Search - Various Artists :: Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems 2007

I Need the Second Disc!. . . Don't I?. . .

Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 10/30/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As it finally reaches its conclusion, 2007 has been quite an unusual and an unusually strong year for dancehall music. despite the fact that the music didn't produce another huge international smash tune such as 2006's Ghetto Story by Baby Cham, the vibes were highlighted by some seriously top notch performances from some of the usual cast of characters and just a few new faces as well. Outside of the studio, dancehall has been just as insane as ever and perhaps even more so. There have also been several `graduations' of sorts with artists such as Mavado and Munga Honourable definitively reaching stages in their careers where denying them as part of dancehall's elite is no longer feasible. For their part, dancehall legends and sworn enemies Beenie Man and Bounty Killer continued their decade+ long feud taking it to an even higher level by involving a woman, D'Angel, Beenie Man's estranged wife and Bounty's ex-girlfriend (as if both of them just being themselves wasn't enough of a reason for them to argue as it has been for the last thirteen years). Busy Signal and Aidonia welcomed a whole heap of others as THE young DJ's worth talking about as names like Bramma di Bomber, Erup, Bugle and Chino pushed their own status up several notch with a few quality releases from all (the best of which definitely proving to be Bramma, definitely keep an eye on the Kingston native) this year. Those of us who still pay attention to albums (all ten of us) had a nice bit of releases to pick through from several truly big names. Most importantly was Walk Out, which saw Dancehall Empress Lady Saw releasing one of the strongest projects of her entire career. It was also a return of sorts from Red Square members Spragga Benz and Assassin, both of whom released top notch dancehall albums with Live Good and Gully Sit'n, respectively. Wayne Wonder also returned with his followup to No Holding Back, the very solid Foreva, as did dancehall veteran songbird Nadine Sutherland with the lovely Call My Name. 2007 could also be seen as the year of debuts as well with several big named talents seeing the releases of their official debuts in `07. Bermy upstart Collie Buddz' self title effort reached with expectedly mixed reviews but ultimately proved to be a successful venture. Dancehall princesses Ce'cile and Alaine both released their official debuts in Japan as well; Ce'cile's looooooong overdue Bad Gyal was a bit too similar to its official mixtape (and if you haven`t heard that mixtape, then by all means track down Bad Gyal the album); while Alaine continued to impress, as expected, with her Sacrifice (my personal choice for best dancehall debut of the year). The biggest debut of 2007, however, undoubtedly belonged to singer Mavado, who in June released his very respectable Gangsta For Life: The Symphony of David Brooks. While 2007for dancehall outside of the studio has been nothing short of insanity; what has been taking place inside of the studios of Jamaica (and a few other places as well), there can be no denying the great output.



Thus, I was very much so looking forward to Greensleeves' annual take on the state of dancehall with it's `The Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems of 2007' album. This album, checking in at forty tracks (usually) offers something even for the most attentive of dancehall fans that you may have overlooked during the previous year. For the newer fans or the fans who haven`t been paying as much attention, the album can be downright divine, as at it's best, it offers tunes from so many well known artists that it virtually has no competitor on the shelves. Well, that was USUALLY. This year, like most things at Greensleeves Records, things have changed and gone are my beloved forty tracks of dancehall on two discs (which is actually not a big problem if the single disc steps up the quality level) and replaced with one eighteen track disc and one DVD. This comes as absolutely no surprise as just a few weeks ago, the roots equivalent, The Biggest Reggae One-Drop Anthems 2007, did exactly the same thing after 2 two very fruitful years, just as the Ragga series, offering forty tracks over two discs. This, the 2007 installment of the Ragga Anthems album, the ninth in the series which began in 1999, is nothing really different than any other single disc the series has ever offered (in terms of the actual music), but it is indeed a standout. Without a doubt capitalizing on the seriously high level of vibes this year in the dancehall, the album, although trimmed back, definitely serves its purpose. I'm STILL confused as to why the switch, without a doubt cutting back on the number of tracks makes it easier (and cheaper) for the label to produce in not having to spend the time selecting tracks and not having to spend the money in acquiring them (although, previously that as easier as Greensleeves had a reputation for locking down producers and their publishing rights for the ridiculous amount of riddim and other various compilations they released during the year, and maybe I just answered my own question) would certainly seem easier. But the attention paid to this album annually, particularly amongst the hardcore dancehall heads was like no other, forty tracks on one album for one album' price, you just can't get better than that, and I'm hoping maybe they'll switch back instead of placing a DVD alongside a single disc (albeit admittedly a very solid single disc). Perhaps maybe even offer the DVD alongside the two discs as I will admit that placing a face on some of these artists for newer fans is probably a pretty good idea, particularly when they may be seeing the artists again with full length releases from the same label. Whichever the case, the Ragga Anthems album continues to be amongst the very few reggae/dancehall compilations amongst the dozens that I actually look forward to through every passing year.



A very interesting style of dancehall has arisen over the past couple of years within the constantly ever-progressing (or retrogressing depending on who you ask) style of lethally violent brand of dancehall. This style of vibes has been more and more conscious and has been highlighted by such songs as the aforementioned Baby Cham's Ghetto Story and Emergency, shockingly by Vybz Kartel. The Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems 2007 makes excellent usage of some of these songs, including the fantastic opener These Are the Days from (ST. ANN'S NATIVE!) Busy Signal. Produced by the Daseca camp, These Are the Days has much more of a hip-hop style vibes and really doesn't lend itself too much to the dancehall at all (outside of the artists of course), but the tune is pure brilliance and absolutely ruled the island for a strong few weeks stretch earlier this year. This (to my knowledge) is the first official disc on which the song appears and definitely is a very nice score for Greensleeves, These Are the Days is MASSIVE! Nearly equally vital over another Daseca production is young Coorevile native DJ Bugle with his truly outstanding What I'm Gonna Do? Again, not necessarily on a pure dancehall vibes is the track, but you'll definitely love the track nevertheless with the epic lines, "Exercise everyday and I'm still not fit, my kids are hungry and I ain't got s**t". The tune is a very nice and poignant vibes and between it and These Are the Days, Greensleeves definitely throws the listener a giant sized curveball to start off this album which traditionally sets out to beat the listener about the head with hype from the beginning of track one, until the end of track forty. Very nice changeup! Another tune along similar lines is Beenie Man's hit Product of the Ghetto on Firelinks' Airwaves riddim. The `Doctor' truly had a strange year outside of the vibes in 2007, but one could argue he had arguably his most consistent year in recent memory, scoring big Jamaican hits at nearly every corner of the year and his name is on the lips of most now coming to `Artist of the Year' consideration for 2007. Product of the Ghetto is another conscious push on the album and one of the best it has to offer (and again, to my knowledge, this is the first time the tune has appeared o official cd, and the same can be said for What I`m Gonna Do? as well).



OF COURSE, however, this is still The Biggest RAGGA DANCEHALL Anthems album and you can expect standard fare for the series within the balance of the rest of the fifteen tracks (with perhaps one notable exception). Check no farther than Mr. Vegas' big hit Tek Weh Yuhself over Kirkledove's Dutch Pot riddim. The song took awhile to grow on me, but in typical Vegas fashion (and over the past few years alone, there has been no more dependable ace with the dance track than Mr. Vegas) he again rules it with the nice and not stupid sounding dancing track and its very addictive. Speaking of addictive, check Ward 21 chiming in on their production with the Rae Riddim which is probably one of the favourites for dancehall riddim of the year for 2007, for Timberlee's crazy Bubble Like Soup. Bubble Like Soup finds Timberlee absolutely destroying the riddim with a strange almost robot-like flow pattern and a ridiculously impressive stream of lyrics. The song absolutely dominated Jamaican airwaves this entire past summer and made Timberlee one of the artists to keep and eye on. If you've never heard it, guess what! This is only the second official album which contains the track (and this one will undoubtedly be MUCH easier to find than the Rae Riddim Album), and trust, if you love modern dancehall, then the craziness which is Bubble Like Soup will bring you many nice times. Also checking in here, kind of surprising on another certified hit is Anthony B on a Mario C (Beenie Man's in house producer) production with former JA#1 Tease Her. I like Anthony B staying in the cultural vibes, but if the result of experimentation and just having a good time is stuff like Tease Her, I can more than live with it! Definitely check that out and expecting another nice album from Anthony B early 2008. Beenie Man is one of three artists here playing double duty (with Busy and Munga) and he steals the show. On top of Product of the Ghetto is the WICKED MASSIVE Back it Up, another Mario C. production. Back It Up is my choice for the album's second best offering overall and definitely pure mad modern dancehall and you will love it. Beenie's other offering is a combination with new artist Barbee, Give It Up, over Mario C.'s Revenge Riddim. The song is a bit more laid back but a very very nice vibes indeed and typical of what you're used to hearing from Beenie at top form. Munga Honourable also forges his own way as his three tracks are definite standouts on the album. The best of which is definitely the high powered Mi Nah Fraid over Vendetta's brilliant Artillery riddim. His other offerings; Own Ting over Vendetta's Bluetooth riddim and Earthquake over the Raging Bull riddim for the same producer (of course) don't dip the vibes too much none at all and even though I'm calling Beenie the real star of the album, real close on his heels is definitely Munga and definitely looking for his debut in 2008.



All that being said however, the best piece of music you'll hear on The Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems 2007 album is Wha Dem Feel Like by Baby Cham. Coming over the Overdrive riddim by the brilliant dancehall legend Dave Kelly, Wha Dem Feel Like is every bit the tune that Ghetto Story was and maybe even more. Definitely worth the price of admissions alone and its Baby Cham at his absolute best (now, if they could've scored Conscience, it would have been a 5stars from me, easy) coming off of a 2007 which was completely unexpected as the relatively inactive Cham hasn't strung together two successful years in quite awhile.



And I have to mention Crazy Talk by Buju over Black Shadow's ODD Bad Dog riddim, definitely worth dozens and dozens of spins.



Overall, I wouldn't mind so much the missing disc if the quality was stepped on a single disc, AND IT WAS. This single disc undoubtedly is one of the, if THE best single disc this series has ever produced and much like I wrote a few weeks back on the One-Drop album, I'm definitely impressed by Greensleeves again. I can rather easily recommend this one for just about all fans of the music, newer fans, again you'll love this one (and you'll love last year's and the year before that too), but the older fans, definitely you probably don't have all of these tunes on a disc or on such a single accessible form in their entirety. Even though its been trimmed this year, definitely The Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems is the STILL most anticipated dancehall compilation of the year."