Sizzla – The Messiah
Reviewed by Sadie O., 6/10/13
Righteous Roots Rock Reggae. Thank goodness for Sizzla Kalonji! When it seems that Reggae artists only want to get on BET, and everyone is using a vocoder whether they need one or not, Sizzla just wants to “sing” in his inimitable way about Jah Rastafari and social justice. And his vocals are so utterly mad – it’s really wonderful. Yay!
FCC on track 6 (fade it down 5-10 seconds before end of song.)
1. 4:13 ***relaxed, slightly downtempo roots reggae, sweet song about Mama Africa.
2. 4:30 ***aggresside midtempio skank with some speaking in tongues (unless it is actually Amharic…)
3. 5:36 ***jaunty midtempo bippity boppity riddim with wonderful vocal sounds. And such sweet female backing vocals.
4. 4:20 ****preaching intro, sparce and dubby slow skank.
5. 3:53 ***jaunty uptempo bounce with flutes and terrific noises coming out of Sizzla’s mouth.
6. 4:24 FCC “motherfuckers” right at the end. ***uptempo, unusual riddim that seems to be missing its midsection.
7. 3:28 ***sweet midtempo bubble with insanity.
8. 3:16 ****midtempo dancehall riddim with fuzzy noise and lots of toasting.
9. 3:51 ***uptempo bubble, gnarly vocal intro. It’s a love song, but I still like it.
10. 3:01 ***sweet rootsy lover’s rock bubble.
11. 3:42 **very slow, rather insipid riddim but with Sizzla’s fine vocals.
12. 6:10 *midtempo, very commercial sounding bubble, not particularly inspired vocals. Actually some fun musical sounds towards the end.
13. 3:01 ***midtempo lovers rock skank, love song. Not my favorite lyrics/vocals on the record, but the riddim is cool.
14. 5:23 *****slow bubble with completely crazed vocals. MAD! Hooray!
15. 4:39 ****uptempo, bouncy skank with revolution lyrics.