BELIEVE ME...

When the mood strikes me to spin something that is happening right now, I sorta have my top unholy three must listens. And on the flip side I have my guilt free top three righteous choices. 

Modern Dancehall is sort of split between two mentalities with a bit of fuzzy thinking in between. Those two mentalities are the sacred and the secular. The turban Dreads versus the barbered fades and braids.

                                   AN UN-HOLY TRIO!

 MAVADO started out as my absolute fave of slack talk and gun play. His tunes stank of gritty and dark realities. Mavado is pure evil! But with only two brilliant long players to his credit and several fistfuls of hit singles, ranging from pure genius (produced by the DiGenius of course) too being merely average. Of course "average" Mavado is still far superior to most radio airplay. So Mavado slid down to third on my list. Besides spending to many studio hours stateside with Lil' Wayne's crew has gotten me nervous.

Please prove me wrong.

And in the beginning...

VYBZ on the other hand...well I must admit...I think he gets better and better as he continues too sell out! Well...past tense anyway since he traded his posh trimmings and plushy punnany for a room with iron bars and a boyfriend named Bubba. Don't drop the soap Adi. 

Vybz is a persistent fame whore. The network may of cancelled his TV show the "TEACHA'S PET." His brand of rum may of went dry. So has he failed stardom? I think he'll be around for a long time.

In need of some serious JAH GUIDANCE!

I played this all summer long. Then thru the fall. Then thru the winter.

BUSY SIGNAL has blown up from Gully apprentice to Jamaican supernova. The man can effortless shift between genres as seemingly opposite as Country to Dancehall.(Kenny Rodger's "The Gambler" on VP's REGGAE GONE COUNTRY fer instance.) Words like gifted and blessed are often used to describe him. Words usually used to describe the BOBO chanters. 

If I posted this list ten years ago, Bounty Killer most certainly would of occupied the top spot. But after years of being behind the scenes. Alright, he does on occasion poke his head out from behind the curtain to drop a guest vocal or tease us with glimpse of that hungry miser-rebel youth grown older.

Gifted and immensely talented.

Why does BUSY earn one of the top spots in my bad minded trio if he is all big heart and tender soul? This...

These tunes are as filthy as the soiled sheets from a LA porn set!

One of 2012's best if not the single best release of last year!

Part II coming very soon....

SIZE DOESN'T MATTER!

NOT UP FOR GRABS 

Half the crowd claims MAVADO as their new dancehall king and just as many people would argue that VYBZ KARTEL earns that title. 


I will grant you that Mavado dropped one of the most intense debuts in the history of music with his GANGSTA FOR LIFE: THE SYMPHONY OF DAVID BROOKS. Ever. In any genre. Then followed that masterpiece brilliantly with his sophomore effort, but lately his singles haven't stuck like glue. 

EVIL GENIUS

Now VYBZ has been a major disruption in the ordered way of tings. On hype alone...the last two years are easily his best efforts to usurp the throne. Check his Clarks De Mix Tape Raw for evidence. And all the gossip pages!

GENETIC EXPERIMENTATION GONE AWRY

But have you noticed how many strong tunes the supposedly disposed king of the dancehall, BEENIE MAN, has dropped on us in the last few years? Whether it is an obscure single like INTERNATIONAL with Jurassic Five's, CHALI2NA, to his more current smash with FUTURE FAMBO,  their I'M DRINKING / RUM & RED BULL. Monsters...every single one of 'em is a monster!

ALPHA MALE

Apparently it is true...size don't matter...

because MOSES DAVIS aka BEENIE MAN stands small in physical stature but is still Dancehall's dominate ALPHA MALE.  

LONG LIVE THE KING!

CONVERTED...

I am going to interupt my scheduled programming of rodents and riddims for something completely different...



I gotta say I got pretty damn impatient waiting for MAVADO'S new CD to drop. What has it been since his sophomore release,"Mr. Brooks...A Better Tomorrow", dropped in early 2009? It's now near the end of 2010. That makes it almost 23 months ago-an eternity in Reggae years. So while I was window shopping at Ernie B's, I came across "THE HITLIST vol 2". I had typed Mavado into the search box and among the selections that popped up was this collection from TAD's. I consulted an expert before buying and when I got authentication, I added it to my cart. (Bigup Achisl)



On this disc was not one but five Mavado singles! A total of twenty-four epic tunes make this an incredible earful. There is something orchestral about these tunes. Something almost operatic. Big big tunes here! This disc also introduced me to some new ladies like Lisa Hype and Gaza Kim. Interestingly, former Alliance talent and Mavado nemesis, Vybz Kartel is represented by five big tunes. His massive three part "Clarks" being his show piece. I guess TAD'S doesn't play favorites with either side if the arguement. Dancehall King and Queen Beeenie Man and Mi Lady Saw drop one tune apiece. I still find it interesting that the Beenie Man and Bounty Killer fued was over each one accusing the other for copping their sound. I have never confused a Bounty Killer tune for Beenie's. Nonsense. I have confused Bushman for Luciano when I am only half awake. Half baked?

Okay, if vol 2 was essential then the first volume must be mandatory listening. Right?



It is.



Gyptain along with Suga Roy and Conrad Crystal cover Joseph Hill and Culture's warhorse of a tune "Jah Jah See Dem." For me covering Culture can prove to be a sacrilegious affair. Not so in this case. It is faithful to the original vibe and has an all new energy at the same time. I have no idea who Suga Roy and Conrad Crystal are but Gyptian really won me over with this tune. I already count his Beng Beng and Mi Fadda Say being big faves of mine, but some of his tunes seem a little too radio friendly for my liking. I am going back to spin 'em with new ears.

The real jewel of this set for me is "Daggera" by Spice. (another big up to Achis) This tune rocks a polka riddim! Crazy. I wonder if there is some guy in Poland right now rocking a Dancehall riddim on his accordian?

This disc is a bit mellower than it's sequel. No less big in sound though. The breakout new talent for me is Laden with his correctly put "Time To Shine" tune. Bounty Killer and Beenie Man on the same disc with only six songs to seperate them? I can hear the insults! This disc plays out sweetly with a Sizzla ballad. I count myself a convert to the TAD's label. I'm looking forward to misappropriating funds to buy more of their releases.

Teaching Mavado for Dummies?

I wish crime really did pay, cause livin' this clean straight life is keeping me poor! My toilet of a day job is cloggged with industrial toxins and hazardous waste. Now a-ways back I fell victim to one of those "turn your sad little life around by going to college" commercials. Lol . I enrolled myself into an associates degree program for applied science. That is short hand for X-ray tech. Yeah, I know all this talk of toxic waste and now I am willing to expose myself to doses of radiation; but I figure I ate enough lead paint as a youth to keep me safe.



Once I get that diploma in my hand both respect and good pay will come my way. Only problem I can't solve is my last semester of Physics. My brain stopped after one too many solutions. Point of all this? You do not need to be mathematically minded to know that these 25 songs add up too 1 brillant CD. So sit back and let Mavado lecture you on life as a gangsta.