HITSVILLE JA

T.O.K.

They are not a Jamaican BWOY BAND. At first glance I summed ‘em up as being nothing more than little girl crushes. I was very wrong. The Bounty Killer would never share the microphone with a group of manufactured tonsils unless of course he was using them to wipe his feet.



It’s okay to get caught with T.O.K. on your I-Pod. I repeat they are not a Jamaican version of a bwoy band…they are however a producer’s wet dream. Four very skilled vocal talents that already come with the working knowledge of each other’s techniques. Just hand over the Riddim and they’ll make it a hit. I read somewhere that the group formed during their high school years but nailed their sound down in time for college. T.O.K. cite Motown’s Boyz 2 Men as a big influence. Yep.
These bwoys bring a little Detroit to Kingston. They are a re-boot of The Temptations.





I’m not gonna pretend I know who is who in the group but I will tell ya, when the balladeer gets warmed up, his ANGELIC voice will tug at your heart strings.
This should come with a warning sticker. Not for offensive language, although some profane patios does lurk around in their vocabulary. It should WARN potential buyers that contained within this disc are the most INFECTIOUS grooves to ever get under your skin. Ya just can’t scratch ‘em away.
I bought this disc after hearing “Man Ah Bad Man The Sequel” featuring T.O.K. on Bounty Killer’s “Ghetto Dictionary: The Art Of War.” Sequels are never as good as the original so part one must be total smash up. It is. That original tale is found here on T.O.K.’s “My Crew, My Dawgs” debut.

I find it interesting how singers can be walking contradictions and at the same time still be true to themselves. I mean this record has a song that is PLEA for PEACE but at the same time, the tune “Chi-Chi Man” ADVOCATES gun spree VIOLENCE against the heterosexually challenged. Umm, “Chi-Chi Man” is probably the catchiest tune here and rides a Riddim that is essentially a reworking of the classic Christmas chestnut, “Do You Hear What I Hear?”