Customer Reviews

Red Star Sounds Presents Def Jamaica

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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
Murda

but all tracks are good.

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.

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

Being from the UK, the dancehall/hiphop mix format of the CD aint really a new concept as much of our own hiphop is strongly influenced by reggae/dancehall. However the best ting bout the CD is that it brings some of Jamaica's hottest talent to the mainstream through hiphop without losing the identity of each artist. Until now it seems that only Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder and Beenie Man have had mainstream success outside of the Caribbean. The CD manages to combine hiphop and dancehall, but the dancehall artists are doin their ting without trying to sound american. My personal favourites are 'Sweetness' although Cam'ron adds nothing to the song, Buju could have done fine on his own. I would say 'Dude' if i wasn't already sick of hearing the original on radio every 10 minutes. 'Love is on my mind' is a nice song, smooth vocals from Sisqo and heavy raps from Shawna and Baby Cham, 'Anything Goes' is probably the best on the CD with a wicked beat and nice video to go with it. But i gotta give a big up to the song 'true to me' featuring Blak Twang, one of the UK's most successful hiphop artists, gwaan! Anyone that likes his flow should check out his CD Kik off which also has strong influence from yard

This CD is the Bomb!!! It is the perfect mix of hip-hop and Reggae. All who love reggae and hip-hop should cop this, plus some of the proceeds go to charity.

Def jamacia comes out on the rise of reggae being one of the main new sounds again in the music world. Sean paul helping to push the envelope with reggae into mainstream all hleped in building this cd. This isnt another hip/reggae cd that was just thrown together.....it really flows together (rhyme/ beats). Everyone gets to be themself on each track with no one artist compromising thier(Trying to have and accent or vice versa)persona. Overall it turned out to be a really hot cd. Whats good?

*Anything Goes -- One of the hottest tracks on the cd with wayne Wonder

*Mardi Gras (remix)
*Na NA NA NA (Remix)
*Murda
*Girls callin
*Love is on my mind
*Dude(Remix)
*Top Shotta -- Previously released on the Belly Soundtrack but still very good track.

These are the hot tracks to keep on repeat. The only way to find out is.....Get it!

For those of you who enjoy very harsh "raggae" sounds with average beats and harsh, coarse vocals, this CD is for you. For those enjoy a more intelligent beat with smoother flowing vocals, stick to the individual artists you enjoy (i.e. Damian Marley.) The only good thing this CD has to offer is the variety of artists on it, but the names are all you get. Music on this CD in general was simply not what I was looking for, but maybe perfect for someone else.

People who think hiphop is better than dancehall music might change their minds after hearing this album. I'd probably call it a tie. Dancehall was craving this kind of exposure for a long time...now they got it. Hiphop probably even took page from the book of Dancehall. In any event, the artists on all tracks simply made "Def Jamaica" one of the best dancehall reggae/hiphop crossover compilations ever produced. With all the tracks being above par and over half the tracks on the album being clear standouts, this album must be one of the best.

Standout Tracks:

- Anything Goes (Capone-N-NORE , Wayne Wonder, & Lexxus)
One of the best dancehall tracks ever made! Everyone knows what CNN & Wayne Wonder can do. When it comes to "riding the riddim" Wayne & especially Lexxus (dancehall artist) simply ripped up the track.

- Na Na Na Na (remix) (112, Spragga Benz, Lady Saw, Jr. Gong)
Club banger! 112, & all the artists were sharp on this one.

- Lyrical .44 (Method Man, Redman, Jr.Gong)
Nice collabo with Method & Red. Jr Gong can scorch any track he touches.

- Murda (TOK, Nokio from dru hill, Scarface)
Remixed version of TOK's original. Bad @$$ tune.

- Nah Mean (X-Ecutioners & Delano/Renaissance)
Crazy Mixing.

- Dude (Remix) (Beenie Man, Ms Ting & Shawnna)
Classic Dancehall Track. Who knew Shawnna can "ride the riddim" too? Her flow was INSANE.

- Top Shotta (DMX, Sean Paul, Mr. Vegas)
Originally from the Belly Soundtrack. This song will NEVER get old. The Baseline beat is sick!

We need more albums like this.

This CD is truly the best collaboration album that I've ever heard. The mixing of dancehall and the southern style rap of Def Jam artists is astounding. Being a huge fan of TOK, I would definitely say that track 8 is the best. If you're a fan of either rap or dancehall, it's definitely worth it to pick this one up.

Ever since Spragga Benz created the concept of "Ragga" a mix of hardcore Rap music and soft Reggae tunes it's been a pretty quiet thing. But in mid 2002 when Sean Paul grasped people's attention with "Gimme The Light" Ragga has become more popular then ever. Def Jamaica, another Def Jam Recordings masterpiece remains probably the best overall Ragga CD I've heard for a while. Artists like Elephant Man, Wayne Wonder and yes Sean Paul are among the Ragga talents on this album featuring hip-hop favourite's like Cam'Ron, CNN, Method Man, Redman and many more Def Jamaica is a trip to the wild side away from Brooklyn dirrty rap to the soothing Jamaican culture.