Search - Various Artists :: Red Star Sounds Presents Def Jamaica

Surprisingly Decent.. .. ..

Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 10/15/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There's some real garbage on this album. Sweetness by Buju Banton and Cam'Ron, on which I'd bet my left arm to a bucket of spit that Buju to this day has yet to hear his songmate's opening verse, Girls Callin' with Ghostface and Elephant Man and the OVERLOADED Reggae Remix of 112's Na Na Na Na isn't anything to write home about either.
That being said there is some really good material here as well. The first single Anything Goes along with the video is an impressive tune with a video giving a fairly accurate representation of life in Jamaica, the well done Together with Black Ice and DYCR is also very good. Murda sounds pretty much like an average base for a TOK track but it goes above and beyond what they normally do thanks to their unique pairing with Nokio and Scarface; Damian Marley flat out destroys the riddim on Lyrical .44 with brother Stephen and the men Red and Method. Also love the strange combo Dave Kelly style with Shwanna(?) and Baby Cham and Sisqo on the hooks. All that being said my favorite 2 tracks on the album are Mardi Gras with Tanto Metro & Devonte and Joe Budden(?) and of course the current #1 tune in Jamaica Dude with Beenie Man and Ms Thing remixed with again the impressive Shawnna.
This album probably served me differently than most people, dancehall comprises a huge percentage of what I listen to, thus I wasn't really familiar with some of the hip-hop artists on the album (i.e. Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, Cam'Ron, Ghostface Shawnna and others) but i was fairly impressed by some of them (Shawnna especially).
Overall, it was much better than what I expected. I expected a few MC's to put on accents and play DJ (and there is definitely some of that going on here, but not too much). For hip-hop fans I would definitely encourage checking this one out as it serves to show (in part) where dancehall music inside of Jamaica is today and not just what you've been exposed to before, and you would be wise to check the future releases of such artists as Vybz Kartel, Baby Cham and TOK. For dancehall fans, I can't imagine that you wouldn't be the least bit curious about what's going on here, and its not bad at all, check it out one and all."

A Classic

R. Awoseyin | Cleveland, Ohio USA | 04/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Never have I enjoyed the fusion of hip-Hop and Reggae since the Bob Marley Chatn Down Babylon album. A must get for both hip-hop and Dancehall fans. Though it must be said that the dancehall DJ's talents outshine most of the hip-hop artists. Top peformers in the hip-hop side are: Method Man, Redman, Scarface, DMX and Joe Budden. The others should really not have been there. There are alot better talents than them available. The best performace however, goes to Damian "Jr Gong" Marley, Method Man and Redman on Lyrical .44. This is by far the best track on the CD. Other highlights include:
Dude (The Remix)
Mardi Gras
Anything Goes
Top Shotta
Murdabut all tracks are good."

Bad ass CD

juddjs | Vt | 01/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best dancehall/hip-hop cd I have ever heard. If you like dancehall you will love this cd. The beats are as always with dancehall inventive and energetic, and when mixed with a cast of all-star rappers you get a cd that simply can not be beat. "Anything Goes" is a anthem!!! The song is just amazing, with CNN, wayne wonder, and lexxus. Over all one of the best cd I own. You can put it in and listen to the whole cd without having to get up to switch the song. With guys like DMX, CNN, Ghostface Killa, Cam ron, Method Man and Redman, also dancehall icons such as Tanto Metro & Devonte, Elephant Man, Beenie Man, Mr. Vegas, Lexxus, even Lady Saw drops in. You can't go wrong!!! Buy this CD"