Search - Mr Vegas :: Damn Right

Dancehall don Mr. Vegas pile-drives the sophomore-jinx mantra on its head with his 21-cut, deep follow-up to 1998's smash Heads High. Arguably one of the hottest dancehall artists out of Jamaica right now (alongside Baby Cham and CeCile), Vegas and other artists like Beenie Man have raised the bar by demonstrating just how far dancehall can cross over into the mainstream (Vegas recorded the hit "Nike Air" over the same Jeremy Harding "playground" riddim made famous by Beenie Man on "Who Am I"). So not surprisingly, all of the elements of a classic commercial album are there: catchy call-and-response hooks ("Damn Right"), classy lovers rock-ish ballads ("Rise," "Where I Wanna Be"), and hyper jump-up tunes for the clubs ("Go Up"). While Damn Right's first single ("How About That") is no "Heads High," Vegas's unique "singjay" style (a cross between singing and toasting) shines on tracks where it seems like he's chatting aggressive rude bwoy lyrics to appease the dancehall hard-rocks, when in actuality he's verbally attacking societal problems. The anti-cocaine cut, "Kokane," stands out from the pack, as does the pro-safe sex anthem "Duppy Durex," where Vegas professes his love for cheap, casual sex but raps "mi nah ride without mi Durex (condom)". In a similar vein, on "She's a Ho," Vegas implores his fans to "put a rubber pon yu willy (penis)." The only real weak spots found on the album come when he follows the inescapable dancehall trend of recording lame interpolations of songs that don't fit his style (the laughable "I Love Dancehall" is sung to the tune of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll"--enough said). In the end, the inclusion of the dated yet wicked "Hot Gal Today" track sung with his partner-in-rhyme, Sean Paul, more than makes up for these shortcomings. --Dalton Higgins