Issential Knowledge

Greetings Idren,

As promised, I want to share some of my favorite albums to be released recently and let you know about all the up and coming artists and albums that I’m excited about.  I want to start with the surprisingly strong release from Jamaican superstar Sean Paul, Imperial Blaze.  This album is a must for anyone who likes to dance or have a party with some movement.  Sean Paul is a legend in Dancehall and is the best selling Jamaican Artist in the United States and the time seems ripe for him to make the full transition to American Pop icon.

We have all heard the rather quick transformation Hip-Hop has made to a sound that more resembles techno both in instrumentation and in tempo.  I think is unfortunate for Hip-hop but presents an interesting opportunity for contemporary Jamaican Dancehall.  During the 90’s the genre birthed from artists like Beenie Man, Shabba Ranks, and Buju Banton has grown to be very quick and highly influenced by technology in the production as most of the music is conducted by one person with millions of instrument samples just like Hip-Hop.  The only difference between the two was the tempo which has now changed so the American Pop listener is now more accustomed to hear that type of sound.  This gives Sean Paul a unique opportunity to hit when the time is right and I think he nailed it with this album.

The first single is titled “Lace It,” and features a more classic Dancehall vibe but doesn’t represent the Hip-Hop/ Electronic fusion of most of the album. Once you get to tracks 4 and 5,  ”Now That I’ve Got Your love” and “Birthday Suit” you will see the snare shift to the traditional 2 and 4 beat of Hip-Hop and Sean display a delivery that rivals any lyricist around.  The album only features one other artist which is Keri Hilson on the traditional one drop reggae track “Hold My Hand,” that is sure to be blaring across Clear Channel soon enough, but the reason I was so impressed with the album was the consistency.  There are 20 tracks and I would say that 15 are interesting, dynamic and will get any dance floor moving.  Some other tracks I have on constant rotation are “Daddy’s Home,” “Wine Baby Wine,” and my personal favorite “Don’t Tease Me” produced by Stephen “The Genius” McGregor.  Let me not forget the always respect Mom salute with “Straight From my Heart.”  Check all the tracks on the videos below.

 This site is based on the common roots that Hip-Hop and Reggae share and this is prime example how they will continue to integrate more and more as we move forward in the musical evolution. Nuff respect to Sean Paul and all of the producers that collaborated on Imperial Blaze.  It is sure to be an album that dominates Dancehalls around the world.

Jah Bless    -    Marley “One” Lovell

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