Five years after their first album, the two partners K.No.B and Paco Jahz have tried to put every advantage on their side to pull it off. The production of this record was thus entrusted to Nouvelle Donne, a French hip-hop label that is no longer a novice, and a host of prestigious guests lend support. The result is an album that stands out for its diversity and the meticulous quality of its execution. There are of course a few strictly dancehall tracks that allow the duo to prove they have lost none of their flow and verbal dexterity (L’effet d’une bombe, L’attaque des soundboys). But there is no question of locking themselves into a single style, and the featurings are often an opportunity to try out new experiments. So, from the very first song, it sets off at full speed, in combination with Jeff Joseph, on a joyful and highly effective Soca bordel. On Badman, Paco and K.No.B invited the rapper Ol Kainry and flirt with frankly hip-hop influences, while Soumia's presence on Ton allié allows them to deliver a much calmer track with strong zouk love hues.
Attempts that are not always the most convincing, but one can only underline the effort and appreciate the originality of the approach. That is not all. Yardies also came to voice tracks with Papa Tank, and not just anyone, since they are Capleton and Elephant Man. If the combination with the Prophet is nothing special, the one with the Energy God is a pure killer, with its instrumental alternating a measured reggae on Papa Tank's parts and a more nervous dancehall on Elephant's. One can also pick out some slightly more reggae songs (Liiilalala, La cage de Babylon and Madinina, with E-Sy), whose softer instrumentals fit perfectly with the current Jamaican trend launched by the Drop leaf and other Seasons riddims. "En attendant" turns out to be an original, even daring album, indispensable in the collection of any fan of French-language dancehall. Waiting for the next one…
