formating seems to be a bit of it's because blogspot refuses to work the way it should for me, alignments, text colors etc get's all jacked up for me.)

Who killed Bob Marley

2011-03-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

Who Killed Bob Marley? The true story. from walter bidén on Vimeo.

A swedish made parody, kinda funny. Hope y'all enjoy it.

Ancient King - Judgement

2011-02-26T16:18:00.000-08:00

Hello, as promised im back with another "Mystic Vision" related review, this time with "Ancient King" a chanter/sing-jay from St.Croix, Virgin Islands. The album was produced by the "Mystic Vision" team and also features background vocals from them. This is his second album since he was first heard on a compilation from "I Grade Records" in 2001 when he recorded under the name "Wilson".

As with so many Bobo artists he's deeply Rastafarian and this is very much present in his lyrics which is no-nonsense Rasta from start to finish but perhaps without the "new age" feel that much of the "Mystic Vision" material has. Anyways, the first song is "Be still" and is about the power of Reggae and how it can uplift and teach the people. I would say that "Ancient King" belongs to the more rowdy of chanters, at first i took that as him having less control over his voice and that he was just screaming. After listening some more I realize that would be an unfair statement, he has a good, energetic flow and should appeal to any fans of artists like "Sizzla" while still having a style of his own.

I would say the "Mystic Vision" camp does a great job producing, the sound on here is more scaled down than on their own albums and it allows "Ancient King" and his vocals to be in focus. Skipping ahead a track we come to "Jah speak" featuring singing from John Bento. It's the most melodic on here and could just as well have been a "Mystic Vision" song with a feature from "Ancient King" as vice versa. It's one of my favorites on here and the two acts complements each other very well.

The title track "Judgement" is a rowdy, scaled back digital sounding song where "Ancient King" pass judgement on the "Roman Catholic" church and all who do their works. Besides his chanting i'd say the drums and bass is the most dominant features on here and it would work perfect ina sweaty dancehall with bodies in motion. It's not my favorite on here. All albums have to feature a dedication to weed of high quality, "High grade time" is the weed anthem of choice on here and it's a good song, a lil bit more melodic and less rowdy (to be honest, i rather go less rowdy but htat's just a personal preference).

On a more "hip-hop" vibe is the next song, "Full time shotta fe satta" who is a warning to all bad men out there who rather let their gun talk for them than anything else. It's a nice track which ad some versatility to the album and while i would probably be bored with a album full of these kinda tracks i welcome it. Last up on here is "What make them judge him for" where he's back in full force with a very rootsy finish to the album. I must say i absolutely enjoyed the album, i very much enjoy chanters/singjay's and always welcome albums with these kinda artists in my collection.

Like i said before, he's kinda rowdy in his delivery and those who prefer the calmer and more singing style of, let's say "Lutan Fyah" should be aware of that. This is not to say he is bad in any way, shape or form though. Personally i wouldn't say he's up there with the best but he does not come to far behind and this is a good album well worth buying even though it's no mind blowing,"must have" classic.

Toots & the Maytals - Reggae got Soul

2011-02-24T12:41:00.000-08:00

Finaly, iv'e seen the "Toots & The Maytals" documentary from BBC after some delays (i got stuck watching this silly Swedish street gang documentary) and im ready to give y'all a rundown on whether it's good or not. I was slightly disappointed after "Reggae Britannia" as it did not satisfy my apetite for details and coverage of obscure acts & anecdotes.

Let's start this review with saying that this is a much better documentary than the previous "Reggae Britannia" and i definitely liked it. I guess you could say it is loosely based on the time-line approach to documentaries, it kinda starts from the beginning but it's not strictly from point A to point B to point C and so on, we get a multitude of interviews and input from folks close to Toots as well as other musicians who admire him and music industry fans in general. This is a very loving documentary and no one has one single negative word to say about him.

I gotta admit, i don't claim myself as the biggest Toots fan in the world, I do like him and his music, got some of his songs on compilations but I've never been one of the huge fans. This documentary kinda reveals that Toots have played a bigger part in my Reggae fandom than i was aware of, I've been enjoying far more of his music than I thought i did. That's the major thing this documentary did for me, making me realize how much i dig his music.

There's plenty of interviews with big names such as Marcia Griffiths, Eric Clapton,Keith Richards, Ziggy Marley, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Cliff, Sly & Robbie and of course Toots Hibberts himself. There's been talk about how a generation of classic Reggae artists are dying of so it was nice to see how healthy and young some of these folks look. Toots was in good shape, so was Jimmy Cliff and i can't believe how Marcia Griffiths just keep looking better the older she gets. Im sure she's in her 60ies by now but she's still hot (in a classy way). It was kinda funny seing this guy Wayne Jobson who looks like a long lost member from Aerosmith but who speaks with a mild but obvious Jamaican accent (shows how diverse the population of Jamaica really is)

BBC certainly got it right this time around, it's not the ultimate "single artist" music documentary (like i think "Stepping Razor" is) but there's plenty to like about "Reggae got soul". There's so many legendary artists in Jamaica that deserves their own documentaries, im glad that we can cross out "Toots Hibbert" from the list. Now someone needs to do one on "Burning Spear" before it's too late.

Hopefully this documentary will result in plenty of album sales for Toots and an re-assurance that he is still valid as an artist. This documentary shows that he's very much still active and it seem as if he does good music and isn't only living of of past merits. I will have to buy me some of his releases in the future. Well, im sure there will be plenty of places online to download this from, i got mine at "Uk-Nova" (as always when it comes to British television.).

Chris Boomer - I am who I am

2011-02-20T14:59:00.000-08:00

Im back with a new album review, im taking a brief break from "Mystic Vision" related material (i'll be back with em in my next review) and i just got the new "Toots & The Maytals" documentary from BBC that is waiting to be reviewed, stay tuned for plenty of interesting stuff on this blog int he future. But let's get started........

This guy from Guam was discovered by SOJA's front-man Jacob Hemphill while they where touring the island and an instant friendship started to bloom. They've written songs together and this EP is Boomers first release. To my knowledge it's only available as an digital release but for those who are into melodic roots reggae (conscious, yes but not necessarily Rasta) this should be a very interesting release.

This is a very melodic and well produced album, Chris Boomer goes for real instruments all the way and is not the kind of artist who relies on Riddims used by others (not saying that is wrong though) and goes for originality and an organic sound. In interviews he states Lucky Dube as an influence and you can def. hear that in his sound, or an African reggae vibe in general. One thing is for sure, Mr.Boomer is not from Jamaica and he sounds nothing like any Reggae coming from there (you decide for yourself whether that is good or bad).

Anyways, things start with "I am who I am" (which bear no relation or resemblance to the Peter Tosh tune "I am that i am") which is about Babylons oppression and how who he is and where he's at has nothing to do with his oppressor. I'd say that this opening track is the best song on the album, it's very relaxed but whit an energy that make u wanna get up and do something, the lyrics are inspiring.

The 3rd song is a love-song, "I know how" it's a really beautiful song who pulls quite an emotional punch about how he is totally lost without his lover. I somehow feels that this would be a very good song for an romantic movie, like the part when the 2 characters are separated and longs for each others. This might be roots reggae but not without a strong pop-music vibe to it. I would not be surprised if his music will find it's way beyond the "reggae-nerd" circuit i belong to.

Another high point on this album is "Bossman" about who is really running things in this system and how you may be more in charge than what you think you are. Chris Boomers songs are clever, philosophical and with quite an empowering message to boot. This song is a prime example of all that and very mellow as well. He get his message across without feeling to threatening or preachy. Things end with the acoustic "Can't stop me" who has an "Redemption song" feel to it and continues with the socially conscious theme of the previous songs where Chris Boomer tells us how he can't be controlled or stopped by Babylon.

Well, i very much enjoyed this album and im somewhat surprised i did as it at times felt very much like an intelligent pop album. Chris Boomers music has an mass-appeal that i usually think is very unappealing but he somehow pulls it of, i would not be surprised if he somewhere along in his career will have a huge cross-over hit. His voice reminds me a little bit of Bob Marley but as i said earlier, there's nothing Jamaican about his music and those wanting that element in their Reggae can forget about this album. There's nothing more to say really, i thoroughly enjoyed this album.

Is Buju innocent?

2011-02-18T00:24:00.000-08:00

I read a piece on the re-trial of Buju Banton that was published by "Jamaica Observer" and it's very hard to make up your mind on what to think of things. Buju admits that he "talked the talk" and posed as a drug-dealer. They have him on camera when he tastes cocaine from a knife, Buju claims he was just goin along with things, kept up with the act and that he was scared of his life.

Judging from personal experience i know that he could very well tell the truth. One night (many years ago) i was approached by 2 junkies, felt very uneasy and pretended to be one myself just to get away from the situation. Then again, Buju boasted and claimed he was a bigtime drug-dealer on an airplane, where there was no danger.

We are talking bout a guy whit a very spiritual image, who sings bout justice and the hardships of the poor and who has a very successful career. The way i see it he's either guilty and a scumbag or immature whit some character flaws. I really want to believe he's innocent as he's from an artist point of view one of the best "modern" reggae artists ever with a slew of amazing albums behind him but i just don't know.....

Even his character wittnesses (Morgan Heritage & co.) admits he does a lot of talking but claims he's no drug-dealer. Should someone who either is or runs around and pretends he's a bigtime drug-dealer go into a studio and record all these spiritual and philosophical songs? While admitting to his genious i dunno if i will ever look at Buju in the same light again, regardless of his guilt or not......

low-budget titles, dont fear them....

2011-02-16T11:05:00.000-08:00

I just got a big, big package from "Ernie B Reggae" with about 40 cd's, except for 4-5 of them that where $1.49 they where all like $1.00 or even below. Many of them where from artists i have not heard too much about and yeah, i took a risk buying blindly like that but it paid of surprisingly often. With the business in turmoil there's some great deals to be made if you're adventurous and dare to buy unknown artists.

Most albums where quite amazing if you consider what i paid for them and some would have been a good purchase even at "full price". I recommenced y'all to do the same, go to their bargain section and just order away, get anything that's cheap, no matter whether you know how it sounds or have heard about them. It's very enjoyable to get a huge package with an overwhelming amount of new albums to check out and more often than not they turn out to have at least 1 song that made it worth buying.

Believe it or not, "Ernie B" did not pay me to post this, this post is not a part of some sorta clever marketing scheme. If y'all wait some im sure y'all get to read my "buy full priced albums to keep the genre alive" post also, love to contradict myself (lol).

Reggae Britannia

2011-02-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

It finally aired, iv'e been looking forward to see this ever since it was announced that my favorite station where to air this newly produced documentary on Reggae in the UK. Rarely have my expectations been so high, would this beat outstanding documentaries like "Reggae in Babylon" and "Aquarious" ? It's good enough but im afraid i got a bit disappointing. This was not made for "reggae-nerds" like me and deals with how Reggae affected British society at large rather than feature as many anecdotes from as many artists as possible.

It has Dennis Bovel, folks from "Aswad" and "Steel Pulse" along with brief segments from Tippa Irie and Asher Senator but totally leaves out much of the current artists and super important folks like Jah Shaka or Mad Professor. The parts on "lovers rock" are bigtime disappointments as it does not feature any of the big names like "Peter Hunningale" or "Bitty McLean" but just a few female acts from the 70ies and 80ies.
It also features Chris Blackwell who started Island records but as there was a show strictly about him not too long ago it feels like repetition.

The same goes for the part about the UK ska revival, it's interesting and i do like some of the songs/groups but they got their own show as well. I think UB40 sucks but knowing how big they got i guess they had to feature them on here, too bad they skipped out on all good white reggae/dancehall acts that's from the UK. And talking about UK dub and leaving out "Alpha & Omega" and the whole steppers scene, that should border on criminal negligence (lol).

I guess this would appeal more to someone with a big interest in music in general who would like to get a overview of British reggae and what the genre has meant to the UK rather than someone who lives and breathes Reggae on a daily basis. Still, i rather have this flawed documentary than none at all and there are interesting parts in it. Worth watching but not as impressive and "all inclusive" as i had hoped. Now im awaiting the "Toots & The Maytals" documentary that is to come, let's hope tha one will be better. Can be downloaded from torrent sites like "UK nova", im not going to upload it here this time.

Andres - Monsoon kiva

2011-02-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

Been jamming "Mystic Vision" and affiliated artists like crazy lately, it's amazing they have managed to stay so unknown with all the material they have out. It's not just quantity either, they got some production values. One of their producers and band members is Andres "Draezey" Estrada who has 3 solo albums out as well as tons of music produced for others. I believe this is his first album and it stretches back to 2007. Anyone who enjoys his efforts in "Mystic Vision" will enjoy this album.

It starts in a no-nonsense way with " Jah live" who has a strong acoustic presence and lyrics about how everything relates back to Jah who gives everything living power, humans as well as animals and plants. While definitely being RASTA all the way i have always felt that the members of "Mystic Vision" has a strong "new age" feel to them and their music and this is a perfect example of that as it features elements of nature worshiping and ties it together with more traditional Rastafarian subjects like Haile Selassie I, the power of Jah etc... It's a very solid and powerful song with amazing production.

As so often with artists I like but who's music is unobtainable for me i keep on checking their Myspace pages and listen to them from there. Song 3, "Send me away" is prob. the first song that made me open my eyes to this collective of artists. There's a video to this song on "Youtube" that impressed me big time and im happy to finally have it on CD. It's not as directly about returning to Africa as one may think but more about escaping all the bad stuff in the world, it's a slow meditative song as well as being really catchy but i feel as if the version on here is very short compared to what i remember from the video which seem to no longer be online.

Three songs further in is "Intention", a deeply personal song about some sort of relationship where Andres did not keep in touch the way he should have and here he let whoever know how sorry he is for it. Nice that he ads an song about relations to break things up and ad some variety to the material, as far as backing/melody goes it's still in the same nature as many of the other songs on here which is not a problem. "Lion and the lamb" with the rapper"Jam-One" (who does not have the usual NM gangsta swagger) is a bit faster and upbeat than the other and is about the struggle Hispanic people go thru in United States, it's more of an political song than spiritual. Other features on here is from the inimitable Vaughn Benjamin on "Build love" and a few others (incl. band-member John Bento). As usual I've excluded a number of songs in this review to not make it too long but all songs on here are winners, this is a "no skipping required" cd.

There is no doubt that this is another hit from the "Mystic Vision" camp an it features their own brand of spirituality and RastafarI along with personal reflections from Andres. I like his voice and it kinda reminds me of John Bento's in that it's kinda fragile and sensitive sounding while still being very original. There is plenty of "real" instruments on here, guitar solos, drums etc... It's refreshing with an artist who actually is a songwriter and don't relies on other producers riddims (although i like plenty of "riddim riding" artists). Quality all the way and very recommended.

Releases you should check out

2011-02-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

As y'all know Reggae dont get the attention it should in regular media and that makes it very easy to miss out on interesting artists and releases. To prevent this from happening i decided to compile a lil something about some lesser known, fairly recent albums u should def. take a second look at. Don't consider this a review as im far to brief in my rundown for that. My original plan where to create a playlist for each and every album but due to some error in either divshare or blogspot i could not have multiple playlists in 1 post. That's why i had to include all samples for these releases into one playlist at the end.

Mighty Howard - Jah soldier

This colorado/new york raised artist is nowadays settled in Germany where he has been recording for some time now. To my knowledge this is his first release, downloadable from digital distributor Juno. Y'all who like traditional rootsreggae with a contemporary, modern flair to it will certainly enjoy this album and i look forward to hear more from him.

I-Taweh - Overload

It's easy to forgett about Jamaica (wow, can't believe i actualy wrote that) with so much amazing material coming from all over the world nowadays but the fire is still burning strong in our beloved genres birthplace. Wanna know more bout him? His website is very good and informative, except for missing a webshop this is how all artists sites should be, not half-assed and poorly updated. This album has strong production values, plenty of live instruments and I-Taweh sure is not one to compete in the "riddim race", i could only hear exclusive, original productions on here. A must for all of y'all oldschool Roots fans.

Zion - Stricktly roots

The oldschool sounding Rootsreggae is alive and well, this Dominican islands imigrant currently settled in USA goes for the Bob Marley type of sound without being an copycat artist (Bob Marley wannabes bore me) and manages to impress me quite a bit. The release is of high quality with a very imformative cd-booklet.

Spiritual - My world
Wow, more brand new & fresh oldschool roots vibes from Jamaica, this guy knows what he's doin and sounds kinda like an slightly more mellancholic verision of Culture or perhaps Burning Spear. I don't think this will dissapoint anyone who it's intended to please. Just a shame it's a download only release, still..... WAY TO GO.

A detail from the new logo

2011-01-30T20:34:00.000-08:00

Some of the details of the logo just ain't coming out when shrinking it down to fit the page, I just wanted to share this with y'all.

Mystic Vision - Living in troubled times

2011-01-30T16:37:00.000-08:00

Hopefully y'all ain't getting tired of seeing the results of my superlative addiction and nerdy fanboy behavior spiced with regional favoritism (im always one to support the acts near me as long as they show even a small grain of promise). If you are i suggest you pass on this new "Mystic Vision" review (and blog in general). You may not have heard of these guys before but they have been active for some time now, producing others as well as several of their own album on their label "Fullgrown Records".

They hail from the middle of nowhere, more precisely Tijeras in New Mexico, a US state not known for all that many things, esp. not reggae. Unless u feel comfortable buying digital tracks their music aint easy to obtain and for years i had no idea they even existed. But they do and their new release "Living in troubled times" proves that what NM reggae may not have in quantity they make up for in quality, i really like this album. First song is "Cut throat", an virulently catchy song that have managed to get stuck in my head with the intention to stay there. Those who suffer from the afflictions of blind patriotism may be so put of that they scrap "Mystic Vision" completely (if you think "Michael Moore" has betrayed his country you may be one of those). The song is very critical to the politics of United States ("them a cut throat and kill I if they could, cause them a cut throat cause that's the way of the US of A") Regardless of whether you agree with the lyrical content, this is an AMAZING song, John Bento has an fragile, sensitive quality to his voice that I absolutely love and it works well for the spiritual/philosophical nature of this track.

Two songs further into the album comes "Jah is real", they have added a subtle "autotune" effect to parts of the singing and usualy i don't like it but here it works and complements the singing. It's also a smooth and spiritual track about how and why Jah is real. They do liven things up and raises the tempo a bit towards the end of the album though whit songs like "It's strange" who features some rapping over a melodic track with electric guitars and live instrumentation. This is a carefully produced album whit great musicianship and a mix of (what sounds like) digital and more organic instrumentation. The song before the last track, "War on the people" is another of my favorites on here and is also featured on the latest "Draezy" album. It's clear that "Mystic Vision" has done some serious reasoning on the state of mankind and would like to share their conclusions to their listeners, it's a very interesting and great sounding track.

It will come as no big surprise that im enjoying this album a lot and i like Mystic Vision's compromiseless and serious attitude to music. They are clearly on a mission and will do music the way they think it should be done. This does not mean they are immune to being influenced by what goes on. It's a modern and contemporary sounding album but "Mystic Vision" chooses their influences and how to apply it to their sound without selling out. We need more artists/acts making music from this perspective. A great album well worth buying.

music samples on the blog

2011-01-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

I will start including a few tunes with each review. Im still confident to not be a pirate blog so these samples will be in low quality and only streamable. I wanna stay friendly with artists and labels. Starting from today i will look at all previous posts and try to ad a few samples to em, if any artist or label has issues with it, let me know and i will remove the tunes.

New Alpheus coming soon

2011-01-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

A new album from Brittish Alpheus is coming soon and there's a promo available before it's officialy released. His first album was okay, showed a lot of promise but wasn't amazing, his second album was a lot better and this seems to be absolutely amazing. In a recent interview (whit "United Reggae") he says he's kind afed up with modern reggae so he went back to the good ole days of ska and rocksteady. Well, nuff said, here's a few samples from his soon to be released album, i will certainly get it once it comes out.

Mystic Vision

2011-01-25T12:09:00.000-08:00

Got a package with releases from Mystic Vision and associated artists today. For those who don't know them they are a deeply spiritual rootsreggae band with ties to Midnite and Benjamin Vaughn. Im very excited and the little iv'e heard sounds great. There will be a heavy Mystic Vision coverage on here in the days and weeks to come. Finaly som New Mexican reggae blastin from my speakers.

Go check their website, it's vastly improved from their old one and you can sign up to download a bunch of free mp3s (sign up and they mail u a link).

http://themysticvisionband.com/home.cfm

Buju Baton practice cover

2011-01-25T07:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it gets a bit frustrating that i never get's the oportunity to do an real album cover for an decent artist that's not full of bullcrap talking and promises that he never follow thru with (talkin bout graphic designs only) but i keep on practising cause im realy enjoying graphic design although i doubt it will ever make me any money.

Nico D & Amiral P - To the world

2011-01-25T04:30:00.000-08:00

I just can't stop being amazed at how international our bellowed genre has become, nowadays you can find great acts from virtually every country on earth. Ad Norway to this list, it's the neighbor country to Sweden (where im from) and if my country has a small scene i would say Norway has an even smaller one. I have relatives there and iv'e visited a few times in the late 80ies so it shouldn't feel to exotic but a Reggae album from there still is. I guess this album would fall under the category "modern roots/dancehall".

I would definetly say this duo pulls some punches on this release, it's a quality production, very current but firmly rooted in the long tradition of of rootsreggae. They seem to be a bit heavy into "autotune" but distort the voices very lightly so it does not distract. First up is "Eyes wide open" an open call to all in the struggle to keep things positive no matter how hard things seem. It's done over a very smooth backing track, a very high qualty production and a great start to the album. Im impressed so far and the second song, "Woman of creation" does not let me down either. It's an ode to all positive women and a sorta mix between a roots and a lovers song with some great chanting and singing over another great production. Track 5, "Say it ain't so" is an realy amazing love song with a very rootsy feel to it and with a great trumpet (or trombone) melody loop in it.
If my sources are correct song 6, "Spinnvill" done in Norwegian was quite a hit and has quite an retro vibe to it, kinda like a "Peckings" production or something like that. Im a huge fan of these retro tracks with a modern twist and this is a great song, i wanna hear more songs like this from "Nico D & Admiral P". As far as lyrical content it's an love-song and im much pleased that i actually understand most of it. Right up after it is the "English" version of the same song, "Woman of my dreams", also great. The local vibes continue on "idiot" who is also in Norwegian, im surprised at how good it sounds as i think Rap in Norwegian often sounds kinda funny.

While not being retro i would say that "Handle the pressure" is another great song, rootsy and uplifting with a minor melancholic vibe to it. The heat continues on next song "Neva grow" who delivers more outstanding modern roots with an uplifting message of standing strong and resist the pressures of Babylon. It ends with "Mama", an typical ode to their Moms whit the usual thanks and praises. There's nothing wrong with the song but it feels a bit too formulaic. Still, let's not end this review being too negative cause i really liked this album and was amazed at how great Norwegian Reggae sounds. It may not be the most original group ever, there are other artists who sounds similar but who cares? This sounds very good and polished, kinda in the same style as artists like Norrisman, Jah Mason or Gappy Ranks. Well worth looking up, i look forward to more releases.

Bushman-Sings the Bush Doctor

2011-01-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

This has been an album that has been advertised as "coming soon" for quite a while now and many have been waiting patiently. It took time to record it and even longer to secure the rights from all copyright holders. Who knows if it would ever have been released if it wasn't for the fact that "Bushman" himself was very passionate about it. But now it's here and im about to review it for y'all. Is it worth getting or just one of many cover albums out there?

Well, personally i have split opinions on covers, they can be great and very welcome if they bring something new to the table but i don't care much for an album where the artist singing tries to sound exactly as the original. No matter how much i love Bob Marley other artists who does his songs and tries to sound just like him bores me to death. So with this in mind i guess an album full of Peter Tosh covers will have a hard time winning me over.

First on my agenda where to see if my own Tosh favorite "I am that i am" was on here and im sad to say that it wasn't. There's some big and great songs on here though so im not going to hold that against the album, we all have different favorites i guess. Some of the songs on here is "Stepping razor", "legalize it" and another of my favorites "Mama Africa" ft. Buju Banton along with a few more tracks. Usually i comment on a bunch of individual songs in my reviews but im going to skip that here. Everyone knows how these songs sound and Bushman didn't go for the "modernizing-old-classics" route on this album. They sound very much like the Tosh originals did and i feel everything already has been said about them.

If you will enjoy this album depends on what u demand out of a cover, do you want the artist singing them to interpret the songs his way and bring something new to the table? Well, don't bother with this album then. If all you need is an well made album and you like "Bushman" and "Peter Tosh"? Go and get the album as soon as you can, the production is flawless and anyone who says anything else is out their mind. The quality is crystal clear, live instruments and great vocals from "Bushman". So whether you will like it depends on your own preferences, this is a high quality release (but in my opinion slightly pointless).

Jah Turban - Africa is our home

2011-01-16T23:10:00.000-08:00

Im not one to jump any bandwagons and enjoying the latest just to belong to the in-crowd but that's not to say im beyond influence. If i hear about an artist over and over again and he or she is compared to someone i really dig i will most likely check that said artist out. This is what happened with "Jah Turban", an Jamaican chanter/singjay who migrated to Denmark (of all places).

When he was compared to one of my alltime favourites "Lutan Fyah" i had to see what all the fuss was about and why he pops up on blogs and sites all over Internet. I checked out his video "Babylon Doom" on youtube and was hooked, i see the similarities in the comparisons and understands the hype, he's just simply GREAT! Unf. he don't have any CD out, this digital EP is all we have to satisfy our apetite with. Things start with "Babylon doom", an incredible uptempo Roots anthem where Turban predicts the fall of Babylon and enthusiasticaly cheers it on. It's very catchy and the similarities with "Lutan Fyah" are at their most obvious here. Saying that he's one of these copycat artist all popular Reggae artist have would be unfair though. I would guess Lutan is more of an strong influence than someone "Jah Turban" is trying to copy. He follows up the first track with "Mystics of Jah", an ode to the greatness of god, a good uptempo roots song but kinda fades a bit in comparision to the first one.

The title track "Africa is our home" is another great song and the perfect summer track, it's easy to listen to without being dumbed down and get u in a good mood. On a slightly more melancholic vibe is "Move vampire" about all bad men and how they are enemys to the Bobo man. It's not realy all that depressive and with a slow tempo but still the most mellancholic out of the six songs on here. Well, so what's the verdict? 6 songs doesn't satisfy my apetite, this is an artist i very much enjoy and i would love to see him dro an full-lenght album and do so the oldfashioned way, no digital releases. They are okay but i don't like to spend money on something which is not a physical product, i guess im oldfashioned like that. Keep your eyes and ears open, im sure we are going to see big things from "Jah Turban" in the future.

interesting news from BBC

2011-01-11T11:57:00.000-08:00

Found this online a few days ago, nowadays you can download anything online and particularly Brittish tv, courtesy of the amazing torrent site "UK-Nova" so this should be of international interest.

"BBC Four today announced that it will celebrate reggae’s impact on British music, culture and society with four exciting new programmes on Friday 11 and Friday 18 February. The channel will spotlight some of the genre’s most influential and greatest artists with two new documentaries, Reggae Britannia and Toots And The Maytals – Reggae Got Soul, a specially filmed Reggae Britannia At The Barbican concert and Reggae At The BBC, a choice compilation showcasing a range of archive content.

Jan Younghusband, Commissioning Editor, BBC Music and Events, says: “In the great tradition of BBC Four musical treats, we are delighted to be celebrating UK Reggae with two new documentaries, a special Barbican concert and a host of treasures from the BBC archive.” Kicking off on 11 February at 9pm, and continuing the highly successful and critically acclaimed Britannia series for BBC Four, Reggae Britannia explores and celebrates the impact of reggae on British music and culture from the Sixties through to the mid-Eighties. The documentary delves into the world of reggae, examining everything from the music, the bass lines and the spliff, to black kids speaking brummie or cockney, the romance of Jamaica and the smell of British streets in the Seventies.

Travelling through the years, the programme talks to the performers who brought their music to the UK from Jamaica, discusses how reggae helped forge Rock Against Racism, showcases the New Wave bands of the Eighties who were influenced by the genre and explores how the genre became a part of the British mainstream my the mid-Eighties.

Directed by Jeremy Marre, the programme hears from Jerry Dammers and Neville Staple of The Specials, Dennis Bovell, Chris Blackwell, UB40, Paul Weller, Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson, Dennis Alcapone, Boy George and many more. A special Reggae Britannia At The Barbican concert will be held in London on Saturday 5 February. The broadcast of the concert will follow the documentary at 10.30pm.
From Ska, through Rocksteady, Roots, Dub and Lovers Rock, it promises to be an evening of hits from the Sixties through to the present day. Featuring some of the most important Reggae musicians in the British scene, the programme will see performances from Dennis Alcapone and Winston Reedy, Dennis Bovell, Dave Barker, Pauline Black, Ali Campbell, Ken Boothe and many more.

The channel will serve up its second helping of programming on Friday 18 February, spotlighting a reggae legend in the new documentary Toots And The Maytals – Reggae Got Soul, at 9pm. This never-before-told story from one of Jamaica’s most influential artists features intimate performances from Toots and some hand-picked musicians, rare archive from throughout his career and interviews with Toots himself, contemporaries and well-known fans. From his beginnings as a singer in a Jamaican church choir to the universally-praised Grammy award-winning artist of today, this film tells the story of one of music’s true greats and features contributions from Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jimmy Cliff, Willie Nelson, Paolo Nutini, Bonnie Raitt, Marcia Griffiths and many more. Following the documentary, Reggae At The BBC will showcase a choice archive of great reggae performances filmed at the BBC Studios. Ranging from Top Of The Pops, Old Grey Whistle Test and Later… With Jools Holland, the programme will feature classic performances from artists including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Gregory Isaacs, Prince Buster, Dennis Brown and many more."

Info taken from vadvert.co.uk

Issiah Mentor - Rasta government

2011-01-11T09:17:00.000-08:00

The first time i heard of "Issiah Mentor" was when he was going to have an concert in "Santa Fe" where i was living a copula of years ago. Regrettably I could not afford going, i have not been to a reggae concert in ages (and i miss it). Since then I've been visiting his myspace page regularly (as always with artists i like who has no releases out) and come to appreciate his music a lot. While being unknown to most he's no newcomer, he started out as "Lily Melodie" in the 80ies and did some very current sounding dancehall music.

Since then he has converted to RastafarI, changed name to "Issiah Mentor" and did finaly release his first album, "Rasta goverment" wich i'm reviewing here. It's to my understanding that he took a break from music for some years before this transformation into "Issiah Mentor". This album often has an 80'ies roots/dancehall vibe to it. Things start with "One love" a song wich kinda personifies my previous statement, it's a good uptempo dancehall cut with a hint of melancholy. It's good, catchy and easy to like and kinda set the tone for the album. If you like this song you will love the album, if not just move on to another cd. Next is "Fist class" with "Turbulence", it's more uptempo dancehall with a rootsy feel to it, not bad but not a favourite either.

Skip ahead one song and we come to the titletrack, "Rasta goverment" wich is the best song on the whole cd, i absolutely love it. It reminds me a lil bit about the first track but is way, way better. The riddim is kinda simple and repetitive but ohh so good and proves that sometimes less realy is more. Issiah absolutely kills things vocaly and lyricaly. It's about how Rasta forces needs to take over the government and change everything that is wrong. This is the kinda song u can put on repeat and listen to 10 times over. The next song,"Cry Africa" sounds very diferent, less Reggae and more contemporary Pop. It's not bad but i doubt that the peopole buying this album will be very interested in it.

A few songs further in the album we find "Save me now Jah", a song from the perspective of a "Shotta" (Jamaican gangsta) and how he finaly realises the wrongs of his ways and how he can't go on like how he has. I dunno if it's autobiographical or not but it's an amazing and moving song which shows "Issiah Mentor" in his very best light. There's a few songs on this album who feels as if they are kinda an atempt to create a crossover hit. The only one of these i realy like is "Show them father" where he has managed to scale down the reggae vibes without loosing any of his apeal.

There is a few songs on here i don't care for that much, "Issiah Mentor" sounds the best when he doesn't try to update his sound. When he goes for a more R&B/Pop sound he fails to captivate me (most of the time). However, out of the album wich contain 16 songs there is just 3 or 4 songs im not feeling that much. That still leaves me with about 12 songs of high quality Reggae and 1 super great song. Once the math is done id say that the few minor distractions does not change the fact that this is a great album. Fans of late 80ies-early 90ies roots/dancehall will not be disapointed.

Mister Kali-Step fast

2011-01-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

There is a fair share of New Mexican rappers out there (even though most unf. couldn't care less bout distribution & promotion) but Reggae acts from here? I'm afraid this state is a bit to backwoods for that really, there is Mystic Vision who i have contacted twice about buying albums from but have not heard anything from. There is "Native Roots", a native American band im not sure is still active and then there's Mr.Kali from Santa Fe.

Iv'e been listening to his songs on his myspace page for years, eagerly awaiting the promissed debute who never seemed to come. Then finaly, while browsing new releases on ebreggae.com i found it and ordered it almost emediately. It can be found on Vp Records online store and cdbaby.com as well (can't believe it, an NM artist who actualy bothers to make his release easily available).

Mr.Kali belongs to the dancehall/ragga sub-category of Reggae while also being a Rasta who incorporates his religious beliefs in his music. So yeah, this can be considered roots-reggae if you belong to those who like to place your music in a genre/sub-genre name ( I, myself belong to the later crowd). With that being said, it's a modern sounding album with plenty of references to urban music & hip-hop. If you want a Roots album the way they where made in the 70 ies this album will dissapoint you.

Anyways, the first song, after the intro "Psalm one" with it's Nyahbinghi drums and melodica is "No escape" dealing with all the injustice goin on in Babylon and how there's ultimately no escape from god's judgement so you better get your act together. It's a faster kinda track (but not a rowdy one) that would work perfect for the dancehall while still being smarte nough to dig into while being at home. On a slower tempo is the third song, "Love is my armour" ft. "Draezy", one of my favourites on here. It's basicaly about how love is the answer to things and how it can protect you from a whole lota bad stuff. Realy like this one and the singer compliment Kali's toasting realy well.

More hype, energetic vibes are presented on song 5, "Don't panic" who is considerably faster and dancehall oriented while keeping the serious, deep lyrical content of the previous songs. I would say this is one of the albums strengths, the songs work on an intellectual level as well as on a "let's get crunk", danceable way. The listener can choose whether it want to analyze the songs or just go with the vibes. Another great song is "I love jah" wich serves us more fast, danceable vibes with a "rub-a-dub" taste to it. Lyricaly it probably comes as no surprise that it's about glorifying god and Haile Selassie I. Other good songs is the love song "Lovin, lovin" ft. "Sgt.Remo" who showcases Kali's softer side and is a pasionate ode' to the woman of his dreams or the faster tempoed "Vampires" about enemies of RastafarI.

Over all this is a very good debut album showing you can make a highly modern and urban album without straying from the roots. You can jam this for the grooves alone or choose if you wanna digest it on a more intelectual level as well. There is no well known features on this album, the collaborations is with unknown artist but they all do good and complements Mr.Kali rather than takes away focus from him. As long as you don't demand your Reggae to sound too oldtimey and retro you should be pleased with this album.

Cookie the Herbalist - Like a tree

2010-12-26T21:11:00.000-08:00

Nowadays white reggae artists and producers are nothing unusual, this genre has conquered the world and spread to places with no or few black folks to play it. Iv'e made it a point to not try to make an issue of reggae artists race. But finding singjays with turbans that are white still is a bit unusual and worth mentioning. Dunno if "Cookie the Herbalist" is "Bobo" but he sure looks the part although he's not that militant in his aproach.

For being a singjay Cookie keeps his music on the softer, more popy spectra of the subgenre, there aqin't nothing to rowdy or "Sizzla" like on "Like a tree". Many of the songs are of an more romantic persuation although the cultural tracks are there (note that i don't mean any of this in a negative way, it's still authentic, genuine reggae). You does not have to be a hardcore Reggae fan to enjoy this album.

First up is "Hold on" ft. "Andrew Robinson", a softer kinda acoustic song featuring a guitar, flute and what sounds like bongo drums where Cookie thanks god and his parents for surviving even though life is hard. Not a bad start of the album, it's a good song with solid performances and a good message. For the next song he gives up the acoustic sound for a more electronic one with synths and drum-machines. It's a lil bit faster but not str8 uptempo still and touches kinda the same subjects as the first song. It's okay but not the most amazing song on the album. The third song is the title track, "Like a tree" an uptempo metaphor where he likens himself to a tree with roots spanning wide and making him strong and unbeatable. It's not bad but doesn't grab me like i wish it would.

Skip one song and we get "Running away", one of my favorites on here, it has an pop sensibility while still keeping it true to it's reggae roots and Cookie works up a good flow. If the radio stations worked the way they should this would be the perfect "cross-over" hit. The songs to follow varies from dancehall to uptempo roots songs. Over all it's a good album, i got no real complaints although it somehow fails to grab and impress me. What i like is that "Cookie" never tries going to hardcore on here, with his turban and all i was afraid that he was going to come of as trying to be something he's not but he don't. If you got the money to spare this is not a bad purchase and i will keep on following "Cookie the Herbalist"'s development as an artist but "Like a tree" is not a must have.

La Nostalgia del Sr.Alambre

2010-07-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

Iv'e always been a fan of cartoons and clay animation, this Mexican (if im not misstaken) effort is truly impressive.

R.I.P. Sugar minott

2010-07-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

Sadly, this Reggae giant passed away on july the 10th, he will be very missed and is one of the first artists i got into when i started listening to reggae in the early 90ies, my favourite album whit him is "African soldier", an timeless masterpiece. Well, R.I.P., you will be missed by fans worldwide.

Monsterism island

2010-06-09T02:57:00.000-07:00

Found this while surfing around the web, always been a fan of animation and i realy like the style of this animation, perhaps even more than the actual story itself but....

Million Stylez - Everyday

2010-06-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

While most probably barely knows that Sweden exists and even fewer knows or care about our homegrown Reggae scene it's bigger and better than one might think. Out of all acts there's only one who has really made any noise internationally, the French/Japanese Million Stylez from one of Stockholms many suburbs. Whit one album behind him and countless singles he's back whit his latest album, "Everyday". High of some healthy national pride, who am I to not review it?

Let me start whit letting y'all know this is an album of an more modern, dancehall-esque nature, first song on here is "Love we a deal whit" one of the albums more rootsy songs, an catchy uptempo song, whit a more distinct back beat than some of his songs (and much dancehall in general nowadays). I guess one could call it roots-reggae light (and i don't mean it as an insult) whit a pop sensibility to it. I was positively surprised as i was not amazed by anything i heard on his first album (although I thought it was okay).

Next is the title track, "Everyday" who has an even stronger Roots feel to it but is an dedication to all hustlers and thugs out doin their dirt on the streets, it somehow has more of an positive approach to the subject than your average gangstarap song does. Nowadays words like hustler & thug has transcended their original meaning so perhaps he's not exactly mean to dedicate this song to criminals. He stepped things up a notch whit this song.

Skip one to track 4, "Young gunz" whit fellow Stockholm dancehall artist "Joey Fever" is one of the best songs on the album, it's very, very catchy and has an definite cross-over hit appeal to it while still keeping it 100 % authentic. U feel strong early 90 ies, late 80ies vibes over this track, i absolutely love this song. It has previously been out as an 7" so you might have heard it if you're into buying vinyls or downloading from blogs.

Believe it or not but he follows up whit an almost as good song, "Dancehall nice again" who also easily could be a hit. Were talking big time good vibes on this one, it's a song whit a big heart, the kinda song to play when you're in a crappy mood to get you back on your feet again. I'm starting to be seriously impressed whit this album by now!!!

Im not so sure that things get worse but they def. changes up a little bit as a bunch of songs that feels more contemporary Jamaican dancehall than the previous, u know the type whit autotune singing, no distinct reggae beats etc..... I'd say the arab flavored "Ya habibti" is my favorite of these songs, it's about an steamy night (i mean more steamy on the dancefloor than in the bedroom) "Million Stylez" had whit an Persian dancer. What folks don't know is that there's quite an Persian/Iranian presence in Sweden, esp. in suburbs like the one he comes from.

By the 10th song there is an return to the rootsier vibes with "Born in the system", an "it's tough in Babylon" typa song, a much wellcomed song if u ask me. The way the electric guitar performs in this song kinda reminds me of Bob Marley's "Could you be loved" (well, at least a little bit). More rootsy vibes follows in "World crisis" which gotta be the biggest and most positive surprise on here whit it's guest feature from legendary "Don Carlos", it's far from an obvious colaboration choice and i could easily see this not working but it's a very good song and they match each other good. "Million Stylez" sure proves his artist name is a fitting one, an very versatile artist.

Another big collaboration follows when he teams up whit "Gentleman" on "Help is on the way", not bad at all and whit positive lyrics and a slightly melancholic feel but somehow the chemistry of the previous track is not there. A few more positive and rootsy tracks follows along whit a love song where the melody seems similar at times whit "Damian Marley & Nas" collaboration "Africa wake up". Well, to sum things up, i like this album a lot and is very positive about it. Im not going to deny it's probably partialy due to the fact that this guy is Swedish. It makes me hapy that at least one artist from my country seems to be making a name for himself internationaly.

Million Stylez make singing Reggae and Dancehall seem so natural and effortless, sometimes (even whit artists i like) Swedish Reggae can feel a bit forced, as if it's a pastiche of the Jamaican thing and every Patois word uttered is followed by an effort equal to give birth to a baby. No such things here, Million Stylez does not try to be the real deal, he is the real deal. But let's look at things in a more sober way, this is not the best album ever, not a classic but for sure a very good album, absolutely one to buy, skip the illegal downloads on this one.

Graphic designs

2010-06-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

There's so many Reggae/dancehall artists that only releases singles, one really don't get an good idea of how they sounds so i collected a few songs on a cd and designed my own covers. Thought i should share them whit y'all, if u need designs, let me know, im inexpensive but good.

Archie Wonder - What about love

2010-05-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

I dunno if I'm supposed to like sappy, romantic loversrock artists like Archie Wonder as a guy but i sure know that I do. I'm a big softie and songs about passionate love is more appealing to me than raunchy ragga full of sexual braggadocio. I don't know much about this guy, my internet search proved quite fruitless but he's Jamaican, 31 yrs. old and lives in the US. I love me some obscure acts but "Archie Wonder" has failed to make any impact on me until now.

The first song, "Stop playing games" reveals that he's an fully developed artist whit an amazing voice and presence in what he sings. The song is about an ungrateful love and the following breakdown of their relation, it's not lyrically breathtaking but the singing is amazing and very emotionally charged. Second up is "Happiness and joy", another great love song, also slightly melancholic although the lyrics are a bit more happy, a song that's perfect for a lazy Sunday spent laying around in bed and taking it easy. Like many other great loversrock artists Archie Wonder is mixing things up whit throwing a few "praising jah" kinda religious tracks, one of these are song 4, "Jah lifted me up" who is sung over an old, well known riddim (i think it's called "Moonlight lover" originally but I'm crappy whit remembering the names of riddims so i dunno). It's about how Jah empowered him to go on and do right despite living in a world full of bad folks and negativity. It's a smooth, easy on your ears song which ads some appreciated dept and variety to this album.

Skipping a few tracks along the way we come to track 7, "Rain" which is one of my favorites on here, it's another song of a romantic nature whit a slightly repetitive loop thrown in to all the other instrumentation. If i where to compare this song to any other artists sound i would probably think of someone like "Sanchez" who Archie sounds kinda familiar to. This song really stands out and should appeal to anyone even remotely into the more romantic side of Reggae. Then we have "Falling in love" on the "Ganja farmer" riddim (or at least elements of it) which is also an amazing cut, just as much thanks to the excellence of the riddim as Archie Wonders performance over it

There's a few more songs on here, some over well known riddims and some not but all are of a high quality and Archie Wonders voice is quite something, he sings his behind of on this album and proves he got what it takes to make it to the big league. An unusual aspect of the album is the lack of features, you would think that he would have 1 or 2 songs whit some bigger artists and perhaps a duet whit some female singer or dj which is almost standard for unknown artists albums. This does however not hurt "What about love" at all and i wish more artists resisted the temptation of cluttering their albums whit other artists. Over all an great album from an talented newcomer i hope we get to hear a lot more from in the future.

Abro Ne Bayie

2010-04-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

For almost as long as i can remember I've been into horror movies, i was a young kid under the video explosion of the early 80ies and looking at all the colorful boxes of movies i was not allowed to see created an lifelong interest. Years later (while visiting friends in Gambia) i learned that there is an African movie industry and where able to see my first African horror movies. Apparently there is an interest for horror in Ghana which is where this movie I am about to review comes from.

Brother Vincent is an successful and Christian young man, he seems to have everything going for him whit a deep involvement in church, a gorgeous, young fiance and flashy new car at his disposal. His life is soon about to take a turn for the worse though as his mom Dufie (unknown to him) is involved whit spirits from the dark underworld and has promised to deliver them her sons soul. But to penetrate Vincents faith and succeed whit her evil deeds turns out to be much harder than she thought.

It seem as if the only way to get to Vincent is to make him break up whit his fiance and get him involved whit an evil spirit in human shape. Whit her son dating evil but attractive Natasha he should be no match for Dufie and her spirit companions right? Luckily for Vincent this is not the case as his father and the local priest bravely puts up a fight to save his soul.......

This is only the beginning of the story, i saw 2 parts that totaled way over 2 hours and there is more to come, I can only hope that the whole series of films has been released as i found this to be an very enjoyable and fascinating viewing experience. Technically a bit crude and absolutely nothing like the American, Italian and Spanish horror movies I am used to but "Abro Ne Bayie" still managed to deliver. One thing viewers should be aware of is that horror movies from Ghana often is deeply religious whit a strong Christian message being the focal point. Black Metal gorehounds in corpse-paint and leather coats may not be very pleased and if you look at religion as superstitious and dorky you may not like these movies. Sure, it's still a horror movie but whit strong christian undertones.

I found the scenes whit the evil spirits to be very pleasing, they managed to create quite an atmosphere and that little boy in a skeleton dress and facial paint was kinda creepy (but also a bit retarded looking i must admit). I happen to be into graphic design and knows that one of the major Photoshop filter producers, Alien Skin also made an "Adobe Premiere" version of their highly popular "Eye Candy" and the digital "Special FX" scenes in this movie very much reminds me of what you can do in this filter. The flames, lasers and dissolving spirits looks kinda generic but did not bother me too much and in a strange way added to the entertainment value.

What i found a bit weird is how this movies switches back and forth from English and Twi (a local, Ghanian language) and i wish that they would have subtitled larger portions of the dialogue than what they did. It's still enough to make sense of what is going on so i guess im cool.

All in all, i thoroughly enjoyed this movie, it had an good enough tempo, some interesting visuals and an story that appealed to me. I'm however realistic enough to realize that large portions of western horror fans probably wont share my opinions or enthusiasm. If you're open minded and want something different, give this movie a try, you just might end up liking it as much as i did.

Capleton - I-ternal fire

2010-04-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

Capleton may be one of the biggest names in modern Reggae but if you ask me he is also one of the most uneven ones. He's capable of doing amazing, modern roots masterpieces but also horribly average "dime a dozen" Ragga.

An general advice would be to skip the singles collections and go for the albums recorded whit the album format in mind. No one in their right mind could argue whit that albums like "Reign of fire" and"Still blazin" is anything but modern masterpieces.

It was a while ago but now he's back whit "I-ternal fire" and an promo has been floating on the Internet for a moment now. Since it's just a promo I am not going to review it as it might have changed once it's officially released but let me tell you, this is one solid album and a must buy.

He may not reinvent the wheel on this new album, it's more of the good ole' "Capleton" we all know and love. The lyrics are intelligent and well thought out, one could argue that everything RastafaraI has already been said but Capleton is not content whit just yellin a stereotype "praise Selassie I, bun fyah, babylon a go down" and settle whit that. He backs things up, give examples and shows he's very aware of what is going on in the world.

All fans of modern roots will love it and while nothing may rank up there whit "Reign of fire" this one comes close. Hurry up and release it, im standing in the line waiting to buy it!

Holding on to Jah

2010-04-21T15:41:00.000-07:00

While us Reggae fans sadly lack in magazines dedicated to our genre the same can certainly not be said about documentaries. There's a steady output of movies educating us about soundsystems, artists, dub etc and now the time has come to Roots-reggae. "Holding on to Jah" is the brainchild of "Roger Landon Hall" and Harris Stafford from "Groundation" and tells us about the more religious side of the genre.

It's currently making the festival circuit and will hopefully soon arrive on DVD (although no release is on the horizon at the moment)

http://www.holdingontojah.com/

Spade, the last assignment

2010-04-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

Im back whit another Nigerian movie review, last time i had a look at a movie whit a horror theme and now the time has come for a more action oriented movie, "Spade" which is the first in (i believe) a series of movies trying to introduce an African hero styled after the tough guys found in American action movies. I believe this is made by Oliver O Mbamara (and features well known actors like Prince Eke, Ichie Okuko and the director himself as Spade) the movie opens up in New York where a crime syndicate picks up a shipment of fresh Nigerian prostitutes and discusses their advances in the illegal artifact smuggling business.

We quickly moves on to Lagos, Nigeria where the rest of the movie takes place and is introduced to an historic artifact robbery gone wrong. An hostage situation appear and supercop Spade saves the day. It soon appear that there's more to the case than meets the eye though and the gang responsible for the botched robbery are still very much set on getting the artifacts they originally had their eyes on. They rescue the captured thugs and sets out to do their dirty business. This is not Spades business however, he just had his last assignment and has resigned from the force and is about to get married. This quickly changes when the gang kidnaps his "wife-to-be" and forces Spade to once again face them but things has changed, this time it's personal.

I know what you're thinking, this sounds very much like standard B-action fare and in a way i guess it is, Spade pretty much is an typical American action movie whit an strong African touch to it. But i would also like to claim that this is a landmark Nigerian movie and Nollywood takes an huge leap forward whit this movie. It looks way more polished and have a faster tempo than anything I've seen in Nigerian cinema up to now (I have to admit though, i have not seen a lot of Nollywood movies). That is not to say it's a perfect movie, at times it's still a bit hard to hear what they are saying and it's still a bit overlong in places.

But regardless of any minor flaws this movie might have I seriously enjoyed it and was very impressed, Spade raises the bars way up for Nollywood cinema and if future movies uses this as a stepping stone to accomplish even greater films then only the sky is the limit. An must see movie, I look forward to see what the future has in hold for this budding movie franchise, Spade rocks!!!!!!

Jah Melodie

2010-04-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

It was a while since i did an "i demand an album" post but I think it's about time, been spending plenty of time on "Jah Melodie's myspace page lately listening to his tunes and this guy is nothing but amazing, i dig his music 100%.

I'm sure most of y'all heard "Thanks and praises" by now, i absolutley love that song but unf. the only song released on cd is "Love jah more" ( on "Roots Tribe Showcase: Love jah more) and i crave more. Im not into vinyl anymore, i have no deck to play vinyl on and don't plan to buy one anytime soon. Unfortunately i can't find any mp3's either (except for "Thanks and praises") to satisfy my cravings until a cd is available so pleeeease release something soooooon............. (i will stand in line to pay for a cd).

Junior Kelly - Red pond

2010-03-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Whit so many Reggae artists being insanely productive "Junior Kelly" is something of an anomality, he has never been one to jump every new riddim that comes out and does not drop 5-6 albums a year on various labels. The last we heard from him was 2005's "Rough life" and many of us have wondered what ever happened to him. So, a new album on "VP" is a big deal and great news, keep on reading and i let y'all know whether it was worth waiting 5 years for.

Things start whit "Celebrate life" and lyrically I'd say "Junior Kelly" is exactly where he should be, he keep things strictly conscious while not feeling quite as judgmental as some of the other "Bobo" chanters out there and that's one thing I've always liked. The track is uptempo and very well produced, it very much sound like he have had a real backing band and not relying on digitally made one-drop riddims shared whit a ton of others. Reading on the "VP Records" site i learn that my assumptions where right. I like the song but im not amazed by it. He continues whit "Nothing wrong whit the world" where he tells people to quit their fussing and fighting cause there is nothing wrong whit Mama earth, this is one of these feel-good tracks that ads sunshine to rainy days, i really like it.

I get the feeling from this album that he partially went for a cross-over vibe and songs like "She's gone" whit "Luckie D" confirms my suspicions, it's not bad but one hardly expects any soul vibes on here. But then again, remember i used the word "partially", songs like "Murderer" (who probably is the rowdiest song on the album) and "Waan lef di ghetto" quickly takes things back to more familiar Reggae vibes. Changing things up slightly up again, "Slackness" treats us to a Ska-lite vibe, it's a much pleasant tune where he explores why folks turn into a slack state of mind.

We hear plenty of dedications to mothers in both Reggae and Rap music but where's the dedications to dads? It can't be that all men are irresponsible bastards who don't take care of their kids and are unworthy of songs? It's a nice change to hear dads getting some appreciation on "Papa's song" which he does together whit "Ras Shiloh". Personally i think the backing to this osng is a lil bit too soft and sappy but i could live whit it, i don't really got too much to complain about. More combination's on the lovers track "Too late" whit "Queen Ifrica" and while being very smooth i would say this is one of the better songs on here, this is a classic lovers track that im sure will stand the test of time.

Well, so what's the verdict on "Red pond" ? It's absolutely a good album, very well produced, you can hear that "Junior Kelly" and his producers took their time on this one, they did not rush. It's pleasant to hear songs made the old-fashioned way, whit real musicians as opposed to computer programed songs. However, sometimes it do feel a lil bit too slick and over produced and a lil bit more dirt and grit would probably have added to the album. Over all a good and well made album but not a mind blowing classic.

Red Pond

Naptali - Long journey

2010-03-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

From Clarendon via Kingston and released by the German based "Oneness Production" comes the first album from an artist i'm sure we will hear a lot from in the years to come. Whit so much crappy Ragga coming from Jamaica nowadays it's nice to see a Roots artist willing to drop an album that is not a part of the way to crowded "riddim" ghetto. Having a quick peek at the cover it's easy to think this is just one of many "Bobo Shanti" singjay's.

I guess one could label him singjay but that is an term i kinda opose, he certainly leans toward the later but I think he's far too much of an singer to be comfortable whit putting that label on him. One could call guys like "Capleton" or "Jah Mason" str8 singjays as they rap just as much as they sing but not "Naptali". It's always convenient to compare new artists whit more established ones but i'm not all that comfortable whit doing that this time, if someone put a gun to my head and forced me I guess i would say he got "a pinch" of "Lutan Fyah" in him (and that's a huge compliment given that he's one of my alltime favourites) and in places even oldschool faves like "Half Pint" (dunno if anyone will agree whit me on this one though).

Anyways, let's begin whit taking a look at the first song, "Show them love" dedicated to all "ghetto youths", a popular subject in Reggae where "Naptali" tells us to support the "ghetto youth", not bad lyrics but we have heard it a few times before. What is impeccable though is the way he rides this track, realy emotional and heartfelt over a great beat that lands somewhere in between happy and melancholic, an amazing start to a great album. Next up is "What goes around", an apreshiation of everything Rasta and how his culture/religion/way-of-life makes the world go round. Im going to keep it short and just say that it's another good song but not my favorite on here (however, all songs are good enough to play from start to finish, the worst songs on here are better than many albums best tracks).

Im going to skip to song 5, "Grandma" one of my favourites on here, we hear tons of dedications to moms but few to grandmas. This is a highly biographical, deep song that surpasses the usual shallow "mamma i love you" songs (i equal mama/grandma as they are used in the same kind of context here) by providing plenty of details on why he feels how he feels. I was very touched by this song (on an unrelated note, if you want another outstanding Mama song, try "Wayne Lyrics - Momma don't go", a 99c album on Ebreggae.com).

Since i don't get paid by the word (actualy, i don't get paid), im going to resist the temptation of writing up every song and therefore i jump to song 9, "More love" ft. Lutan Fyah, this is a match made in heaven for sure, they complement each other very, very well. I'd love to see them release a duo album full of socially aware, religious and emotional love songs. There's also this guy on here i have not heard about before, "Arofat", i guess he does well also. The song is another "Ghetto youth" anthem and covers the same ground as many other songs of this nature, another standout track on here.

Skip one song and we come to track 11, "Redeemer" where Naptali asks what's wrong whit mankind only to state that god is always whit us. If I have to choose 1 out of the 14 tracks on here as my favorite it would be this one, it's soooo smooth and uplifting i can't even explain. Iv'e already said Naptali is a singjay who leans more to singing than toasting and i would say this is a str8 singing track, AMAZING!

Over all this is an incredible album, i just can't grasp how "Naptali" came up from nowhere sounding like such an accomplished artist. Being an singjay he belongs to the smoother side of the camp, this really ain't no rowdy, hype stuff. According to his website most of the songs where recorded whit a live band and you can tell, it does not sound like someone just spitting over riddims (nothing wrong whit that though).

While a few guest artists is an great adition to any album there's a very fine balance between diluting the sound too much and ad diversity and variation to the album. I would say "Long journey" does a great jobb in not having too many features and whit artists like "Lutan Fyah" and "Luciano", how can u go wrong? The future sure looks bright whit guys like this, let's hope this album will be huge success and is followed by a bunch of equally amazing releases. I have a new favorite artist!

http://naptali.com/

http://www.myspace.com/thegreatnaptali

Long Journey

Dr.Tran

2010-03-28T01:53:00.000-07:00

I dunno if I caught on too late, when everyone has already seen the movie and moved on but i felt i just had to post this, i laughed and laughed and laughed again. This is pure genious from start to finish.

Dr. Tran: Number One American Icon

Mountain of Evil

2010-03-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

Finally, after long wait I have started whit my reviews of African movies (read Nigerian and Ghanian), hopefully this will be a regular feature on the blog. What one needs to know before starting to watch these movies is that while the talent involved in the Nollywood industry is just as great as it's Hollywood counterparts the budgets of these movies are small and technically speaking they are primitive. Don't expect any lavish sets or flamboyant special FX. Also remember how long the US film industry has existed vs the Nigerian and Ghanian ones that pretty much started out in the early 90ies. But at the end of the day, a bad movie is still a bad movie!

First movie to be reviewed is "Lost in the Jungle 1-2" and it's sequels "Mountain of Evil 1-2". Now for all of y'all who are not used to Nigerian movies, let me tell you that 99% of all movies come in 2 parts and the second one is a direct continuation of the story, remember these ain't Hollywood movies. Well, whit all public announcements out of the way, let's start.....

6 students from "National Youth Service Corps" are assigned to a remote village for their primary assignment, on their way they get lost and their car breaks down. As they start wandering aimlessly, trying to find someone or something to help them out of their predicament they come across Soumo who take them to his village, the kingdom of Kokoruma. The plan is to leave as soon as possible, heading to their original destination, Mamoro village but the king has different plans. Due to practicalities they will have to wait 2 weeks before they can leave. As they wait and tries to comply whit they strange customs of Kokoruma they start to sense that something is not right in the kingdom. Shall they do their best to ignore the strange ogoings or shall they oppose them and put themselves in danger?

As an old horror movie fan i gotta say that i found the storyline of this movie very promising and interesting, folks being stranded in remote places and having to deal whit backwoods folks always makes for a movie whit a lot of potential. Seeing Africans taking on this tried and tested formula was something i was very much looking forward to. While liking the movie i have to admit that it was not without it's share of problems, the pacing was veeeery slow and things took forever to happen. In total the movie and it's 4 parts took approximately 4 1/2 hours, this is way too long. Whit tighter editing im sure the movie could have clocked in at 2 hours (or perhaps 2 1/2 hours).

Technically it was a bit rough in some places, when someone on the movie screamed or yelled the sound got distorted and it was kinda hard to make out what was being said. Speaking of that, while the movie was in English the accents they spoke in sometimes was kinda extreme, my wife often did not understand a word but having had plenty of African friends i where able to get most of what was being said. As said i enjoyed seeing what Nigerians did whit such a typically American horror movie script and all the typical characters where there, the nice and humble ones as well as the more rude and arrogant one who where the first one to meet his faith.

However, one thing you don't see in most American movies of this kind is the strong emphasis on Christianity that is being put in 99% of all Nigerian movies. There was plenty of praying and talking about Jesus and god in this movie. Personally i have no problem whit this but folks whit a phobia against Christianity may find this very annoying. If you're not cool whit this, just forget about Nigerian movies in general and horror themed movies esp. as they are more inclined to include a Christian message.

Whit the nature of this movie im sure all of y'all are eager to know about the special-FX in this movie, did it have any gore and blood, any sex or nudity? Well, it did have a few ritual offering scenes, some chopped of limbs and the end where they tries to escape from the village and get attacked by demons the village witch conjures up offers some violence. Still, if you're out looking for a bloodbath this movie will disappoint. So will it if you expect any graphic sex, sure some of the characters have sex but is more implied than shown in graphic detail.

All in all i did enjoy this movie but it was terribly slow and i don't know whether i liked it because i like African culture so much and decided i have to like it or if it was because it was a good movie. I have not seen tons of Nigerian productions (so my base of reference is not that good) but i know that there is better movies out there than this one. It showed great promise, somewhat delivered but in the end "Mountain of Evil" could have delivered way more than what it did. A recommendation whit reservations.

Rise Up Reggae Star

2010-03-21T19:41:00.001-07:00

I decided to delete my upload of "Rise Up REggae Star" as someone complained and was goin to report it, i dunno wheter it's just someone whit a bad sence of humor or wheter to take it serious but i decided that it was better "to be safe than sorry". Notice that this was a recording of a foreign tv-show not legaly available here in the USA and is covered under "the berne act"

"There is a section of the American copyright law known as "The Berne Act" that Clearly states: films unreleased in the United States, including original versions of films altered and/or edited for release in the United States, are NOT protected by American copyright; thus, they are considered public domain."

This documentary is not available anywhere for purchase and can be streamed from the bbc site so i don't think any harm was done but either way, it's gone.

Swedish Reggae, Free legal downloads

2010-03-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

Y'all up for some free. legal mp3 downloads? Diegojah is a Swedish reggae/dancehall whit Hispanic roots who has released high quality, free music online for a while now. This is good enough to be commercially released but 100% for free. Go to his myspace page and check out the "Discography" section for several free albums available.

http://www.myspace.com/diegojahrebel

Professor Major - Meditation

2010-02-27T19:46:00.000-08:00

Another music review while waiting for my African movies to arrive, as iv'e said before on here it's very pre-mature to declare the Reggae scene in Britain dead. While not being UK born this Jamaican imigrant is one of many reasons why i think it's very much alive. His brand of upbeat singjaying manages to stand out from the usual "Bobo Dread" artists who inhabits this subgenre and feels very fresh whit it's equal mix of love songs and RastafarI tunes.

We start out whit the title track, "Meditation" who is an introvert reflection over the trials and tribulations of his atempt at an career as an professional musician ( I shurely hopes he manages to become a household name among diehard Reggae fans because this guy got more talent than tons of his peers). It's like most of the songs on this album very catchy and whit a distinctive roots sound. Chances are this will find it's way into your head and stay there for weeks to come.

Next up is, "African empress" which start of a 6 song marathon dedication to proud, righteous nubian women. It's love songs for shure but whit a little more substance than your average R&B song and sung/chanted from a more spiritual perspective. They all sounds very rootsy and while all of them are good enough to listen to whitout skipping i'd say song 5, "You alone in my life" are the best of the 6. He has a flow that almost reminds me a lil bit of older toasters like "U-Roy" or perhaps "Tony Rebel", a very good and uplifting song!!! Perhaps 6 songs dedicated to the same subject is a little much but he does them good and get's away whit it.

By the time we reach track 8, "Nazarite vow" Proffesor Major is back in a more RastafaraI frame of mind and tells us about how it realy does not matter what Babylon does or tries to do to him cause he's a Rasta and has taken the Nazarite vow. I like the trumpet in this song and enjoys this cd's return to a more spiritual vibe. Skip a few (excellent) songs and we get "Soon come", one of the albums highlights whit it's wonderfully repetitive chorus and lyrics about how Rastaman don't wear fashionable clothes like "Calvin Klein" etc but rather sticks to his turban and robe. What follows is the albums last song, "Ragga muffin" which is just one of many amazing and upbeat roots tracks on here, as always "Professor Major" has a flow to die for, he realy, realy has mastered his vocal talents.

Well, as you might have noticed i have nothing but praises for this album, it took me like 5 seconds of listening on cdbaby.com to make me realise i had to have this album. It seems to be a professionaly made cd-r and the price is a lil bit high (15$). In most cases i would be a bit dissapointed if i had spent that much on a cd-r but whit music this great i don't care. Lets just hope that "Professor Major" releases more albums, i would hate for this to be his only release.

African movies

2010-02-16T21:46:00.000-08:00

A coupla million years ago I mentioned that i would start reviewing African movies on here but it never happened for some reason. I've just ordered a couple of Ghanian and Nigerian movies like "Spade" who seems to be an attempt at an American styled action movie and "Mountain of Evil" who seem to be a more horror themed movie and a few other titles.

I'm getting more and more into world cinema and is very excited to get these movies, one thing i think is very important is to order from a place only dealing whit legitimate releases. The African movie industry certainly is not Hollywood and needs all the financial support it can get. It's easy to find sites that sells bootlegs or to watch these movies free from streaming online sites but avoid that like the plague.

Go to sites like www.africamovies.com who guarantees that all the movies they sell are originals.

Future of this blog

2010-02-12T01:59:00.000-08:00

Seem as if blogs not sharing 1 million mp3 files ain't being shown that much love or have that much reader participation, it would be cool to get some conversation and feedback going. If no one are that into the blog or what is on here I'm probably going to cut down on postings. It's not dead though, I'll keep things up.....

Outernational: A story about Trinity Sound System

2010-02-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

As we all know by now, "Reggae" is a highly international genre nowadays and the days when 99% of all good Reggae came out of Jamaica is gone (although Jamaica still dominates). The culture of Jamaica has inspired millions over the globe, wheter it is music, religion or as whit the content of this book, "soundsystem culture", In this book we get to follow one of Sweden's premier soundsystems, "Trinity" and the 3 West Indian immigrants +1 Swede who runs it.

The focus of this book is on photos whit accompanying texts in both English and my native Swedish language, there is not a whole lot to read but whatever is there is well written and interesting whit individual chapters on the 4 members and some of their escapades such as a gig at a motorcycle club and a German club in Wupertal.One of hte guys in here, "Daddy Boastin" got his own musical career and has been a favorite of mine for over 10 years, something that def. ad's to the books value for me.I would not have minded more written content but whatever is there is good.

Technically speaking it's of an very high quality whit excellent color reproductions, great photos and the paper it's printed on almost feels like thin plastic sheets, have not come across anything like them in any of my other books. It's of course a hardcover book, no flimsy paperbacks on this book. Well, to sum things up, a nice and interesting book for anyone interested in Reggae culture worldwide, esp. if you're Swedish.

Outernational: A story about Trinity Sound System

Irie Up review

2010-02-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

Finally got the "Irie Up" magazine in the mail and after having read it carefully I have the following to say about it. It's most def. good, you can tell that this is a "labour of love", coming from folks who are deeply immersed in the scene. It has a heavy focus on Soundsystems and the international, non-Jamaican part of the culture. There's features about German, Polish, Serbian and New Zealand Reggae and plenty of nostalgia about "the good old days" and a feature about reggae shops in Paris, France.

Over all i would say it's a high quality production (whit great layout and color pages) that is much recommended for the Reggae fanatics, if you just have a minor interest in the genre you might not like it quite as much as the die-hard fans out there. While being great and much recommended it's not 100% perfect, it lacks a bit of structure and I would have loved to see more artist features and real articles that doesn't feel as much like a typed out conversations. More reviews would be great as well, there is some scattered through out the magazine but I would have preferred a regular review section.

But over all I would say this is a great effort and a very nice first issue, it has the enthusiasm of a "fanzine" but feels way more professional. Make sure to support "Irie Up", buy your copy of it and make sure to spread the word around, we need at least 1 English spoken magazine about Reggae. Iv'e scanned a few pages of the magazine so that y'all can make an informed decision on whether you should buy it or not, I have blurred out some of the texts though as I don't wanna share too much whit y'all. This is not a bootlegging blog.

My music

2010-01-25T21:37:00.000-08:00

Iv'e been messing around in "Sony AcidPro" for some time now, doing beats/instrumentals or whatever you wanna call them but have not found anyone to sing or rap over them yet. Would love to hook up whit all artists out there, collaborate some and perhaps whip up a mixtape or a compilation or something....

There are no money involved what so ever (I charge nothing and won't pay u anything) so it's a "strictly for the love of music" project where talking about, check out my beats at my soundclick page and holla if you're interested.

http://www.soundclick.com/krikon

Lyrical Soldier - True soldier

2010-01-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

There's plenty of tiny little places in the middle of nowhere here in New Mexico, one of these are Carlsbad who is about 1 hour away from where i live in Roswell. It's from there that "Lyrical Soldier" comes from. Knowing that my all-time favourite NM Rap album comes from a Carlsbad act i was excited to pop this one in the cd-player. Things start whit an intro where he says that he may not get rich and famous of this album but that he's not going nowhere and that this album might make it easier for the next artist to drop something.It's made like an short song whit some dramatic violins and sounds quote good for an intro (violins is something we will hear plenty of on this album).

First song is "Ride whit us", one of the most commercial songs on this noncommercial album. The beat is based on this simple toy piano loop (slightly reminiscent of the "forgot about dre" beat) and is an boastful track about coming up, trying to make it in this industry. Next is the nylon string (and toned down) laced "From the start" which is a "remembering a easier past" typa song but way deeper than just mentioning worry free days in the ghetto and how everything is tougher now. Lyrical Soldier is basically covering the same grounds as many before him but goes way deeper in exploring the underlying thoughts and feelings.behind the things he says. That's one thing i like about him, he has quite an dept to his lyrics and are able to turn what could just be rap cliche's into something more meaningful.

On a more lighthearted vibe we get "My Cd", a boastfull track where "Lyrical Soldier" let folks know that it doesn't matter if they are hating because the streets respects him and producers keep on giving him beats to rap over just on the strength of how he spits. The woman who sings the chorus makes it catchy and it kinda has some sorta cross-over quality, whit some luck and the right marketing im shure this could be quite a hit. On a way more serious level we get "True soldier" a coupla songs further in the cd and it's not what you might think at first. This is not a dedication to the thugs and O.G's populating our city streets, see "Lyrical Soldier" served in Iraq and this song is dedicated to all soldiers shipped overseas to do military service and who got their fellow soldiers back in thick and thin. It's backed by an "thugged out" beat whit a groovy piano and autotune processed synth. If you think he's blindly patriotic pro-war you better think twice though, he's getting quite critical on some of his closing tracks.

Things turn quick and dramatic on this cd, want proof just check out the next track, "Summertime" whit it's oldies soul/doo-wop sounding backing that could have came straight out of one of "Capon-E"'s "Dedicated to the oldies" albums. It's a very smooth and relaxed song full of lyrics about partying and chillin in the hot New Mexican summer breeze. While i gotta admit it's catchy as hell and very good it's also the most cliched song on the album, about a million of these songs have been made already and this one does notdiffer from any of these. I'm however a believer of that it's more important to do what you do good than always be 100% original, the wheel can only be invented so many times.... But as said, still a good song.

Skipping a few more songs we come to track 12, "Broken dreams" and as you can guess it's way more serious than the previous song that i mentioned and is about how folks tend to be quick to criticize you although they don't give a fuck about you. It's quite deep and emotional and dramatic whit some mellow strings and a dark melody. The song "Fake" surprises me, it starts out as being about selling out in order to get mass appeal and how he refuses to and quickly turns political, dealing whit discrimination of Latinos and racial prejudice, all this over some pretty smooth guitar vibes. This is one guy who has spent quite some time thinking bout stuff.

Things quickly gets even more political on the last song, "The masses" which is about the hypocrisy of USA, war criticism and observation on how America has money to bomb places, build prisons but not to feed the poor. As an soldier you would think he's unadulterated patriotic, flag waiving and pro war but things ain't quite that easy. I feel he's very much against this Iraq war while at the same time being very supportive of our troops and it's individual soldiers.

Well, as usual i could go on writing line after line but i will try to avoid my urges of verbal masturbation. I gotta say i liked this album, it provided some food for thought, complex lyrics, interesting subjects and some honest raw emotions. I liked how this album had an hardcore street feeling to it without ever being gangsta, "Lyrical Soldier" keeps it positive while at the same time showing he's not to be messed whit.

He's for sure lyrical but i would not say in an typical East-coast backpacker way, he do have his metaphors and rhymes but it's not because of any clever wordplay his lyrics are good but more for the dept and relevance they showcase. If you want something that is both street and thought provoking i def. recommend you to go and get this album, if you need easily chewed, Radio friendly rap, search elsewhere.

Lutan Fyah - The king's Son

2010-01-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

The King's SonThere seems to be an an never ending supply of young, militant chanters out there who never misses an opportunity to regurgitate old "Bobo Ashaniti" cliche's. Don't get me wrong, im a major fan of this subgenre (and buys quite a few singjay albums) but feels as if the scene can get a bit overcrowded sometimes. There is however always room for more "Lutan Fyah", even if he recorded songs in a tempo that made "Sizzla" seem lazy. I like his softer sounding approach to the genre and his less aggressive (but uncompromising) lyrics. A new album from "Lutan Fyah" is always a cause for celebration if u ask me.

First up is the tender love song "My love is running over", a soft and emotional song where he confesses how much he loves his woman. I've always liked his love songs and have been able to relate to them on a personal level. I guess I'm kinda a sensitive guy who has never been into this "Let's get laid" macho attitude so many men seem to have and judging from his songs "Lutan Fyah" is neither. For the next track, "Currupt life style" the tempo is upped considerably and the lyrics changed in favor of an more cultural vibe talking bout the virtues of the bobo lifestyle, Prince Emanuel etc...

More utempo Roots vibes are served on "The motherland calling", a duet whit the before mentioned "Ras Shiloh" and they complement each other very, very well, i could absolutely see the 2 being in a group together. Next up is the title track "The kings son" wich serves us more uptempo vibes and is among my favorites on here, it's a catchy song and Lutan's flow is quite perfect, needles to say the lyrics are top notch as usual.

A coupla songs later on we get "Jah works must be done" which is another stand out tune and a slightly more melancholic sounding one although it never reaches quite the "sufferers music" depths it could. It's basically a motivational tune tellin us to keep things going when everything seems dark because gods works still must be done no matter what. Towards the end of the album he returns to the lovers style that started the album up whit "Loved by you", a sweet and warm track about the heartaches of a love gone wrong. It's another one of "Lutan Fyah"'s signature love songs which i like so much.

Over all this is another high quality album from one modern Root's Reggae's brightest shining stars, i like it how Lutan Fyah manages to show a softer, more humble side than many Bobo dj's while still being just as unrepentantly Rasta as the most militant out there. For those of y'all who want an happy sounding Roots album this is a perfect choice. Much recommended.

The King's Son

Hi Fructose

2010-01-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

Just got my first magazine of "Hi Fructose" and i gotta admit, I absolutely love it. Guess it's kinda similar to the better known magazine "Juxtapoz" since it covers the same kinda "under the counter culture", lowbrow art. Still, it's no copycat magazine and the quality of the printing, paper etc is excellent and very much do justice to the gorgeous paintings it covers. Y'all gotta have a look at it, shame that back issues are expensive and rare. Will absolutely get the book collecting the first 4 magazines.

Musically Mad

2010-01-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

Been wanting to see this ever since it came out and finally it happened, it's a documentary about the soundsystem culture in England and features interviews from a whole heap a big names and plenty of material from dances and more. It's a very interesting subject that is made even more interesting to me knowing it's made by people from my native country Sweden.

My first impression after finishing it is that it is very well made, the folks behind it had a thought of what they wanted to accomplish and did not just put together random clips and interviews and threw it out there. The almost 60 minutes we get is the result of 4 years of fliming and almost 80 hours of material. Interesting material who did not fit into the documentary is provided as extras, a very good initiative indeed but im sure there's enough interesting material left to fill a dvd box-set.

However, what's in the movie itself feels pretty darn complete, we get interviews whit tons of big names, clips from more current dances as well as classic material from the early 80ies and material dealing whit the more technical side of things such as pre-amps, builders of speakers etc.... One thing that hits me is that many of the veterans in the game seems to be kinda pessimistic about the current situation, there are less places to perform, the youths ain't that into the culture anymore etc...

That's kinda funny because coming from a place and time where Reggae was 100% unpopular iv'e always looked to England as second only to Jamaica when it comes to Reggae and keeping "up-to-date" whit releases and stuff i still sees plenty of good things coming out of England. But I speak from a fans point of view, i dunno nothing about sales, promoting events etc.....

The true test of a music documentary is whether it will be of interest to people who is not fans of the music or the scene it documents (like how i absolutely loved "Heavy Metal in Bagdad" or "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" without being into that kind of music) and i would say that "Musically Mad" should appeal to anyone whit an interest in music. If you're into Reggae it's an added bonus and an must.

Irie Up, new reggae magazine in English

2010-01-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

Seems as if the future for Reggae magazines written in English has been very bleak lately, the English verision of "Riddim" started out great but went down way too quick, "Reggae Report" has been dead since forever and "The Beat" is not around anymore. In the midst of all these bad news comes "Irie Up", i have not been able to buy my copy of it yet but it sure seems very promising and is something that is most def. worth supporting.

From checking out the info on their page it seems as if "Riddim Up" has an very international focus, something I highly welcome as there are great acts from all over the globe nowadays. Here in the US you can get it from almighty "Ernie B's Reggae" and it should be easy obtaining it in Europe as well.

For more info, check their page (which is under construction, rite now there's an temporary blog up).

Irie Up

3 M Crew - Rollin'

2010-01-11T21:50:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago i saw this groups first cd (when they went under the name Money Makin Mexicans) at my local Hastings store here in Roswell, the cover looked atrocious and I did the mistake of "judging the book by it's cover" and never got it. Not that they have much competition (when it comes to acts on a more professional level, whit albums released) but they are one of Roswells finest Rap acts and when I saw "Rollin' ", their second release I decided to not make the same mistake twice (because the cover is just as ugly this time around as well).

First up is the title track "Rollin' " which is one of the strongest songs on the album. smooth and catchy whit a very melodic beat and lyrics about chillin', ridin in your car and having a good time ( a theme which is dominant for the album). It reminds me of "thugged out" rappers more relaxed songs, the ones they make videos to and try to get a "cross-over" radio hit whit. I really like it. They continue whit the slightly different "Call 'em up" who has a stripped down beat mostly consisting of a drums and some computer bleeps, not much of a melody on this one. Reminds me a lil bit of Snoops "Drop it like it's hot", it could work perfectly on a strip club as it's basically about women shaking their stuff and partying. It's not a bad song but personally i like more beefy, melodic beats. After this it's a quick return to the riding tracks whit "See me" which is all about driving, partying and getting your money on. It has a funky, melodic beat and a catchy chorus, not bad at all.

On a more crunk, aggressive sounding tip is "Po' some liquor in it" who whit it's energetic vibe is a welcome change from the relaxed, chillin typa songs that's been on here so far (not that i dislike these sorta songs but variety is always a good thing). It's very energetic and in your face whit a aggressive chorus chanting "...po' some liqueur in it...", and yeah, it's all about getting drunk and would be the perfect choice for your party, just before you get ready to go to the club. Like that 3m Crew show some versatility on the flow and beats choice. There is more crunk vibes on song 7, "3's up" wich is also one of my favourites (along whit the first song) on here. The chorus has this whistling sounding loop and the rap is again a little more aggressive than on many other songs here. As far as lyrics goes it's of a boasting nature, telling the listeners how tight and untouchable "3m Crew" is.

There is a bunch of other songs on here such as the latin sounding "Get whit ya" ft. Dj Smooth and one of the 2 bonus cuts "Ride whit me" who is something of an anthem for Roswell and the only song where they realy makes a point of being from Roswell and New Mexico. A really needed song if you ask me, the album would not feel complete without an song representing the city of Roswell.

Over all i would say that this is a great album, the production and mastering sounds very professional and the rappers got a good flow. One could mention that this is a very one dimensional album as far as lyrics go, they are all about having a good time, partying, getting women and cruising. There's nothing deep on here, nothing personal or anything political, everything is very lighthearted. I do feel however that it's a conscious decision, some groups choose to be deep and serious and some choose not to and criticising them for it would be unfair. As always whit NM rap, i have no idea how you could get this album (if you're not in Roswell), it's not even advertised on their myspace page. If you however do come across it, buy it because it's good and just perfect for getting that party started or that crowd up on the dance floor.

Art I like

2010-01-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

I just got the latest issue of "Juxtapoz" and thought i should write a post on the subject of art, even though I've always enjoyed drawing and "doodling" on papers I've never thought that i would seriously get into art, to the point where i have favorite "painters" and buys art magazines and books. There is simply so much garbage and pretentious nonsense out there and nice museums are like "one in a million" experiences. When i say im into art I do not mean the self important scene where intellectuals admire a few untalented paint splatters on a canvas and tries to come up whit forced interpretations of them to show how smart they are.

There's this "lowbrow", "pop art" movement out there who produces amazing things, everything from more serious works to silly, playful stuff. I'm talking about painters like like Shag, Joe Ledbetter, Mark Ryden, Yoko D'Holbachie etc... There is about a million more artists worth to mention but the ones above are some of my favorites. Some good sources to get your feets wet and start to discover more would be books like "Weirdo Deluxe" or "Pop surrealism" or magazines like "Juxtapoz" or "Hi Fructose" . Hope this post opened up your eyes and inspired you to develop an interest in art, there's some amazing stuff out there just waiting to be discovered.

Syster Sol - Domd att bli bedomd

2010-01-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

Despite (or maybe because of) being a small nation Sweden has always been very keen on picking up international trends and styles and make it their own. One of our biggest international exports is our music, groups like Roxette, Abba, Ace of Base etc have had quite some success, not that i like any of the groups mentioned or that Swedish Reggae have had a huge international impact but still....

When it comes to Swedish Reggae there is like 2 different camps, the one who tries to put a Swedish perspective on the music, inspired by it's Jamaican roots but not interested in trying to sound like it and then the ones who tries to emulate it as much as possible whit patois accents and all. Im not going to take sides, i like both styles and i guess this is leaning more towards the "Swedish perspective camp" whit her highly original and kinda nasal way of singjaying.

Whit that being said, the backing is quite traditional, 70ies sounding but let's move on to the first song, "Nar vi kommer" (translation: "When we come") a happy, summer sounding song whit major crossover potential (although it's not a sellout song in any way). It's about how Syster Sol has other goals than what "Babylon" has and does not wanna achieve the same things or go the same ways. I guess the definition of "Babylon" here is more an secular, political one, this is not an religious, RastafarI reggae album.

Next up is "Reflektioner" is an very, very deep song about your inner life, your soul, emotions and how you can end up cause your own unhappiness due to look at yourself in the wrong way. It's the total oposite of the previous song whit it's slightly melancholic and slow sound, it's not bad but not my favourite on the album either as it's not all that catchy.

A couple songs later on comes "Vad hande sen" (translation "What happened then") a song which at first sounds like a song about failed love but is about false prophets and their hollow promises of a better tomorrow. It's an digital, uptempo song whit a rootsy vibe to it. Perfect for the dance-floor without being too trivial and adjusted to the club. The title track "Doomed to be judged" a deep song about the society we live in and how it tries to suppress us and our true selves, it's another uptempo roots song whit a good message about self realization.

Over all i would say this is a good album, it has dept, good production values and it feels very ready to take on the music industry and an wide audience without ever selling out. There are no major problems whit it but if i have to mention anything it would perhaps be that the lyrical content on here is very similar throughout the album. Whit a few exceptions it's basically 10 songs about inner struggle and (slightly abstract) criticism of our society and it's values and nothing more. But that's only if I'm nitpicking and tries my best to find faults whit it, "Domd att bli bedomd" is a good album from an original artist i look forward to hear more from.

Blunt Familia - From Burque 2 Diego

2010-01-05T11:04:00.000-08:00

Iv'e noticed that often when im lucky enough to get a New Mexico rap cd i tend to somehow not bother to listen to it, even if i like it and recognise the artist in question got skills. This was not the case whit this album though, it's been spinning non-stop ever since i got it. These Albuqurkee (where else would a NM artist come from, lol) cats sounds good for real and this cd is 15 tracks of str8 fire.

By looking at the cover one would asume that this is some hardcore gangstarap and except for the ocational "club banger" ones asumptions are correct. These are some badass chicanos whit their feets firmly rooted in the Burque streets and a heavy San Diego influence in their music (someone in "Blunt Familia" just have to have heavy ties whit San Diego, coming from there or something) that features guys like "Mitchy Slick" and "Smigg Dirtee" but also local acts like Juan Gambino and New Mexico R&B sensation David Wade among many others.

First up is "We run the streets" (ft. 'Boss Man Hogg") and yeah, that is the first track, there's no intro taking place in at a faux radioshow whit lame listeners called in or anything else. They start whit a song (amazingly there are no intros, skits or anything like that on here) and a good one at that, some sorta anthem for the southwest and NM. Been huming "....it's all the same, nothing change in New Mexico" ever since iv'e got this album. It's a fairly simple beat, not too melodic and works well whit the agressive flow and lyrics on here about what goes on in the NM and how "Blunt Familia" runs shit. A very good start to the album.

Next up is "Tha Mob" wich is not quite as good (although it's nowhere near bad), it feels like a song in it's own right but kinda has the lenght of a skit and a monotonous violin based beat. Okay but im not sad over the fact that it's as short as it is. Next up is one of my favourites on the album, "In tha southwest" wich deals whit the day to day struggle of living and trying to get somewhere in life, both as an rapper and individual. I realy like the chorus of this one, whoever does it sounds slightly like "Young Jeezy" although the beat is more of an eastcoast sounding, sample based one (okay, it's not suuuper eastcoast sounding but still....). Song 5, "Mob deep" has nothing to do whit the classic group of the same name but gives us mafia stories over a dark orchestral beat (whit a strong precensee of flute). It's one of only 2 songs whit no features on and "Blunt Familia" shows that they can hold it down on their own.

What follows is "Good 2 floss", a smooth, westcoast sounding track whit San Diego underground legend "Mitchy Slick", pefect to cruise to. A coupla songs further on, track 11; "Southwest hustlers" features classic latino rapper "Mr.Shadow" and "Obnoxious", it's very catchy whit it's repetitive loop and lyrics uniting San Diego hustlers whit Burque ones. I guess the 13th track on here, "V.I.P" whit NM R&B top dawg "David Wade" is the albums designated club banger whit it's chill lyrics and melodic backing. While it's competently made it feels a bit unimaginative but that is probably just as much due to me not feeling these type of tracks as it can be contributed to any faults by the producer or "Blunt Familia". The album ends at 15 tracks deep whit "Shine on" featuring one of the more prolific Burque rappers out there, "Juan Gambino". I only got 1 of his albums but my experience is that he often blends a heavy R&B vibe while still managing to keep it thugged out. This last cut fits him perfect as it's smooth and jazzy while at the same time being firmly rooted in the streets.

When talking about "NM" rap i often use phrases like "....unusualy good for being from NM" but saying anything like that when talking about these guys would be unfair, they are just plain good. Unless your'e in Albuqurkee this album will probably be kinda hard to come by as distribution for NM rap sucks to a point where it's tough getting any even if youre in NM but if you happen to come across "From Burque 2 Diego", don't hessitate to buy it. It's a good album whit a varied content, plenty of songs for the streets and a few for women and the clubs. These guys rep New Mexico and does it real good.

Ras Shiloh - Coming home

2010-01-05T10:44:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest losses in contemporary Reggae has to be the very untimely death of "Garnett Silk" in the mid 90ies, he could have become one of the brightest shining stars of the genre. Luckily we still got "Ras Shiloh" who has a voice that is very similar to the dead "superstar-to-be". It's hard to tell from listening to him but he's American, born and raised in NY. This album from 07' is one of his most recent and best.

It starts geniously whit "We need more love" who calls out for "more love" and is very critical to how we treat each other nowadays and how he's "tired of walking the streets being afraid of my own shadow", the music is very smooth and relaxed without straying too much from a distinct backbeat. This is the kinda riddim that works just as well on an British "lovers rock" song as an more conscious one, an excellent start to this album and one of my favourite "Ras Shiloh" songs of all-time.

Next up, on "Voice of the people" he criticize the governments of the world and how they oppresses "the voice of the people" and how that will cause 'nuff negativity such as riots and social unrest. It features Rasta/12 Tribes super group "Morgan Heritage" and is a lil bit more uptempo than the first song, it's a good song whit an important message but fails to reach the heights of the first song. A couple songs later we get "The new rising day" whit Ragga artist "Bascom X", it's similar to the first song in content but ads a bit of dancehall vibes to the preachings of love and understanding, a great uptempo roots song whit a contemporary feel.

For those who want's lovers songs he continues whit "Need your love" and "Are you lonely" who are just as smooth and relaxed as these sorta songs should be, i think it's a nice touch when more conscious, rootsy artists ad a few love songs to their albums, it softens them up a bit, ads variety and iv'e personaly always enjoyed sappy love songs done to a backbeat.

Don't think that "Ras Shiloh" strays from the more straight religious subjects on here, "Volume of the books" deals whit the words of the bible and on "Come down Jah Jah" he pleads for god to return to earth, all over some catchy uptempo riddims. Over all i would say that this is a very good and well rounded album where Ras infuses some of his own personality into his music and shows that he's more than just a "Garnett Silk" copycat artist. I may not have mentioned every song on here but this album certainly is one without any fillers, if you're into smooth, contemporary roots reggae whit a touch of "lovers rock" you would do very good in buying this.

Coming Home Only King Selassie Babylon You Doom From Rasta to You Melchizedek Vibes Vol. One

I'm back

2010-01-04T22:35:00.000-08:00

I have not really cared about this blog for a long time but i got a burst of motivation and will start writing again. I might restructure it a little bit and start covering subjects i did not cover before but im still the same old guy so the focus on music will most likely still be there.

Louisiana showcase to look out for

2008-09-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

Found a flyer for this future project, a cd/dvd will be dropping sometime soon featuring all kinda rappers from Louisiana, sounds very interesting and promissing if u ask me. Im not associated whit the project but "be on the look out" for it, shure seems promising.

C.M.N. - Bulletproof vest

2008-07-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

Being one of the Southern cities where Crips established themselves in, the Shreveport Rap scene has always had a strong West coast influence. This can be hear in artists like "Jako James" and most certainly on this Ep from "C.M.N." which features 5 tracks of skillfully made G-funk. My first impression after looking at the cover was that this was going to be one heck of a hardcore album, it has that primitive but sinister look to it, kinda like a Louisiana version of the early Memphis "horrorcore" tapes.

I could not be more wrong, it's on the softer side of the "Reality-rap" spectrum, these cats ain't portraying themselves to be the hardest or toughest guys out there and the music is as smooth as it can be. First track is the title track "Bullet proof vest" where they advice fools to wear their bulletproof vest on if they are to survive on the streets of port city. It's a lot less "hardcore" cut than you may think but among the better on here, fans of "Warren G" and likewise LA artists will really dig this album. Their flow is perfect, lyrics on point and the beat ain't any worse.

Next up is "Last but not least", i dunno why but I'm not feeling this song quite as much, something whit the chorus that annoys me. It's not really a bad song, it's about how they have to work twice as hard for recognition in the rap game since they ain't from the "East" or "West" where all the focus is. Everything is on point in this one and I have no clue why i don't like it, chances are that you will.

If we jump one track we come to "You don't know me" who is about all these fake friends who tries to pose as if they know you since you made it big, besides having a violin loop that really don't fit this is a very good song, once again whit a perfect flow and all that. Last song is "Lyrical homicide", not bad but i have some minor issues whit the chorus again, using phrases like "lyrical homicide" and "verbal drive-by" is very corny to me. Other than that i dig it.

To sum things up, putting the minor flaws aside, this is a very good album, tite production and flow, I would label this "perfect cruising music". The back of the cover says the 5 songs have been taken from a future full-lenght Cd, "10 years in the making" but i don't think it was ever released. A great Los Angeles album, from Shreveport/Louisiana.

Ms.Tee, Queen of New Orleans RAP

2008-07-01T15:16:00.001-07:00

When it comes to female New Orleans artists iv'e always considered "Ms.Tee" the queen (not Mia X) of Rap (and "Cheeky Black" perhaps the prinsses). I realy dig her albums but it was quite some time since i heard too much from her. Lately though iv'e noticed that several new songs have popped up on her myspace page (good ones) and there has been talk of a new album being in the makings. So, check out her page and keep your eyes/ears open for a new album (I realy hope there will be one).

http://www.myspace.com/msteegirltalk

NewBounce Documentary; Ya Heard Me

2008-06-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

I got both good and bad news for you, the good is that there actually is a documentary about Bounce music out there, "Ya Heard Me". The bad news is that i know nothing about how you can watch this movie, unless you belong to the "movie festival crowd". In it you get to see legends like "Dj Jimi", "TTucker" and "Cheeky Blakk" among a buncha others like "Kilo" and old "No Limit" artist "Mia X".

Kilo really nails it down when he tries to describe Bounce by saying "It's not gangsta music, it's not R&B music, it's project music", a truer comment could not be said about this "sub genre", it's really not gangsta (although some artists do music they describe as "gangsta bounce") but it feels just about as ghetto as it possibly can. Well, in the documentary we get to see plenty of asses shaking and we get some time in the studio where they make bounce beats.

Damn, damn, damn, gosh darn it, I want to see this documentary. I will have to try and convince the maker of this movie that I'm important enough to be sent a screener copy of it. I know I will not be able to attend any screenings at festivals and I do not wanna wait until a DVD release is available.

http://www.yaheardmefilm.com/

Hideo Out Clique - Game on freeze

2008-06-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

There is just so much talent in New Orleans that it's almost unreal, before Katarina there was like 500.000 persons living there and it seems as if you triple that number you get the amount of great Rap albums that has been released from there. Today we gon take a closer look at one of these, a rare lil underground gem by a buncha brothas i really dunno too much about other than that it always cost quite a bit when i see it on Ebay and still attracts plenty of bidders.

Shit starts whit an annoying Intro shaped as an Radioshow (ain't those the worst?). It gets better fast though when the first song comes, "In da zone" which is sum str8 killa shit about how they ain't afraid to kill you and leave your family suffering. An aggressive, really tite song and boy can these guys flow or what? They are rappin their asses of on here, very good. They continue whit "Want some, get some" where they rap whit more rough voices and a 100% more aggressive style, it's about how you must get what you want and not sit there waiting for shit to come to you, this song is sooo freakin, good and their flow is among the better I've heard in a long, long time. These cats gotta be the hungriest rappers ever.

Adding some variety to things, the next cut is more mellow and R&B-ish "Ain't worth living" which is a heartfelt and depressing look into these guys life's full of of drugs, death and ghetto drama and how life really is not worth living that way. For y'all youngsters out there (who has watched too many ghetto flicks and is) thinking "thug-life" is cool, let these cats educate y'all. More mellowness is served on "Caught in the game" who is kinda on the same level as the previous tune. On a more upbeat level (a few tunes further in) we get "Southern girls", dedicated to all black women from the south. This is on some really positive vibes, bigging up all women instead of going on degrading them by calling them all sorta expletives and hurling insults at em. A perfect break from all the depressing shit.

Track 09, "Everybody wanna be a...." is a return to the more aggressive feel of the first few songs and is about how hard and mean they are, one of my many favourites on here. Next up is "Face down", about how all their enemies must die, laying face down. It's not smart, subtle or anything like that, this is 100% pure, in your face gangsta music, these guys are mad and won't try to hide it or anything... It might be glorifying and negative but still a catchy as FUCK tune that is bound to stick in your head like glue.

Over all i would say that this is an soooopah tite album, it's well balanced and varied while still always remaining street and gangsta. Their flow is nothing but amazing, like i said: These guys rap their asses of and each rapper bring their own style to the game that all blends into a very appealing album. It's unf. a quite rare album, if you find it on Ebay or anywhere else online, expect to pay like 50-70$ at least. No matter how tite an album might be, a lot of folks would never pay that much for any Cd but if you belong to the few who would, this one is worth it.

New Orleans videos

2008-06-06T20:13:00.002-07:00

Aint got too much to say other than that these be some tite rap videos from New Orleans artists....... Enjoy them.

Unknown Vandals - When it rains it pours

2008-06-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know too much about these folks or this group so don't ask me who they are, all i know is that they're from New Orleans, one of the guys on the backside cover looks just like C-Lock but they album mentions nothing about him so considering he would be a major selling point for them I assume it's not him since he's not mentioned. What i do know though is that this is an album well worth your attention.

Let it be known that even though this most certainly is street/gangsta these guys are on some intellectual/political shit and they go out hard str8 from the start whit "Sinners prayer" who has a slow, very melodic beat whit a bluesy guitar. It's basically about them wanting to change their lives but they dunno how or how it became so messed up to begin whit. People who are against gangstarap and claim it promotes violence needs to hear this, real gangstarap ain't promoting SHIT!!! A very good start of the album that sets the tone for what is to come, if y'all are looking for easy chewable entertainment full whit sex, violence and machismo this ain't the album.

If i have to choose a favourite among the many great songs on here it would be song 3, "Hear where I'm comin from" which is a plea to the world to understand them and an explanation why so many ghetto youths are actin the way they do. I dunno if I'm just a too liberal middle class kid whit a "bleeding heart" but songs like this really, really moves me and I find it deeply disturbing that there are folks who has to live like this. This one is also pretty laid back and smooth whit a sung chorus "....hey do you hear me, somebody here where I'm coming from. Ain't no way i let you get near me I gotta keep from getting done. Always gotta watch my back, gotta stay strapped. Got me living by the gun, is it because I'm black, they got it like that ?......" Ain't got anything else to say other than that this song is pure genius.

Next up is "Can't stop a player", a song they could just as well have cut out of the album. It's a str8 pimp track whit played out samples like "...everybody can control a woman's body...." It's like they listened to the songs they had so far and got a lil bit embarrassed and scared that folks in the hood would think they're too soft and just went on whit sum str8 negative shit bout bitches,hoes bla, bla bla.... It's not that it's a bad song but you've just come to expect more out of "Unknown Vandals" whit all the deep, thoughtful songs prior to this one.

Luckily there is not too many songs like that, things get back on track a few cuts later whit the R&B-ish "It haven't been easy" featuring Ruth Robinson, a really slow, melodic track whit plenty of piano, flute and singing. The song is about how tough it has been to get anywhere in the music business and how much drama and sacrifice it has takes them to even get as far as they did (which isn't that far, to my knowledge they never made it big, even though they deserved to). Another favourite is "End of the world" that is on some doom/armageddon tip, ain't gonna go for a essay on this song but it's good and they are really spittin some deep stuff on here.

I could go on and on about how neat this album is, about their lyrics and stuff but I'm goin to try and sum things up. This is a very good album, it has that gangsta feel to it but at the same time these cats are very deep, emotional and political. They may be street cats but at the same time these guys are very smart, has thought about things and actually has something to say. They do this over some smooth, very tite R&B-ish kinda beats, things are very laid back and chill. Just go and get this album, it has dropped considerably in price the last few years so y'all can actually buy it and not be broke for the rest of the month......

Hard Head - Self titled

2008-06-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Except for the almost unreal success stories of "No Limit" and "Cash Money" the folks at "Big Boy Records" has always been among the biggest when it comes to N.O rap. In the mid to late 90ies they where unstoppable and the classics kept on coming. They where the ones behind acts like G-Slimm, Black Menace and J-Dawg and did also release the first albums by Fiend and Mystical. Then, like so many other labels they kinda fell from grace (although they never totally disappeared) to return around 2005 whit a coupla releases to reclaim their former glory.

I was never that impressed by the release from "Block Burnas" and I'm yet to hear the album by Dangerfield but let's forgett about them and get into the first cut on the album, "I'm a big boy" which is a boastful club sounding track that is just as much about mentioning how good his label is as it's about how good he is himself since he signed whit the best label in the world. The beat is kinda stripped down and relies heavily on a short synth loop. After that comes a skit that introduces us to the next tune "I want Ice" who is about how much diamonds Hardhead has and want which is dropped over another stripped down but more bouncy beat than the first track.

One of my favourite songs on here is "I'm drunk", the subject is self explanatory and this is just the perfect party song, could see this work real well at a frat party or something... Although this is not an all out funny track it had me laughing at times and i can relate to the subject (who wasn't partying and sometimes drinking too much in their teens ?). One of the few more thugged out tracks is "Trigga man", produced by legendary producer "Sinista", it's good but i think he does the partying, feel good tracks a lil bit better.

Another favourite is "Focusing on the wrong thing", probably the most personal song on here and is about his family, friends and things that seem to be wrong in Hardheads life. It's nice to get a glimpse into his life, beyond all the partying and swagger that is very much the focus on the rest of the Cd. Another more thugged out track is "2 step" whit label mates "J-Dawg" and "Dangerfield", not bad but not the best on here either.

Summing up this album i have to say that it's really good and it surprises me that I like it, although it's kinda streets (whit it's fair share of thug tunes) this is not quite as hard and dark as the stuff I'm used to listening to. It's more light hearted, more about partying and clubbing and less about depressions and personal demons needing to be exorcised. He has a very nasal flow that might anoy some but i like it and it works perfect for the album.

This is not like the old "Big Boy Records" releases of the past that I'm used to and loves. It was released in 05 and is already getting rare (if you are to believe the prices it sells for online), if you can find it, get it cause it's a good album.

A buncha old mp3z

2008-05-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

Iv'e always been into diggin up obscure underground rap, the artists that no one have heard about. Way, way back, like 10 years ago when the mp3 format was new there was this site, mp3.com. I loved that page like crazy, tons and tons of underground music, all availible for free, legal downloads.

No matter what the site tried though i guess they could not make it profitable and pay for the (i assume) enormous bandwith that they generated so it slowly downscaled and finaly ceased to exist. Before that happened though, i had downlaoded tons of shit from it. Just recently found some of those discs and decided to upload a few of my favourites.

I will never upload full albums and be a threat to the industry in any form but expect to find selections like this on here every once in a while, i love to share my findings.

http://www.mediafire.com/?5ciok94qvie

Kunta-Loc - Dead soldiers

2008-05-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

I dunno too much about this artist, he's from Louisiana and has been shot a few times, judging from a song title he could be from Shreveport. There is one thing i do know though, if you want your Rap whit a hardcore Gangsta flavor, look no further cause this is about as rough as it gets. Plenty of attitude and aggression on here, Kunta ain't playing, he takes no prisoners! Another thing he doesn't do is corny intros or skits, something I'm very thankful for.

Shit starts whit "Carry me", a song about how his homie got murdered and death in the hood in general, this is a no-nonsense hardcore as fuck song that pulls no punches what-so-ever.... The chorus goes "they come to carry me, bury me, why they wanna see me dead ?" Kunta-Loc sets the records str8 from the get go, showing the world he's not joking and that this album deals whit some real, serious street stuff. The song catches your attention and has this creepy quality to it, depressing material indeed but very good.

Things lighten up slightly whit next track, "Farley" who despite still being very hardcore ain't quite as dark and serious whit it's "don't fuck whit me" type of lyrics. It's aggressive and boastful as Kunta tells the world how big and bad he is over a repetitive piano loop that works really well. Next up is "Coming" who has a similar built up beat but features an unmentioned female rapper, it's an anti playahata cut, nothing special really and just as aggressive as anything else on here.

There's not really too much more to say about this album, Kunta is angry as fuck on most of the following songs and even the love song "Graveyard love" has a street vibe to it. He kinda touches on emotions and a lil bit deeper shit on "Feel me" where he tries to explain to the world how he feels and why. Then we got "Dead soldier" who is kinda mellancholic and deals whit the anxiety that always having death around the corner brings.

Over all I would say that this certainly is a good album, the beats are very gangsta in a toned down way and Kunta seem to have gone thru a lot of shit. It do however tend to get a lil too one dimensional sometimes, it's str8 sex, violence and darkness from start to finish. One or two songs about something else would have brought some well needed diversity to the mix. Still, the album is good and has a very distinct Louisiana "gangsta" feel to it. If you can find it, buy it.

download my beats, for free

2008-05-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

I've been messing around some whit making my own beats, here's a few.... Download em for free and put your vocals on em as you please but send me a copy of whatever you make.

http://www.mediafire.com/?lgtyyy1e4yg

Stirgus - One man gang

2008-05-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the classic New Orleans labels from way back, "Untouchable Records" ranks among the best of them and has a ton of classic releases in their back catalogue. Nothing good lasts forever though and it seems as if they just quit the game after a few weaker (but still good) releases. Not for too long though as they are back on the scene whit their latest act, "Strigus". Don't ask me who this guy is as I've never heard or read anything about him prior to this release.

The first song (after the intro) is "Man up" ft. "L.O.G." and CEO "Al Rock", it has a sing-songy chorus and i guess it's some sorta city anthem as the lyrics go "....i come from the city of the cut throat guerrillas". It's not a bad cut and features one of my all time favourite rappers (L.O.G.) but i dunno.... I was kinda expecting more from "Untouchable Records", i might have had to high expectations that where impossible to live up to but the magic from 97-98 just isn't there (although this is not an extremely crappy album). It's not this sorta shit that made me a die hard N.O rap fan.

Usually when i review albums i dissect them good, commenting on at least 4-5 songs, talking about the feel of them, features and what the lyrics are about but I'm not going to do that this time. I feel it's a waste of time as there is nothing on this album that deserves too much attention. It's not that it sucks too much cause it's a fairly competent & professional album. It's just that i expect so much more from a label like "Untouchable Records".

They used to drop some of the hardest, most uncompromising gangstarap in New Orleans and this is a album full of mainstream pop rap that is more about the clubs, chicks and R&B flavored cross-over songs. Sorry, but i don't see y'all topping the charts anytime soon so alienating your old fanbase in the process does not seem like a very good idea. Nice to have y'all back but this is not what i hoped for.

A few things i don't like about Rap

2008-04-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

I'm a major music nerd, i buy books, magazines and Cd's like there are no tomorrow and spend plenty of time finding obscure groups no one has ever heard of and my main genre (besides Reggae) is Rap/Hip hop. That does not have to mean that i like everything that goes on whit in the confines of this genre, consider this a list of things that annoys me, in no particular order.

1.Anniversary magazine issues
Seem like every major rap/urban magazine existing are very keen on finding 1 billion reasons to celebrate some sorta anniversary and look back at previous issues and pat themselves in the back (while they say the best is yet to come). This is starting to bug me, i mean there are legitimate reasons to celebrate, like for an example the 100th issue, 10 years in the industry or even your 1st year as a magazine but shit are starting to get a bit ridiculous now.......

2.Acronyms
One thing that really, really gets on my nerves is when artists claim to be a thug, gangsta, pimp or whatever and then flips the word into some bogus positive acronym (like T.H.U.G.=them healthy uplifting guys). It's like they think, "I'm gonna call myself all these cool street things and if someone criticise me for glorifying negative shit i can just claim it mean this........." Just give it up and represent what you are and nothing else. However, this is not to be mixed up whit for example religious artists who tries to camouflage their message to reach lost souls in the streets (like "I'm slanging the gospel to the Jesus fiends"), i consider that pretty clever.

3.Overused samples
Am I the only one seriously fed up whit folks who samples "Scarface" quotes in their songs? It seem like every rap album known to mankind have to include the lines "All i have in this world.....". Unf. I'm guilty myself of making beats whit samples from this movie, call it hypocritical or not but i can't stand hearing Al Pachino on every album i pick up, i way rather go whit James Brown or George Clinton samples (which is criminally overused in the sampling world as well).

4.Intros, skits etc....
De La Soul's "3 feet high and rising" may be one heck of a classic album and i absolutely love it but it was also the first Rap/Hip hop album to feature "skits" a plenty and these little things are something i hate whit a passion. Why do we have to put up whit all these phony radio broadcasts, news show segments and game shows whit lame attempts at humor? They're at the best of albums as well as the worst and are never funny so please quit it, NOW!!!!

5.Coming soon
This may not totaly fit the criteria as i don't disslike or hate this phenomenon but isn't it kinda funny looking at the inside booklet of many of the independent releases and see how many albums there is that is adverised as "coming soon" that never came for one reason or another. Seems like the rap game was not the "pot of gold" that so many thought it would be. I wonder what happened whit the folks behind all these failed labels whit grand plans that amounted to nothing......

Graveyard Soldjas - Day of execution

2008-04-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

Man, this is quite some creepy shit we got here, these cats may be from New Orleans but it's not the usual gangsta or bounce sound they come whit. This is their first album and usually the one that fans likes the most, on their other 3 albums the released after this one they changed up their style a lil bit. If you are into toungetwisting and and horrorcore like music (not the rap/metal sorta horrorcore that they do in Detroit, like ICP, Twistid etc..) u will go crazy over this album.

After the obligatory intro comes "Natas of nos" ("Son of Satan" backwards) and while I'm 100% against satanism i gotta admit this is one heck of a strong opening and a str8 killa track where they rap about how they are possessed and kill and slaughter folks, the lyrics really ain't that different from something you would find on some sorta more extreme "Metal" album. They really got a "Bone Thugs" sound on this one though so it's more slow and creepy than rock like.

Then comes "5 leaf clover" which is a relaxed smoking weed song whit a very different feel than the first one, it's not my favourite song of the album but it's still good and their flow is as tite as ever. The beat on "Listen" is among the best of the album (whit it's synthetic sounding flute melody) and their toungetwisting is 100% on point, damn if i could rap like that. Whit "Sites were back to the dark, creepy shit whit "Bone Thugs" typa harmonies, would be the perfect tune for a horror movie whit it's killa typa lyrics.

I could go on and praise each and every song on this album, even though some are better than others this is one of those rare albums you could listen to from start to finish and not skip one single track. Except for the Intro there is only full songs on here, no annoying skits, not 1 million guest features that distract you or any other annoying things. If I am forced to find a weak spot it would be the lyrics, not that they are bad but pretty much every song is about the same shit, Murda, murda, kill, kill.....

For shure a New Orleans classic, full of sooopah tite songs but don't expect variety or your usual NO rap, u wont find it here and y'all better not be too sensitive to violent lyrics either. If you can find it, get it. There is a re-release out there but it's also pretty rare, worth it though....

Reggae Vinyls, R.I.P. ?

2008-02-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

When i started buying music way back in the days, the only format that counted was Vinyl, casettes where availible but didn't feel as real so I never bought em (unless they where on sale, whit huge discounts). Time passes by and it was a long time since I stopped bying vinyl.

There has however, been a scene for vinyls long after i gave it up in the early 90' ies. The market for reggae on vinyl has been very strong among the more hardcore fans and soundsystems. Now it seem as if that is pretty much dying out, whit only extreme nostalgia buffs still being interested, or?

"The reduction in vinyl production in the West Indies has dramatically affected the way I access music," explains the legendary DJ - or selector - David Rodigan, host of the weekly Rodigan's Reggae show on London's Kiss 100 FM."

read article here:

http://music.guardian.co.uk/urban/story/0,,2242297,00.html

I miss "Pen and Pixels"

2008-01-31T19:00:00.000-08:00

I know alot of folks tend to disslike the "over-the-top" bling bling covers from "Pen and Pixels" but oooh, how I loved them. They are getting more and more rare for each day that passes by but have they been replaced by anything better?

I dunno if it is because im kinda into graphic designing but covers play a large part in deciding what cd's i buy and i have bought countless albums, unheard simply because i loved the special fx laced "Pen and Pixel" cover whit it's cartoony Gangsta look.

That realy isn't happening too often whit todays mixtape covers or the overly airbrushed covers of recent years. Please, return "Pen and Pixel" cause i miss y'all

Best place to buy underground music

2008-01-31T12:18:00.000-08:00

For those of us who still prefers to buy music, in it's physical shape and who prefers the unknown, upcoming talents where do we turn? This may seem as an paid, sneaky advertisement but i would have to say that Cdbaby is a safehaven for unknown but great sounding artists "on-the-come-up". You can tell this is a place run by fellow "music nerds", they even have a 5$ cd section that makes it way less risky trying out new artists that you've never heard of but that fits in your favourite genre.

As far as genres go, they got every genre covered and categorised in a multitude of subgenres (it's starting to border on too many subgenre classifications) so no matter what music you like you will easily find the local, hidden gems that would normaly go under your radar. To make shure youre getting something you like they are pretty generous whit song samples, no need to buy anything unheard, even if it's only a 5$ album. If you want unknown artists, give them a try.

http://www.cdbaby.com/

The blog previously known as "Vybes Central"

2008-01-27T16:16:00.000-08:00

When I first started this blog i decided to exclusively dedicate it to Reggae and anything related to it, the thought was not to create the Ultimate blog read and debated on by everyone into Reggae. However, spending time creating a blog that hardly anyone reads or show any interest in is a waste of my (not always so precious) time.

This is why a change had to come, the old content will still be there and i will still cover Reggae music but hte focus has been expanded to cover everything i like and enjoy, such as movies, music, fashion, books, graphic design and whatever else I enjoy....... Hopefully this will boast the interest in this blog and motivate me to update it more often.

So, I hope y'all will enjoy the blog more now than y'all did before/Christoffer

Russian Reggae

2007-12-14T05:18:00.000-08:00

By now y'all should be aware of this blog's international take on Reggae, Jah Jah's music truly has gone international and is everywhere now. Act's are popping up all over the Eastern Europe, one of these groups are "Jah Division" from Russia. They have a much polished and professional sound, well worth checking out if you dare to cross language barriers.

http://www.jahdivision.ru

Another great act from Russia would be "Rebel Steppa" whit a more British Roots/Steppers sound, from what i have understood he's more of an producer/player of instrument than vocalist and has worked whit a few British acts, not very Russian sounding but very good.

http://www.myspace.com/rebelsteppa

Natural Way - 1924

2007-11-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

Since I am from Sweden it has always made me extra happy whenever i hear good Swedish Reggae. In recent years there has been plenty of good artists and releases but i remember when there was hardly any artists or releases and far between any concerts. Natural Way is among the first, truly Swedish Roots bands there is. They formed 1982 in Uppsala and did sadly split in 2003, after only 2 releases. This is their first album and a classic among Swedish fans. The title, 1924 refers to the year Haile Selassie I visited Sweden and a photo from that visit can be seen on the cover which obviously is not that good looking (couldn't they have found an photo where it doesn't look like H.I.M is hunchbacked?). But as they always say, don't judge a book by it's cover because this is a very competent album. Fans of "Israel Vibrations" will absolutely love this group as their style (and the singers voice) strongly reminds me of them. It's not a copycat album though, far from it!

First up after the intro (which is a lil drum solo, not that awful but hardly an impressive Nyabinghi showcase either) is "God blessed music nah stop". This is not a lighthearted "lets smoke a spliff, listen to reggae and be irie" nonsense track that you might expect but deals more whit musics positive and uplifting qualities and Reggaes spiritual qualities. This is a very solid track whit top notch backing, singing and lyrical content, if "Natural Way" haven't won you over by the time this song ends you might wanna reconsider if you really are the Roots reggae fan you think you are. A couple of great tracks later we come to song 5, "10000 Volts" which is one of my favourites on here and i think I've spent about a week humming "why should the children in a Lebanon die" to myself and will probably hum it for a few weeks more. It's about the poor and unfortunate of the world and how much pressure they can handle. It has a melancholic vibe to it while still being kinda energetic, VERY GOOD!!!

Let's not forget about the next tune, "Remember" who at first seem as an man-woman love song but i really don't think he's singing about that sorta love but more about love to god and RastafarI prophets that we shall always "Remember", this song features an early (at least when we talk recorded material) appearance from Swedens top veteran Toaster, "Governor Andy" who has been very active in recent years. As whit every song on here it's a great one but (even though the message is a worthwhile one) the lyrics may not be as sharp as elsewhere on this album. Other good songs is "Coke locks" about drug dealers and the standout "Barber dread" an personal observation on how it is being a Rasta without dreads and how short hair does not necessarily mean you're a "baldhead". I can very much relate to this as I've struggled whit having dreads but always failed.

Well, I can't praise this album enough as it is everything I could ever ask for as far as Roots Reggae goes, you can tell that "Natural Way" stand firm whit their feet's in the 70'ies sound but that they have not got stuck there and tried to imitate, they have modern feel whit contemporary influences and some jazzy instrumentals to go. As far as lyrics go I would say that this album is very much "on point", they have taken classical "RastafarI" themes and made them their own, this is no cliched wannabe Rasta lyrics. Unf. "Natural Way" only released one more album before they broke up, 2 albums over the span of 20 years is not much but what they do not deliver quantity wise they make up for in quality. It will be hard to find any of their albums wheter you're in Sweden or not so thanks god for Internet and mp3'z, in cases like these i wholeheartedly recommend illegal downloading.

Khari Kill - Picture of Selassie

2007-10-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

Among the billion or so countries who has a very active and talented Reggae scene is the small Caribean islands of Trinidad & Tobago where we find artists such as Marlon Asher, Queen Omega and last but not least Khari Kill who finally has released his debut album. It was a few years in the making and most definitely worth waiting for. Together whit Digital B and the others in New York (where Khari now resides) he made one of the top 10 albums of the year, next to "Lutan Fyah" id say Khari Kill is my favourite Sing jay dj.

Things start out kinda familiar but very strong whit "Bird pepper" who was available to download from Khari's Myspace page some time ago. It's a peculiar title but deals whit the current state of our youths whit some pleas to praise Selassie I thrown in. It's a nice uptempo cut bound to please. Next, we get more of the same (good) stuff whit "Humble as a lamb" where he serves us another dose of uptempo positivity, being of Scandinavian origins I'm kinda curious about the references made to Finland.

"Mary grandson" is among the more well known cuts on here, saying it's a hit may be too much but people into reggae should have heard of it. It's a call for peace among the poor people in the ghetto's and that inevitable criticism of Babylon who under the banner of police and military get away whit murder and violence, anotha strong tune but not the best on here. There is a couple of "smoke weed" songs on here such as "Smoking around" and "Marijuana pumpin" (built around the same riddim as Marlon Ashers hit "Ganja Farmer"). Usually the weed songs are not my favourite type of reggae songs but these 2 are very good and should not be ignored.

It would be crazy to not include the huge cultural anthem "Picture of Selassie" on here and of course it's on here, this was the tune who introduced me to Khari Kill in the first place and still remains my favourite song, check the video on youtube to this song where Khari can be seen in a classroom full of kids handing out photos of H.I.M. to the students, a great video full of goosebumb inducing footage of Haile Selassie I.

To sum things up i would have to say that this is one of the major albums of the year (god knows how many obscure but amazing albums i am missing out on) and one that has to be purchased, even if you like me is starting to think that there is too many singjay's out there. Not to be missed.

http://www.myspace.com/kharikillmusic