Customer Reviews

Breaking Babylon Curse

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If everyday you could jump on a plane and jet to any remote corner of the planet, if you searched hard enough and dug deep enough, you would be almost certain to find a QUALITY reggae artist wherever you landed. And not only will that artist probably be of quality in terms of talent, but the reggae listening community in that area will hold him/her in just about as high esteem as and in that particular area (ESPECIALLY if you happen to go to a smaller area) they will be just as popular as the more worldwide well known reggae act. And, its to my experience that it doesn't even matter particularly if the artist has bust to a worldwide community (or if they EVER end up doing so). I have to say, however, that this phenomenon is generally ONLY true outside of the (spoiled) Caribbean, where as we seemingly don't hold up and comers in as high of regard as they do internationally, thus, you can pick almost ANY island and you'll notice that unless you PACK the show with local STARS, then you probably cannot attract a big crowd, unless you top the bill with a big Jamaican artist. Definitely as my tastes grow further and further, as well as my attentions I'm finding this to be particularly true all over the world. Check the UK. I didn't know it until recently that, although we tend to look at the UK reggae scene as Jamaica circa 1975 (meaning just a few big names and A TON of lesser known lights), said big names such as Lloyd Brown, Peter Spence and Peter Hunnigale (I know more than one UK reggae head who refer to Hunnigale as the greatest voice reggae music has EVER had period) are so highly regarded and LOVED amongst their ever faithful group of fans. And while definitely I know of these names and (at least some of) their work, I can't honestly remember I've heard ANY UK reggae artist with the possible exception of Maxi Priest on any Caribbean reggae station at all. Similar would be the case of other European based artists like Ziggi from out of the Netherlands, German group Seeed and ESPECIALLY (German) Gentleman and Alborosie from out get HUGE respect and spins in the land of their birth, regardless of the fact that most European places (except the UK due to a large Caribbean population) aren't typically regarded as traditional havens for reggae music. You could definitely say the same for Africa as well where artists like Tiken Jah Fakoly and the late and great Lucky Dube have the ability to sale out STADIUMS singing reggae music and you could go onto Australia, Japan and the whole of Asia as well, which I'm now learning carries a similar status with their reggae artists as well. Really and truly reggae music is of course going global, but its also strengthening itself LOCALLY as well, regardless of wherever `local' happens to be.

Another VERY vast resource for solid reggae artists and support for those artists is, of course in the States. I myself lived in the country for quite awhile (nearly a decade) and despite the fact that the area where I lived (in the Midwest) was almost BARREN of reggae talent, the few artists I encountered were opening for the big artists on all of the big shows and not just wasting time, but keeping the crowd excited. And while you're very unlikely to find many solid reggae artists in my old stomping ground (big up Mellowman), should you find yourself in America and looking for top notch reggae talent, two places you can head to would DEFINITELY be California and Georgia. Incidentally California and Georgia are the two states which, in effect, brings us the artist in question here, Messenjah Selah. Messenjah Selah has about as PERFECT of a background for building a reggae artist who happens to move about a bit as he was born in Jamaica, moved and spent quite a bit of time in the Virgin Islands and when leaving the Caribbean altogether, landed first in Atlanta, Georgia and then in California where his name has become one of THE MOST popular you'll see brimming on the US reggae scene altogether. I routinely get mixtapes from the west coast and there'll be a Messenjah Selah tune somewhere on the piece, if he, himself, isn't hosting the disc altogether (which I've noticed he tends to do quite often). Seriously, you really won't find too many reggae artists based outside of the Caribbean who aren't elders and who aren't bonafide superstars in the game already (like Gentleman) whose fans carry as much `quiet respect' for them and their skills as Messenjah Selah. Thus, releasing his new album, Breaking Babylon Curse for both Zion High and Lustre Kings Productions is kind of a big deal. Breaking Babylon Curse (to my knowledge) becomes Selah's second album to date after the SOLID release, Whosoever Will which featured Selah alongside some of the genre's best and most popular talents, particularly Sizzla Kalonji (wicked wicked tune name Joy) and Luciano. Unfortunately, Whosoever Will was released nearly seven years ago back in 2002 on (I think now defunct) NDISI label. It was an album which took awhile to grow on me; after an initial spin through during which I deemed it (and Messenjah Selah for that matter) to be SOLID but UNSPECTACULAR. However, there was a stretch of six months or so about a year after getting the album where it ranked as one of the most played in my own players as it grew on me IMMENSLEY at that time. Therefore, personally I was quite looking forward to Breaking Babylon Curse (and even more so after first seeing the tracklist). Over the past few years Selah has occupied his time being one of the most active US based reggae artists on the performing side and voicing with several big name artists including the aforementioned Luciano (on the tune called I Will Survive which was a decent hit for the original Messenjah and appeared on his own album Serve Jah from 2003) and Batch. Now, striking out on his own with a VERY nice slew of guests in tow on Breaking Babylon Curse and Selah delivers yet another very nice piece after a bit too long away from the album scene.

In terms of style I would probably say that the artist Messenjah Selah most resembles is probably someone like Ras Attitude where its almost like he, at times, seems conflicted as to what he should do, sing or DJ, but he does both very well (actually he DJ's better than Attitude by comparison, but when Attitude sings, he COMPLETELY changes the game, one of the most complete artists in the business is the Cruzan chanter) (and he looks, does Selah A LOT like (ST. ANNZ!) Jamaican chanter Perfect, especially on the album cover) and his biggest talent, like Attitude`s mentor would definitely be his LYRICAL abilities. Getting things started out on his Breaking Babylon Curse is one of the project's finest efforts altogether, the very nice and familiar to me personally, She Ask Me (Seh). The tune seemingly finds Selah in a discussion with a new lady in his life who has questions about Rastafari and Selah's path in life and she isn't quite certain of what her entering that life may change in her own. Selah WONDERFULLY explains to her that in reality it isn't about all the small things but the big one in itself; walking in the presence and the love of His Imperial Majesty. BEAUTIFULLY done and I and I'm sure many around the world can definitely relate. Strong opener there. Up next is the album's first official combination alongside another US based artist, Jah Dan from Noble Society (who I seem to run into a lot these days) on Humble. Humble sounds like something (in terms of pacing and pacing ONLY) that you might find buried on a Midnite album somewhere. I'm still kind of on the fence about what I think of Humble: I like the tune, its absolutely lovely, but I think it may be even BETTER than that, it could seriously be one of the best tunes on BBC, but it just hasn't grown on me to that extent yet. Nevertheless, big tune. Completing the opening for Messenjah Selah's sophomore album Breaking Babylon Curse is another solid piece in Take A Minute. This tune is another strong piece with a strong message; as Selah urges the masses to, "Take a minute to give Jah the praise for the things he's done for you, for the things he's brought you through!". Indeed. Nice start here.

As I mentioned, while Selah doesn't tap many guests on BBC, the ones he does are very impressive and they work out well. After Jah Dan, stepping in is SHOCKINGLY Trini reggae STAR Queen Omega on Keep Africa On Your Mind, a very big tine . I don't recall hearing the Queen on any Lustre Kings or Zion High projects before here and she is definitely a welcome addition here. Honestly she does outshine Selah when she does jump in fully, but the tune as a whole is a MIGHTY vibes living in on exactly what the title starts. Lutan Fyah's joining the album certainly isn't a surprise at all, but the circumstances are. False Religion reigns as the strongest tune on BBC altogether to my ears (I'm partial to Lutan Fyah tunes admittedly), thanks, in part, to the fact that the tune flows WONDERFULLY over the nearly legendary Hard Times riddim! When the unforgettable stringing began the tune my ears literally jumped up and the two deliver a might message that the false `religions' are diluting righteousness as a whole in the earth. BIG BIG TUNE! Selah shows just how mighty his pen is when left to his own creations as there are some downright BRILLIANT vibes on BBC. One which really caught my attention was the simple sounding Dirty House. Selah uses the `house' as the metaphor for the body and the soul and delivers a wonderful message to not only clean up oneself physically and mentally, but the acts that you do as well. You also HAVE to check African Bless! This tune is seriously one of the best tunes on the album and had it reached the Whoseover Will album it would have been the best tune, period, on that album. The tune simply warns us not to lose the recollection of what we (people of Afrikan descent) have been through and not to lose sight of it. As Selah wonderfully says, "Children of the Melanin stop practice the slave master teaching, or you're going to get a beating!". it's a DEEP DEEP track and just has a very polished feel to it as well. Unseen Corruption is a tune which steps up the pace a bit, but, again, hits its mark in terms of message. Going way back towards the beginning, Selah also scores three tunes in succession with Children Bring Me Joy, Woman Of Purpose and Focus. The HEAVY Focus is the best of the three which urges the masses to strip away all the way to the nonsense to really become stronger (the first verse on the tune is MASSIVE!). Woman Of Purpose follows in the same vein as a tune, Woman Of The Most High from the Whosoever Will album. While it isn't the strongest such a tune (the lover's tune portion may be an avenue where Selah could improve his skills), its still very well done to my ears. And the jovial Children Bring Me Joy is follows in the vibes of a tune like Lutan Fyah's Save The Juvenile where it finds Selah trying to set the stage of the world for the leaders of tomorrow. The tune Two Face has a VERY Virgin Islands reggae sound to it (could have been a Bambu Station or even a Tuff Lion tune in terms of sound alone) and it proves to be one of BBC's finest tune's overall definitely. As the album winds down, you STILL have some very strong material (loving these eighteen track albums!). Check Their Story which, much in the same light as African Bless, reminds children of Afrikan descent not to forget where WE come form and not accept someone else's teachings or `story' as our own. Israel Betta Know is a tune which, based on title alone, I was looking forward to hearing and, although it isn't the strongest of tunes here, it made my ears jump because it flows over a version of the same riddim which backed one of my favourite Lutan Fyah tunes, Don't Waste Your Time (alongside Yami Bolo!), on an old Lustre Kings vibes. While Selah doesn't reach those levels just quite he does do a nice job with Israel Betta Know, definitely. I was looking for something to maybe change up the vibes on BBC (like a dancehall tune or such) and while such a track doesn't directly come, Babylon Fi Get Burn Up is about as close as it gets. The tune features a HEAVY and CRAWLING riddim backing a more than slightly agitated Messenjah Selah. And to its strength, its pretty much a stereotypical sounding tune (I would guess that he literally wrote it in a few minutes or so, it almost sounds like a freestyle) but it is still VERY good! Babylon and all their wickedness DEFINITELY get burn up! Sufferation is the almost obligatory acoustic track at first, but it soon develops into a WONDERFUL track (flowing over what sounds like a relicked version of the Drum Song riddim (Sizzla's Mek Dem Secure)). Selah adopts a delivery which sounds A LOT like Chuck Fenda and that's no critique at all. Sufferation is a big tune, the final big tune of the album The tune which actually closes Messenjah Selah's Breaking Babylon Curse, You Deserve is actually the obligatory acoustic track and my least favourite tune on the album. It does carry a great message, but its kind of corny sounding to be honest. Nevertheless the lion's share of the seventeen tracks which proceed it more than make up for its presence.

Overall, I have to say that in the (VERY) brief time that I've had Breaking Babylon Curse, it has grown on me considerably. About a week ago (when I got it), after my first listen through, I had labeled it things adjectives like `boring' and `average', but definitely not now. Oddly enough, the same could be said, on a far greater scale, for the two previous Zion High which I bought, Ras Attitude's Holding Firm (which I almost despised for a couple of YEARS before I finally started to hear its REAL quality) and Yami Bolo's Rebelution (which sat unopened in a shoebox for more than a year before I even spun through it once and is now and has been for more than two years amongst my most favourite current albums). And just like those two albums, I'm recommending Messenjah Selah's Breaking Babylon Curse for the more MATURE reggae listener. Its sound would definitely appeal to you far more and its nearly GOLD. It is also released virtually simultaneously with the far more celebrated Know The Road by Norris Man from Lustre Kings, but it's a better album than that one definitely. The next time you, reggae head, find yourself on some remote trip somewhere, definitely take a quick listen to the local reggae scene. If you find anyone like Messenjah Selah, with any skill like Breaking Babylon Curse, you may just find ANOTHER gem, like this one.