Customer Reviews

Drama King

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To say that reggae music and ESPECIALLY dancehall music is a vibe which takes a whole heap of different kind of people from a whole heap of different walks of life with a whole heap of different personalities would definitely be an understatement. Over the years we have seen some of the downright WEIRDEST individuals walking under the sun not only emerge in the dancehall, but subsequently thrive as well. Names like General Echo, whose fascination with sex has made the late DJ one of the most infamous and revered cult-like heroes in all of reggae music; as well as, of course, the legendary King Yellowman, coming from one of the most UNUSUAL set of circumstances to become one of the TRUE and unarguable superstars in the relatively brief history of the dancehall. Still, amidst the many oddities that dwell in the dancehall today, and have over the past decade or so, undeniably, the oddest of them all (and the most fitting in this case) has been Elephant Man. Besides the name (which is fitting, the man actually does slightly resemble an elephant) of course, the 'Energy God' throughout his career has proven to be one of the craziest, wildest and yet most dedicated performers the genre has ever seen (and perhaps the extended musical world as well). Elephant Man is also to be commended, because it is in fathering this style (which I would say he borrowed portions of artists such as Tiger, Bounty Killer and Shabba Ranks) and in continuing to develop it, he has attracted endless fans to not only himself but to dancehall music as a whole as well. And, as I mentioned, the current scene is literally booming with not so usual artists, and for him to first and foremost distinguish himself on the personality, on the look and THEN on the musical scale is definitely something up and coming artists may want to look at. Even though I wouldn't rank the artist as one of my favourites, even I would have to admit, musically, if you want high vibed, big stepping and booming dancehall the first artist you need check would be Elephant Man (and not to mention the FACT that he may actually be one of the most gifted speed DJ's, (when he wants to use that style) the dancehall has ever seen). While many of the dancehall heads may protest the manor in which he has done it, Ele has done a great deal for the popularity of the dancehall and bringing back the `dance` in the face of SO MANY who seemingly are blindly bent on changing it to GUNHALL music. He has also shed the light on a few of his fellow dancehall anomalies.

One of those said anomalies is the young veteran Kiprich. For me personally, Kiprich's style of making music is one of the most unusual (yet unassuming) the dance has ever seen. While I would rate him even lower on my list of favourite artists than I would his good friend/mentor Elephant Man (speaking dancehall artists specifically I don't think either would make my top fifteen), Kiprich (when he really tries) has a style which can be downright addictive at times. To the international audiences not so keen on dancehall music, he is probably best remembered as the youth who called Elephant Man to the party in his spectacular Pon Di River video, but to those who have bothered to investigate a bit further, what they have found is one of the most unassumingly clever young artists currently in the dancehall. And while you'll virtually NEVER hear the name Kiprich mentioned alongside the current young stars up and coming such as Busy Signal, Aidonia, Mavado or even Assassin from a few years back, Kiprich's place in the dancehall, while a bit different from his young peers, is arguably, just as solid. What Kiprich does musically is take the hilarity and crazy vibes which encompass so many of Elephant Man's vibes and takes them down SEVERAL DOZEN notches and expresses them in songs which border on the verge of comic and just overall genius. The undoubted `knock' or critique for the young Kingston native, however, has always been consistency. For Elephant Man, being Elephant Man and all which it demands and provides has never been a problem (meaning he can seemingly write big crazy sounding dance tunes and melodies in his sleep); It takes Kiprich awhile (and a few just BAD tunes) to get going, for those able to sift through, however, the reward is so big. A pair of BIGTIME and very valuable entities which were able to sift through were Big Yard Music and VP Records. Shortly after signing with Big Yard (the flagship label for reggae superstar Shaggy) Kiprich would go on to release his ever so slightly overdue debut album, Outta Road in late 2005. The reason for the album was largely based on the fact that Kiprich had caught himself in one of his better times and produced a tune by the name of Telephone Ting which was one of the undeniably largest tunes of that year, also the tune's almost immediate followup, The Letter was nearly equally well received, giving the artist what is to date two of the biggest tunes of his career (there is no argument in the case of Telephone Ting, it is the biggest tune Kiprich has ever done) and at least slightly fulfilling on much of the potential Big Yard obviously saw in the artist. The circumstances surrounding Outta Road are seriously, again, very unusual as one (meaning ME) would never expect an artist such as Kiprich, almost being defined as much by his stretches of inconsistency as his vibes overall, to walk into such a golden opportunity. Kiprich, for his side, didn't disappoint. While I can't say I had high hopes for Outta Road, it definitely topped my expectations by leaps and bounds. Besides the expected The Letter and Telephone Ting (both of which appeared on the album) the album included local hits Gimme Back (a counteraction to Macka Diamond`s Teki Back) and the MASSIVE Baby Song over the now nearly legendary big time riddim, the Military. Now, sans VP, going Japanese as so many of his peers have and continue to do (most recent is Busy Signal) is Kiprich with his sophomore release, the entirely more Kiprich styled Drama King.

Drama King should almost be taken as a direct reflection or microcosm of Kiprich's entire style in just sixteen tracks: There are songs here which are just flat out un-listenable, but you just can't dash away the entire disc, as you will miss at least one piece of absolute BRILLIANCE. The album is for the majority comprised of older singles, in a very 1990 style of compiling dancehall albums. The fittingly titled Drama King (produced by Big Yard and Robert Livingston still) opens with what is seemingly a misstep (as is anything else which features Blacker) in Bosey Whine. However, consider yourself a FAR more focused and discerning listener than I if you can sit through Birch's (Christopher Birch who produces most of the actual music on Drama King just as he did on Outta Road) Madness riddim without moving in someway shape or form. The riddim makes the tune almost addictive, however, the shine of that would definitely go mostly to Birch's sick production skills! The song is interesting on a small other note: On Outta Road (which also had sixteen tracks) there was not one combination from an artist who had virtually made his name playing sidekick to Elephant Man and the now M.I.A. Predator, on Drama King, there are no less than five (more on that in a bit). Following Bosey Whine is the weird conceptualized and even weirder performed This is a Law. The song reminds me of (the wicked) Girls Alone from Assassin on the Dreamweaver riddim in the chorus (which includes an unaccredited singer), but This is a Law just never gets off the ground and never reaches further than just. . . Weird. It isn't until the closer of the opening of Drama King that we begin to see FLASHES at least of Kiprich's more clever style. Mi Little Katty completes the rather lethargic opening of the album and while I still wouldn't call it much more than an average track at all, it at least shows Kiprich with a flow representative of an artist of his stature and while he fails to say much of anything actually, it is a decent straight forward dancehall piece at the end of the day.

The real story for me on Drama King in the positive, however, is the VERY interesting combinations. The second on the album, Joe Grind, which features semi label mate and oft-collaborator, loud DJ Delishus. Delishus played the female leading role on both Telephone Ting and The Letter and the duo combine once again (obviously seeking to recapture the glory) on the HILARIOUS Joe Grind over a wicked relick of the Solomon Riddim. On the song Kiprich plays Delishus' other man as her main man is away from the island. After a session at her house, the sneaking lovers are interrupted by one of Delishus' OTHER men and the tune works in almost the exact same vibes as Telephone Ting and The Letter. Something maybe can be said for running the same vibes on too many tracks, but I'm not going to say it, I love the song! Another terribly interesting combination here is 40 & Over which finds `Kippo' again playing the other man, this time to long forgotten Lady Junie (+1 if you remember Lady Junie!) who shine throughout. Its somewhat of a How Stella Got Her Groove Back type of vibe and it works COMPLETELY. Lady Junie definitely has not lost a step over the years and now she's back and surprisingly voicing for Sizzla's Kalonji Records. The tune was a decent local hit and for the international audiences it should definitely be one of Drama King's big selling points. All that being said, while there remain two combinations (the other of which is the average Wi Nuh Inna Dem on the Lava riddim which features loud singing up and coming Wesley Diamond, but the two actually voiced the WICKED Gun Ting, which is no one to be found on the album but is a FAR better tune), one of them shines and shines so bright it is Drama King's biggest tune and biggest attraction. Joining Kiprich on the INSANITY that is Zebra & Tiger (aka The Tribute) is Lefside who also produced the tune with former partner Esco on the Drop Draws riddim. The tune is a direct take on the long standing rivalry between the two veteran dancehall artists and not only do Kiprich and Lefside PERFECTLY capture the voices of the two (which are seriously VERY similar) but use them to make one of the funniest dancehall tunes I have EVER heard. The tune also takes no twists and covers nearly EVERY base between the to, including Zebra's long incarceration for rape (he has since been released) and Tiger's near fatal motorbike accident. It is STRICTLY for the dancehall heads who will (and have) appreciate the tune on every level and it was a serious dancehall hit locally and there is no other official disc I know of that carries the tune, thus, it at least makes Drama King a possible check because of that one alone! The balance of Drama King (wish I could say I was surprised) for the most part is filled of substandard material which doesn't find the artist at his best (or anywhere near it usually) but he does score once of twice. Most notably is on Bun Fi Bun on Big Yard's I-Nine riddim which, again, attempts to ride the vibes of Telephone Ting. This one finds Kiprich taking his matey to a nice hotel. . . Only to find his real woman with her man leaving the very same hotel! The song never really gets to the heights of the big hits, however, it does have its hilarious moments and did do some damage locally. Lastly, I'll hesitatingly recommend On My Mind on the WICKED All Stars Riddim. The tune is the only real changeup on the album as it flows on the straight one drop and it finds Kiprich employing a straight SINGING style. I can't say its something I'd like to hear him attempt more, but for the lover's tune it works to somewhat of a degree.

Overall, know exactly what it is that you should be expecting from a Kiprich album and you really shouldn't have any problems with Drama King. Undoubtedly, his fans will quite enjoy the album and I would definitely say to newer fans to try this album as a far more accurate representation of what Kiprich is as an artist, both good and bad. The bad? Kiprich's `dedication' to his `perfecting' his inconsistency can get very tiring in not too long of a time. The good? WHEN HE IS AT HIS BEST, no other artist in the dancehall and definitely no younger artist can offer ANYTHING like what Kiprich brings to the table. His laid back clever and sometimes downright BRILLIANT vibes make him truly one of a kind.