THE SACRED BELIEF

 A few years ago VP Records dropped a batch of releases by some of my favorite heavies. I snatched up RICHIE SPICE'S Book of JOB immediately and spun it thru the week. Sadly it just didn't carve itself as deep into my memory as it should of. It still remains sorta half forgotten. 

LADY SAW'S My Way has landed in my CD player maybe a half-a-dozen times since that initial drop. I should say fall. ( I know I was feeling more optimistic in my original review.)(Wait...I review records?) Now her record from the year 1997 (aptly titled) PASSION, that one I spin like it's still fresh on the airwaves. 

Could it be that some of the Reggae Dancehall's big veterans were becoming stale? Uninspired maybe?

So with all those concerns weighing on my mind the rumour that Capleton's big disc for 2010, his long awaited I-Ternal...I should expect it to be a slight disappointment. I heard the few big teaser singles like "Acres" that preceded the initial drop date....everything sounded good but I foolishly waited till the price become more budget friendly. I mean I-Ternal didn't top any of the trusted lists. There were no reports that I-Ternal overheated stereo components and set speakers ablaze. So I waited patiently...

http://www.capletonmusic.com/ 

He goes by King Shango, The Fyahman and of course Capleton. His birth certificate reads Clifton George Bailey III but that is a degrading name from left-over colonization. Whatever you call him ...don't call I-Ternal Fire anything less than masterpiece!

I-Ternal is a different kind of fire. Quieter perhaps but no less hot. And was most definitely a top 5 drop of 2010. And another brilliant disc in a long succession of Fyah themed VP Record releases.

Nothing is ever that simple is it? Mr. Sizzla Kalonji, a professed devout Rastafarian, spews out Dutty Mouth with as much equal lust as he gives Thanks and Praise to Jah. Where as Capleton never leaves you in doubt that he loves his woman, he just does it with polite manners using tunes like "Good in her clothes!" off of MORE FIRE. He safely swerves around those dangerous curves! 
Sizzla, by virtue of his massive schedule, is bound to make a few minor mistakes! He has percentages working against him. Although it is never his skill level or his taste that betrays him. It simply that we have heard it before. Usually by him. Maybe even a multitude of times. Generic Sizzla? Say it ain't so!

Already thinking a dozen records ahead!

If ya thought that ACHIS is an over achiever check this page! 

http://thesizzlaproject.wordpress.com/

SIZZLA did commit some heartfelt sentiments to disc in order warm up the cold world of plastic coated digital recordings.

A Kalonji / VP Records joint effort.

http://www.afro-jam.com/

I guess following on the heels of his spectacular SCRIPTURES these two discs entered the world with a little less fanfare. Both are truly strong foundation statements. IN GAMBIA and THE CHANT deserve your full attention. Give it! Both these discs are an aural snapshot of his "return" to Mama Africa. 

I came across a handful of Sizzla tracks on SOUNDCLOUD before AFRO-JAM dropped THE CHANT.  Production by Kemson Macgyver Fenton's ICE REIGN RECORDS. These tunes ended up being my most played Sizzla tracks of 2012. Period. Amazing stuff from out of nowhere! Well from Harare Zimbabwe actually. Do check this link out...and do your ears a favor. 

https://soundcloud.com/user7268296

Anthony B- I don't know what to say. Is it his voice? Could be. Is it his lyrics? Not sure. So what makes Anthony B so incredible? Damn good question. Is it that in a career that officially stretches back to 1996... in all those years...that he has never dropped a bad disc! Not a single one. 
Even the always dubious Penitentiary Records and their (Anthony B probably doesn't paid one shiny penny in royalties!) GATHER and COME collection of early random tunes is a massive disc. 

Is this release a less-than-lagal affair?

It is what it is and this disc melted my car stereo. The car's stock little unit couldn't handle the truth!

He knows

http://www.anthonybmusic.net/

Anthony B's FREEDOM FIGHTER is most definitely a top drop of 2012.  A great production from the IRIE VIBRATIONS crew. 

I am planning on doing a "spotlight"write up FREEDOM FIGHTER in the near future. Or I could get lazy and wait for ACHIS to do a much more thorough job. 

Again...if I compiled this short list of favorites ten years ago...BUJU BANTON would of topped it at number one. Period. 

SIZZLA KALONJI'S THE SCRIPTURES

HURRICANE MIGUEL COLLINS AT 155 MPH

An angry SIZZLA KALONJI is a mighty force to reckon with. Must be like standing in the path of an approaching category 5 hurricane. Kiss your ass good bye. I wouldn't wanna be on the receiving end of his wrath. 

But that is only one of SIZZLA'S many schizophrenic moods.The world of SIZZLA exists in multiple of dimensions. 

There is....

the lustful dutty mouth of a healthy young man being seduced by the temptations of fame and fortune.

 There is...

the pissed off shouting down of Babylon by a man confronted with the Demons of injustice...

There is...

the soul searching of a righteous man hoping to reach purity of heart. 

Personally I like the calm level reasoning of a man at peace with his surroundings. Then again I love when SIZZLA'S voice strains under weight of his message. Even when his falsetto is being crushed it still crackles with celebration. 

Then there is the SIZZLA that explores other genres that his not supposed to. (You know which discs I'm talking about!)

The same SIZZLA that can walk into a recording studio, be handed a random Riddim, and on the spot make a tune of lasting value. 

So what then happens when he is subject to a Hollywood blockbuster sized production from JOHN JOHN? What happens when he is given layer upon layer of instruments and sounds too build up each Riddim? When lead and background vocals are multi-tracked into operatic choruses? The answer is a little bit of everything SIZZLA has done throughout his intense career. Not to say that this disc is a cold stale serving of old ideas. It is not. SIZZLA and JOHN JOHN are giving us a MAGNUM OPUS. 

This disc is slick without being greasy. Know what I mean? A very sing song collection of positive vibes.  THE SCRIPTURES is not a disc of FYAH and BRIMSTONE like the title misled me into believing. Sure...there are HEAVENLY tunes that praise JAH, but a few of the tunes here, deal with EARTHLY matters. 

Track 1- WORLD CRY picks up where his work on the amazing BILLIE JEAN RIDDIM for IRIE IRITES leaves off. His passionate wailing like a tortured soul lost in a life and death struggle brings this tune to it's knees. Hell way to start a record!

Track 2- THE WORLD IS WATCHING is modern ROOTS at it's zenith. The thirty-five year old wise SIZZLA reaches higher plains of knowledge. And his voice is reaching for higher octaves. He gets there. Taking a cue from the extremely talented and successfully STEPHEN and DAMIAN MARLEY, SIZZLA drops in a passage from rapper PETER JACKSON. Seamless. Not a cheap crossover attempt.

Track 3- IN JAMAICA is in the mellow tradition and for me is the least engaging tune. I'm not saying it is bad tune. Just a nice flow. You can't be hit over the head with every tune! The disc has to catch it's breath.

Track 4- CLEANSE MY SOUL is sung in my favorite SIZZLA voice. I hear the aching and the longing for JAH'S love in his voice. This isn't hollow lip service. This is a true DEVOTIONAL HYMN. Not a prayer gussied up with gilded gold trappings. This heavenly requests only earthly ornamental vestments are punchy horns, an angelic girlie chorus and Dubby wah-wah guitar!

Track 5- LET IT BE has a nice sing song melody that flows from SIZZLA'S deep wellspring of RASTAFARI belief. Lyrical conviction as heavy as the drum and bass Riddim it rides. This is a healthy tune that's strong in body and spirit. 

Track 6- JAH IS MY SHIELD almost has a subtle groovy sixties MOTOWN feel with it's girlie chorus. I can picture them swaying in synchronized rhythm behind the microphone. Very catchy without being gimmicky. Pure positive vibes in honour of HIS MOST HIGH, HAILE SELASSIE I.

Track 7- SCRIPTURES is a tune where the Riddim doesn't bring too much attention to it's self. This tune is about the message contained within the words. Nothing to detract from the preacher's sermon! You in the back...pay attention. 

Track 8- WHAT A WHOA is the certainly the darkest mood felt on THE SCRIPTURES. Like this disc as a whole, every time I spin it, it slowly reveals more of itself to me. It's truths are not as obvious or immediate as say, the masterpiece, BLACK WOMAN AND CHILD. A perfect record the first time ya hear it! Spend some time with THE SCRIPTURES. Let it slowly soak in. 

Track 9- GOD BLESS YOU MOMMA features the falsetto in full effect. The tune is a joyous declaration of love and respect for family. I dare you to call SIZZLA a mommas boy!

Track 10- JUMP FOR JOY is the heaviest riffed tune here with a militant call and response style refrain. This tune cries out to be a hit! It is definitely a jumpy tune but not necessarily a joyous tune. 

Track 11- I LOVE YOU is the most honest love song I've heard in awhile. Only his twisted vocals keep it from curdling into cheese! 

Track 12- HAPPY BIRTHDAY is a peppy SKA shuffle! The big horn section behaves like proper gentleman. Not too rudebwoy. Just the right amount of brass. Just the right amount of balls. 

Track 13- MUSIC IN MY SOUL is probably gonna be the biggest tune to drop off THE SCRIPTURES. This tune just screams mash up all over radio. It will be heard the world over.

In JAZZ the saying goes CHARLIE PARKER discovered the atom but it was JOHN COLTRANE that smashed it. I'll slide rule this over to Reggae. SIZZLA is all hell on EARTH breaking loose.

He just does it quieter with this disc!
I expected to hear this...

...but got this!

 And that ain't so bad...

CANDY FROM A STRANGER...

As an old dog...I can't learn any new tricks, but I can make new friends. And a new friend slipped me a copy of SIZZLA'S hasn't dropped on the public yet set of tunes titled SCRIPTURES. I'm usually standing last in line when new stuff gets released. Yeah...I'm going spend sometime with it before giving you my honest opinion. 

My ears are tuned in. And my mind is always open for what Sizzla has in store for us patiently waiting fans. Fans or I could call us students. I guess it is a little of both when we're under his influence. 

TRUTH BE TOLD!

Why I feel this man owes me a T-shirt!

As an experiment...I cued up SIZZLA on my I-Pod and then checked the play count. I have twenty-two Sizzla compact discs in MP3 format loaded to my I-Pod. The revealing facts that I found...shocked me! Technology might be EVIL but it can't be programmed to lie. What I discovered about my Sizzla listening habits....

Even tho I’m a computer illiterate knuckle dragger I‘ve still managed to accumulate about 300 gigs of music on my hard drive. Somehow I even find the time too listen to music the old fashioned way. You know spun on a stereo with a 5 disc CD Changer. But this post is not about either of those two methods; it is about the revealing facts behind my I-POD habits. Okay, first off, I use it most during my vain attempt to turn back the clock. By that, I mean exercising my ITAL right to running. Secondly, at night my wife likes static noise to fall asleep too; me I prefer deep dub so I use my I-Pod as a sailboat to drift off into the currents of sleep.

Why does SIZZLA owe me a t-shirt? I’m getting’ to that…

Sizzla’s orphaned CD is welcome in my home. It is because of my love for this little bastard disc that I feel he owes me!

My trained detective like mind (Lol) spots a trend here. Because an artist's album is listed in alphabetical sequence, maybe that could explain why ADDICTED and AIN’T GONNA SEE US FALL are my most played SIZZLA albums. Hmmm?

I figure being available in alphabetical order explains the play count. I choose whatever comes up first. I can be unimaginably lazy at times. (Like meeting BLOG deadlines!) I’ve pressed play for ADDICTED on seventeen separate occasions. I must admit I‘ve really come to love that odd little RHYTHM and BLUES disc. I mean REGGAE disc.
Before engaging in any physical effort it's smart to begin wimpy. Don't wanna break nothin'.
So I start my heart off slow. Warming up with a good stretch to loosen things. Best to maintain a nice mellow pace before selecting an energy blast of pure dancehall.

AIN’T GONNA SEE US FALL really gets the blood pumping. This is the angry, funny and cynical side to MR. KALONJI. And I’ve sped up my 10k to it on eighteen different occasions.

The strangest bit of info I learned is when I need to hear SIZZLA the ROOTS REGGAE singer of THANKS and PRAISES, I play BURNING FIRE more than the acknowledged masterpiece, BLACK WOMAN AND CHILD. (That CD tends to go around in circles much more in my stereo along with his CHILD OF JAH CD.)
BURNING FIRE has two really big roots anthems on it for me, JAH KNOWS BEST and JAH IS LOVE. I cannot get enough of those tunes, which is a good thing since they show up on multiple releases. I am well aware of Penitentiary Record's dubious reputation. This is another instance were cheap worked for me.

I have since made a conscious effort to start backwards, and by that I mean start at end of the alphabet.
I have been playing WATERHOUSE REDEMPTION when I now warm up.

Then run head first into oblivion with SIZZLA’S RASTAFARI CD beatin’ in my eardrums!

PIRATES and BOOTLEGGARS!

I threw this question out to the great minds that read the reviews posted on that musical wasteland known as Amazon. My question was something like "what Reggae/Dancehall DVDs are actually what the box claim they are" Lets face facts here, some concert DVDs are filmed on some drunken fool's cell phone with constant distractions of "hot" chick sitting at the bar. How do you slur a camera? I have thrown money away on few of those. Not my meaning of being burnt! Achis tossed his valueable two cents in but I still ended up a dollar short. So I sailed to illegal internet waters and clicked on download links. One descarga, two descarga, then three descarga till I had my answers. I threw back the stinkers, most I had to hold my nose shut, but I kept a few pearls and my lunch down. Those are the ones that I then used my hard cash to buy outright.



First up is Sizzla's Blazing The Fire. Buy it. See it. Support all involved. Nothing is as good as being front row center, but since I was states away while this concert went down, this is the next best thing.
Sizzla, Anthony B, Yami Bolo, Ras Shiloh and a few others! I can feel the build up of anticpation. I can feel the crowd. The inbetween performance cracks are filled in with face to face interviews, warm ups and general backstage mayhem. Ahh, those performances are the real reason to pickup this release out of sea of imposters. After seeing this, I need to see Anthony B live! The bright clear sound quality sometimes gets overwhelmed but the camera knows where to be. I can easily forgive the PA system. Oh, and Sizzla? He screams, he rants and raves, he sermons and pours his heart and soul into Black Woman and Child. Even the end credits catch fyah! The best Reggae / Dancehall concert DVD I have seen yet. Find yourself a copy. You will not feel ripped off.

Love is the drug

This is either a love it or hate it affair. I can understand why most knuckleheads will hate it. This record seems very wrong at first. "Huh, what in Babylon did they lace this with? " This cannot be Sizzla singing RnB! Oh, but it is, and this easily ranks as his bravest record. Only Sizzla could dare such a record. Sizzla has made dozens of records devoted to his love for Jah. So why not something a little more human? He has nothing to prove. He made this record for himself. His tortured falsetto twisting and wrapping itself around words of love. And lust. This is what top forty should sound like. In fact, Addicted is so forward moving, I would categerize this as Avante-Garde. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!