Sizzla has been justifiably heralded as one of the most promising talents to emerge from Jamaica in recent memory, an enigmatic young vocalist with a style as fresh as anything to have come from the often rather staid reggae scene. Oh, and the rock press like him too because Ian Brown once spent a month telling everyone that he was a genius…
A man of extremes, Sizzla's style reflects his political stance. On the one hand a fiery political polemic adopting the gruff delivery of vocalists like Capelton, on the other an intensely soulful 'conscious' lyricism in the style of roots and culture star, Luciano. Unfortunately, interest in his celebrity in Europe often focuses on the Bobo Ashanti Rasta's intensely vocal advocation of repatriation and tends to allow his controversial religious and political beliefs to overshadow his truly unique style.
If little changes quickly in Jamaican music, the same cannot be said of the album turnover of the average vocal star. Sizzla has been no exception to this rule, since coming to our attention in the mid-nineties he has unleashed a string of long-players of varying quality. 'Bobo Ashanti', we can happily report, finds him on pretty good form and working again with the Xterminator crew under the direction of producer Philip 'Fatis' Burrell, the same musicians and producer that created Sizzla's seminal 'Praise Ye Jah' and Luciano's 'Messenger'.
Whilst Sizzla has not yet fully recaptured the beautifully soulful melodies that characterised 'Praise Ye Jah', on stand-out tracks like 'Children Beware', 'Do Good' and 'Wicked Naw Go Prosper' he achieves both the roots vibe of his best work and that all-important inclusiveness in the message.
'Bobo Ashanti' proves that Sizzla and Burrell make an incredibly diverse double act. Effortlessly gliding from the contemporary R&B production of 'Must Rise', through the 'roots' material to the fierce dancehall attack of 'Grow U Locks', it's unlikely that the album will be bettered in its genre this year. Unless, of course, Sizzla releases another…
