Fifteen years after his musical debut, the Martinican Straika D is releasing his best of. An exercise not given to every artist on the French-language reggae scene. Proof of his longevity, "Hits 2 Hits" bears witness to an enthusiasm that has lasted, unlike certain flashes in the pan hoisted too quickly onto a pedestal. Schooled in the sound system, Straika D is one of those who flip a tune to toast its version, one of those multi-card artists who exploits every facet of reggae, and who records whenever he has the chance to put his voice somewhere: on ragga series, on hip-hop features, on dubplates...
But since his album "Free DOM" four years ago, Straika D has been concentrating on roots ("Now, I'm more reggae than hardcore"). An attitude explained by the quality of the new roots productions of recent years. And it's a good choice, because it is on this kind of riddim that Straika delivers his best tracks. It is on Djamatik's beats (Le Temps de vous faire danser ) that the Martinican reveals his versatility, with vocal techniques blending sung choruses with more toasted verses, to forge a very particular singjay style of his own.
The first volume of this best-of also revisits the Martinican's more bogle tracks, such as Tiré Tchouw là, on the R2D2 riddim. The first man who gave him his chance, Guy'Al MC of the Indika sound system, is also on the record, with Il est là, and of course the hit Prière with two big names of Caribbean reggae, MC Janik and Tiwony. High Tonigh with the female backing vocals of Blue Eyes on a superb crossover riddim also shows Straika's talent when it comes to taking on a guttural voice. Versatile, we tell you!
