Search - Cham :: Ghetto Story

The 'Return'!

Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 08/15/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You can pretty much bet on the fact that every couple of years or so the 'young veteran' Baby Cham will disappear for awhile only to resurface over some top notch riddim that will probably go #1. Thus, despite still being rather new in terms of the number of tunes he's recorded, he's had more comebacks at this point in his career than Mike Tyson.



There are several artists (particularly in dancehall) who do this and there constant returns are not met with as much fanfare as Cham's. That's probably because Cham is armed with probably the most dominant and influential d'hall producers of all time in Dave Kelly as his producer and his mentor. When the 2 hookup, the results can be downright outstanding, and Kelly has, for years, been promising that Cham would someday crossover.



Meet 'crossover' which comes in the form of a modern dancehall classic over an old sounding riddim which has become one of the biggest of all time. The 85 riddim has revolutionized Baby Cham's career and the #1 Ghetto Story over it is why. The song hit soooooooo huge that, while signed to a major off of the strength of his previous hit Vitamin S, also here, Ghetto Strength made it mandatory that his album be released and no longer relegated to 'coming soon' status, and coming off the heels of the boomshot that Welcome to Jamrock by Jr Gong, the not too disimilar vibe that is Ghetto Story found a huge audience overseas in the states.



The album is fairly typical Baby Cham however, and ultimately that is what will be the main point here. Luckily all the talent at Madhouse doesn't belong to Kelly and the dj himself has a flow to match some of the best in the business. The best song here is without a doubt Ghetto Story, the addictive 85 riddim will keep that one in dj booths for decades probably. But you also have to definitely check the awesome second single (in JA) Dont Test Me. The song is pure Cham at his finest, the half rock-stone dj style, half mumble is the same style which brought him to fame on such tunes as Boom Tune, Gallang Yah Gal and Man & Man. Done over a fiesta riddim sounding vibe, the song works on sooooooo many levels.



I, as a fan, was also happy that they included previous hits Vitamin S (which would have been the main selling point on this had it come out when originally scheduled) over the fiest riddim and the now 3 year old Bun Bad Mind, still as hot as the day it was released, never get tired of that one (WOULD HAVE LOOOOOOVED TO SEE THE RETURN this one however).



Also check Boom Boom, a combination with Bajan star Rihanna which i was sure I wouldn't like but has grown on me completely; the ultra creative Cham in typical dancehall bragadocious stylee; and one of my favorites here, Love it Like That. That song took a couple of rotations to grow on me, however, now that I have it gets at least 5 spins before I flip to another track! Love It Like That is typical gyal tune (with a female singer, credited as Triniti) but its over that simplistic Madhouse production and it works! And I definitely reccomend what is credited as the sequel to Ghetto Story, Rudebwoy Pledge which sounds rather odd with its 45 second intro, however when it gets going its nearly as impressive as its predecessor.



What's bad here? Well the sog Fat Punanny is about as close to hip hop as this one gets and its pretty bad. But besides just the one tune, oddly enough Ghetto Story seems bent on making the listener tired of Ghetto Story. The song appears in 3 different renditions, all backed by the 85 riddim, trading no featured artist for first Alicia Keys and then Akon, and if that isn't enough Ghetto Story for you, then there's also the video! So i'd reccomend that you REALLY like the tune before you check this one out.



Overall, the concern with crossover albums like these when it comes to reggae, for the reggae listener, is exactly how much crossover material will there be? There is virtually none here and this one will satisfy the dancehall heads out there (like me). The fan who picks it up because they really liked the first single, never fear! There is more than enough Ghetto Story to go around here. Make sure you take it all in though, after it dies down, Baby Cham and Dave Kelly will soon retreat again to the batcave to begin working on the next masterpiece.



"

Authentic Dancehall Reggae Album

Dorrie Wheeler | 08/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"
Chances are you have heard the song "Ghetto Story," by Cham featuring Alicia Keys on the radio this summer. Well Cham (the artist formerly known as Baby Cham), has released his latest CD titled Ghetto Story. The 17 track album was produced by David Kelly. If you pop in the CD, you will soon hear the music and lyrics of the song "Ghetto Story," without Alicia Keys. It seems kind of strange that the lesser known version of the song is featured as the first song, but fear not the Alicia Keys version of "Ghetto Story," which is titled "Ghetto Story Chapter 2," is track #15 on the album.



Cham is a true reggae/dancehall artist. On Ghetto Story he doesn't try to be something that he isn't. He delivers true reggae music on this album. His well known song "Vitamin S," is featured on Ghetto Story as well as the popular song "Boom Boom," featuring Rihanna. Other stand-up tracks on the CD include "Bad Boys," featuring Tia Jean and "Girl," featuring Jimmy Cheazetrix.



Cham's latest CD is a solid effort. It has a very authentic reggae/dancehall sound to it, so he will probably have to team up with mainstream artists to get heavy airplay in the U.S. He's off to a great start though.



The CD features two bonus tracks. A third version of "Ghetto Story," featuring Akon and a song titled "Bad Mind."

"

Stick with Sizzla and Capleton....

Smooth0707 | CT | 02/08/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not totally sure what to think of this album, but one thing is for sure, I definitely do not like it. As far as the dancehall genre is concerned, this album falls far short. There are no tracks on this album that actually makes you want to dance. To get a true taste of Dancehall reggae, stick with "Reign of Fire" or "Black Woman and Child."



If I were to judge this album on its own merit, I would give it a 3/5 stars, but I do think that is being a bit generous. I suppose the album is worth checking out, Cham has a unique sound, but its nothing i'd go nuts over"