I’ve always been a big fan of reggae. I loved Bob Marley. I also have embraced the trend of rap merging with hip hop. This set seems to take it a bit further, into more straightforward R&B based hip hop. The result is quite good. Personally, I think that at some times the production is a bit over the top, pulling it too far into the modern trendy sounds. That means it will probably seem dated down the road. Whatever that result, though, this is a good set that’s fun to listen to. It has lots of layers of strong vocals.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2013  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

While this suffers a bit from the over the top production thing, the reggae rapping here is so strong that it makes me forget all about that. This has a great groove and some killer vocals. It’s arguably the best tune on this set. And, there’s nothing weak here. That means this is an exceptional tune.

This seems a little overly trendy in the arrangement. The music and vocals feel pretty processed. That’s kind of the pop radio thing these days. The problem is, there are some good vocal hooks here and lots of layers of sound. This song really deserves a better treatment. It’s not that it sounds bad. It’s just that down the road it will probably feel very dated when this over-processed trend passes, as all trends do. There is still plenty of reggae on this, but overall it’s more like R&B based pop music.

This is a pretty piece of music. It’s dreamy and has a great positive message to it. The vocals are more or less in the reggae rap vicinity. This is just a real “feel good” kind of number. It’s another that I like a lot. It’s really quite an ear worm.

There’s a bit of a spoken intro. That gives way to an acoustic guitar bit. The vocals bring some reggae to the table. The cut features multiple layers of vocals and some cool folk meets reggae musical arrangements. It’s a good number, but some of the vocals seem over-processed.