Ky-Mani Marley's Radio Does Not Play Oldies

Ky-Mani lives between two worlds. The traditional family trade that tugs at him as well as the hip hop sounds of modern Maimi. Like it or not, Rap/Hip Hop is an universal ghetto music. The best Rap is a thermometer that shows us how hot things can get in there. Apparently some fans do not like change. Some fans even get upset if their favored artist begins to grow. "Radio" pissed off a bunch of old sods that believe each of Bob's sons should only walk the same Holy sanctioned ground. What sacrilege do my ears hear?!!! Is that rap?!! Why yes... the BEST tracks here are more of a growing up in Miami influence than a born in JA time trap. This is a serious update of the militant sound. The song "I'm back" may slip a hip-hop cliche or two in, but it is powerful! "The March" is a Soldier of Jahs chant down Babylon cadence. These two songs add up to a declaration of war!

Ky-mani starts to mellow in the middle with a few tasty duets with Tessanne Chin and Rn'B queen Mya. Do not worry though, the anger begins to swell up in his chest again as he carries out the record. Fans of Ky-Mani's "The Journey" will not even recognize him here. I think he made this record for himself.



8.5 out of 10 blisters!

There It Is...

I had not spun Jah Mason's "Princess Gone: The Saga Bed" in a long while. Why, I do not know, tings just get shuffled around and lost without real being missing. So there it was staring me down. Usually when I reach for a Jah Mason CD, I grab "No Matter The Time" or "Rise". I forgot how good this CD really is. Damn good in fact. It is more poetic than his small label work. More reflection. More soul. More heartbreak. Less Truth and Rights. Less FYAH BUN! Maybe that is why he reminds less of the mighty King Shango on this one. Vp records released another master work.



9 out of 10

Sly and Robbie Present....

I noticed my tastes are a little off-kilter than the usual Reggae fan. One of those different flavors is InI Kamoze's "51 50 Rule." Anybody out their actual listen to it? It is a great return home that apparently fell on deaf ears. Even Sizzla shows up on the tune "Raw." I guess his fans have not forgiven him for the brief lyrical gangsta phase that put him pop chart topping with "Here Comes the Hotstepper!"



This record changed things. One of Reggae's greatest ever releases. And it is a debut! There is no filler. Not one miss. InI Kamoze's take on the same old things took a completely different tangent than the usual straight lines. This record is what James Brown is to hip hop. Sly and Robbie's riddims here are still being sampled. This record is both timeless and very eighties!

Dennis Emmanuel Brown

Lets go back in time, maybe not too far, so well stop at the middle to late 70's. Dennis Brown was Jamaica's national treasure. Dennis had recorded hundreds of hits with every producer that shined under the Caribbean sun. Mr. Brown started at the tender age of eleven and continued chart topping until his death at forty two years old. Sniffing the wrong stuff got his health ill and when he turned to the pipe, his lungs stopped. Between 1973 and 1999, Dennis released an earth shattering 75 studio albums. After his death, money seekers hoped to cash in with an abundance of best ofs. I choose this one because Niney the Observer is the common denominator that holds all these loose tracks tight. This best of set lives up to the boasts. Trojan can also claim bragging rights with their Money In My Pocket set. This one is a little tighter though.



If you thought you never heard Dennis Brown before, your wrong, you have and you just did not know it. It is amazing how many of his riddims live on!

Stretching Danehall's boundaries and stretching to the ceiling

In a world where sweetness is packaged with sex appeal to steal the hearts of young girls and to rob them of their lunch money, comes Lady Saw. Miss Saw mouths off the most cock sure word play ever. Her modesty would even make Prince, the perverted purple one, blush! But It is when she exposes her tender side that Miss Saw becomes more than the role/play model. Her honesty makes her records.



9.7 out of 10 Lewd Suggestions

All the Lady's work is a must, but the Passion and Walk Out discs are two of my faves. Passion? Absolutely! She embodies raw emotion, but not like the sweaty sex she pours all over the Strip Tease disc. After an epic intro, the Lady rides the "That's Amore" riddim, which is both scary and brilliant. You'll have to hear it for yourself to judge it. The duets Long Till It Bend with Merciless and Healing with Beenie Man are hard to beat. Shaggy shows up for Love is Strange. The Lady just works so well with a man to bounce her moods off of. Of course this is the disc that contains the gem, Sycamore Tree. Lover Boy is a Country Western spin with a lyrical refrain that catches you by surprise. By the way, the title track rides what can only be best described as a polka beat. Yep, the Lady has guts. And the Lady has a sense of humor!



9.7 out of 10 Personal Confessions

Her earlier records showed us her sins but here, Walk Out, is sort of a musical confession. We learn more about the person, Marion Hall, than her alter ego Lady Saw. Songs like "No Less Than A Woman (Infertility) and "Not The Worlds Prettiest" reveal her inner beauty. I like the way Marion Hall thinks, but I know your thinking that the Queen of Dancehall has gone all soft. She leaves it to her alter ego Lady Saw to carry the record out with stompers like "Power Of The Pum" and that crazy litte ditty called "Like It."

Only on the internet could ya find something like this...

What, no Vanilla Ice? Wow, I was feeling a bit oppressed and than I wandered across this wonder of wonders. I really needed a good laugh and this collection split my sides. Boy George is Dreader than Dread. Big Youth is rolling over in his grave and he is not even dead yet! Dig the Waterhouse Parish native, Eric Clapton, and his cover of Bobo Bob Dylan. I believe from a long lost Lee "Scratch" Perry Ark session. Is that the Mighty Diamonds I hear harmonizing? I understand including 10cc, the british marshmellow popsters from the 70's for the Roots credibility so why add an imposter like Jimmy Cliff or Bob Marley. UB40? I thought that was the British unmploymnt form. Isn't their lead singer also in the Thompson Twins? I wish they included a Flock Of Seagulls classic. Then I could of whole heartily given this release 5 stars. I think it's great that Comedy Central is making Reggae records! Cheered me up!



Warning! This CD impaired my vision and slurred my speech. Do not let your kids find this in the medicine cabinet...

This blog entry contains only 10% new material!

Pablo Picasso once said "bad artists copy and great artists steal." So what does that make me? I just clipped these reveiws from my own Amazon page. To damn busy is what. I am spending too much time battling my mathematical demons.



9 out of 10 for no appointment necessary

Junior makes roots music that is as catchy as a cold, except this stuff is good for you. In fact these fifteen tracks are strong medicine for what ills you. So pour this aural tonic down your ears. Junior's Bless may be on the mellow side with that extra classic vibe but it is most certainly not watered down. Bless is a potent Herbsman potion. No weak spots. Actually I can't find any weak spots on any of Juniors records. All good. They're all healthy choice. If your mind and body need mending, spin this, you'll feel better!



Almost a tie with Spice In Your Life for first place in Richie's race into reggae history. I absolutely love Digital Ways with Joseph Hill. The tune is a bridge across generations. "Youth Dem Cold" does justice to Dennis Browns old classic "Some Like It Hot". The tune "Baby Face" is the family getting together. This record, like Spice In Your Life is an absolute gem. Let it add some sparkle to your music selection.

9.5 out of 10 for cut and brilliance



I needed to sleep on it. Literally. I never thought this set lived up to its predecessors, but than I fell asleep with it in my ears. Is it "Spice In Your Life?" Nope. Very few records can claim that glory. Even his! This record is enough change in direction that it offers up a different vibe. Babylon Falling and Gideon Boot are a strong beginning to a roots rock solid set. The tune "The World Is A Cycle" is very well done but to me Alaine's "Rise In Love" now owns that riddim. Time to retire it! This is not a back-handed complement but Gideon Boot is nice set to fall asleep to. Sweet dreams...

9 out of 10 for the good nights rest

New tricks

11 out of 10 stars. It is mathematically possible!

During the rise of the Compact Disc, I rejected the technology, preferring to spin out the early nineties on my turntable. My argument was that it was an industry rip off. The big record companies promised music at such affordable prices that I could splurge on two dime-bags a week with the money I would save! They preached that since manufacturing costs had dropped, the savings would be passed onto the fans. Wrong! The suckers in suits jacked up everything. “Screw the fans, they’ll pay if they wanna be the first on their block”. Hot off the drawing board tech is always inflated beyond the rules of supply and demand. The Heathens were stealing even more cash from the till! Hell, even some of their artists that topped the company roster were still not getting paid. Some things never change!
Eventually, I could not ignore progress anymore…a lot of hard to find stuff started popping up in those jewel cases. Stuff that had been out of print for twenty years was now Remastered and Deluxe Editioned. By the mid-nineties CDs became the standard medium and record execs’ started acting more responsible with my paycheck.



Forget numbers...a heavens worth of stars.

While I was slowly filling in the holes of my collection I kept an eye on the new names popping up. The Buju Banton’s and the Bounty Killers. Curiosity finally killed me and I bought myself, Buju’s “Til Shiloh”. I was stunned, shocked and more alive than ever! I followed that with Capleton’s “More Fire”. Furious stuff! I would spend the new millennium years now playing catch up to the nineties. I am always chasing my tail!



9 out of 10 ounces.

I am amazed at how many middle-aged folks think all modern Reggae and Dancehall is the work of Hip-Hop thugs. The crotch grabbing bling bragging Rap star wanna-be’s. For those old salty dogs that swear to Jah that Reggae went belly up sometime in the 80’s, Chezidek makes them all filthy liars! This gentleman has the golden tonsils of a crooner! Sorta Beres Hammond doing a Sizzla thing sung by Cedric Myton. Makes sense, right? Everybody forgets about Luciano being a 90’s discovery, because they figure he’s been around since the late 60’s. He sounds it right?
Now, Chezidek sets all those doubters straight. This music is Roots growing deep into the traditions best but somehow remaining a fresh modern listen.



9 out of 10 ounces.

Experiencing some Turbulence ahead...

I am at the mall with my wife Krispy and we are shopping for shoes. You know; after awhile, women’s shoes all look the same, so my mind starts to wander. Krispy’s voice slow pulls my attention back in, “ What the hell are ya doing?” I sleepily respond, “ Huh. Did ya pick outta pair ya like?.” “She barks back, “What the hell are you talking about?” Then I come crashing back to reality and I realize I am sitting at my computer reviewing Turbulence’s record “The Future”.



Wow, say it is not so!
The Future 6.5 out of 10 Stars

Okay, it might not be that bad, but compared to his best work, yeah. My wife Krispy asked me what did we just listen to and before I could answer, we were cruising down to the mall.



Notorious, The Album 8.5 out of 10 stars.



Songs of Solomon 8.5 out of 10 Stars

But back to the man in question… Okay, some of Turbulence’s deservedly big releases will have this one song of dubious belonging. It is like he sneaks in some bland R’nB song hoping for that American crossover. This has me thinking that I accidentally changed the channel. Except I'm not listening to the radio, I'm spinning his CD. Then just as mysteriously as the song began, it is over and back to a great record. "Huh, am I hearing tings?"



Words of Wisdom 9 out of 10 Stars

Now flip the coin and his deservedly dubious releases will contain an absolute gem or two. Technically speaking then, that makes all of his records necessary. If ya got the pockets!



Hail the King 9.5 out of 10 Stars