Ras Myrhdak – Prince of Fyah
Reviewed by Sadie O., 7/16/07
Roots Reggae riddims, deeply Rastafarian lyrics, often rather manic dancehall delivery. It’s a bit unusual to have the Sizzla-style nutted vocals with such a spiritual message. The riddims are all quite pleasant but not particularly unusual (although in this day and age, riddims played with real instruments are getting rare!), and the female backing vocals are also pleasant and rather unremarkable, although they do hit some nice harmonies. Mostly it’s Myrhdak’s vocal delivery that carries the record.
No FCCs detected. I like 7, 10 and 14 best.
1. 3:52 *midtempo classic roots bubble, very sweet sound for a serious subject.
2. 3:49 **rather loose and dubby but interesting riddim, vocals pretty crazed, from singing to growling.
3. 5:06 *downtempo intro, very professional and pretty female chorus contrasts with the quite looned out dancehall vocal style.
4. 3:59 *downtempo skank, similar vocal interplay to previous track, in fact the vocals may be getting even crazier.
5. 4:29 **sweet mellow downbeat skank, love song.
6. 4:26 **downbeat skank with beepy keyboards, Rasta admonishment about not abusing the environment.
7. 4:10 ***great riddim, midtempo with classic sound. Interesting lyrics…
8. 3:59 **bit of spoken braggadocio, then downtempo minimalist and slightly dubby skank, hyperspeed dancehall vocals. Quite nice.
9. 3:48 **mellow intro, rather uptempo riddim with percussion and piano, nice sound, mostly sung vocals.
10. 3:40 ***midtempo minimalist riddim with lots of hand percussion. Strong lyrics and delivery.
11. 4:00 midtempo snank, extolling everything about his sweetheart.
12. 4:20 *wild vocal intro, then a pretty midtempo bubble, Rasta blessing lyrics.
13. 3:56 *midtempo bubble, Rasta exhortation.
14. 4:08 ***downtempo bubble, mourning the effects of violence.