Billed as one of the big events of the start of the year, to the point that mainstream media such as France Info have taken an interest in the phenomenon, here is Vybz Kartel's second album. Following his very interesting and effective "Up 2 Di Time", also on Greensleeves, this second opus is simply titled "JMT".
This pun of a title announces from the outset that the deejay has not planned, as some do, to go astray in dubious collaborations to gild his brand image, but on the contrary to put everyone on Jamaican time.
Although it has benefited from very careful production, in both content and packaging (the sleeve is superb), the album does not escape the classic format of albums produced by Greensleeves, namely a clever mix of original, even experimental, productions and carefully selected singles.
Still, it is good to find singles other than those released on the year's Rhythm Albums. Just one single on the Jonkanoo and the Siren was therefore chosen, along with one on the Jump off. For the rest, we find the Sleepy dog and Throwback jiggy riddims (which came out on VP), but also the Hello Moto, the Dutty landlord and Need U girl with Wayne Marshall on the Pitbull riddim, all previously unavailable on CD. This very varied selection is representative of the prolific current output of the latest dancehall productions. Also worth noting is one of Don Corleon's very recent riddims, the Higher altitude, on the Kartel/Bounty/Baby G. combination of the same name; a ganja tune with very dance-oriented sounds, but of unfailing efficiency.
Alongside this tempting panel of singles, there are some very interesting tracks, and again there is something for every taste. There are obviously some very tight dancehall cuts, on ultra-minimalist instrumentals, which allow the deejay to develop his flow at its best, such as Guns like these, Smuggler, Little miss and the huge Bad man party 2 and Say hello. There are also a few songs with more hip-hop sounds, such as So mi a say (the least convincing on the album) or a second very good duet with Wayne Marshall, Late night, but also and above all Rough sex, a combination with the young singer Delicious, which subtly alternates the sensual r'n'b passages sung by Delicious with the angrier, more ragga ones toasted by Kartel; a hit in the making. Finally, there are two tracks that perfectly reflect the current trend in Jamaican dancehall, with frankly dance influences that will surely disconcert more than a few. Car man is thus a track that uses a sample of the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, electronified Crazy Frog style, but on which Kartel delivers a performance of rare intensity. As for Vybsy versa love, it is just as well that it is credited to Barrington Levy, because we would not have recognised him, so heavily is his voice altered by the effects applied to it; this cut will make Barrington's diehard fans shudder, but this new dancehall in the Dr. Alban manner perhaps aims to widen his audience a little.
As for the lyrics, the themes Kartel tackles are often sex and women, and we do not escape the eternal "bling-bling" and macho clichés of dancehall, but it is done with virtuosity and often a lot of humour, and one can hardly resist such a great talent. What is more, without ever shedding his bad-boy label, he tries to vary his subjects. Thus Kartel "di gyal angel", hilarious on U nuh have a phone (Hello Moto), where he criticises the craze for mobile phones, becomes Adidja "di teacha" when he addresses, just as sharply and uncompromisingly, the theme of suffering in the ghettos on Emergency.
This imposing programme is the result of Vybz Kartel's work with the cream of today's Jamaican producers, Donovan "Vendetta" Bennett, Cordel "Scatta" Burrell, Arif Cooper, Christopher Birch and Leftside, and it perfectly reflects the richness and great diversity of current dancehall productions. For fans of the deejay and newcomers to the genre alike, it is an essential album, built to speak to a very wide audience, and if we agree to consider Sean Paul for a while as the Eminem of dancehall, Vybz Kartel is definitely becoming its Busta Rhymes.
