CD Review - Vybz Kartel

CD Review - Vybz Kartel - "Up 2 Di Time"

"Up 2 di time ..."

Ratings Scale
	5 Lightaz - "Wicked nuh raas". A must buy !!
	4 Lightaz - "Wicked but ..."
	3 Lightaz - "Buy if it's pay day".
	2 Lightaz - "Bootleg or burn it".
	1 Lighta - "Don't waste your time or $".

Overall Rating : "4 Lightaz" - [Details Below]

"You know it's Kartel"

After blazing up di dancehall singles charts for over a year and engaging in an onstage physical confrontation with Ninja Man (di reeaaal bad man) , Vybz Kartel kept the fire burning with the release of "Up 2 Di Time" , his debut album on Greensleeves Records . This album, titled with his signature slang which he says at the beginning of damn near every track, is a definite must have for born dancehall fans [and also for those who just caught onto it when BET did - nuff hip hop flava pan dis one]. Tek that as you wish but out of a total of 18 tracks, about 85% of them wicked nuh raas. Do the math and you can see that you'll have a wicked selection of tracks to ride to, light a spliff to, buss yu gun to [not literally of course], and mash up di dance to.

Some familiar wicked riddims of 2003 like Krazy, Time Travel, and Mad Ants set the tempo for one of today's baddest lyricists to ride di riddim with some classic lyrics. Every DJ have dem owna style. Elephant Man -aka "The Energy God" - jumps around onstage with his dance anthems, Sean Paul walks back-and-forth onstage as if thinking "I'm pretty, just look at me". Kartel's style and true talent lies in his ability to fling lyrics in a clever fashion and to deliver an artistic play on words, Eminem-style. Besides the all too familiar "3G lyrics" (Gun, Ganja, Gyal), Kartel sets himself apart from most DJs with his lyrical skillz. I mean who else could make robbing the legend Beres Hammond and "tek di watch off a him wrist" sound so cool ? "Robbery", a track where he talks about sticking up dancehall artists if he didn't make it in the bizniz, uses popular catch phrases and songs of each artist to describe the jacking. [ Of course, Beres tried "Putting Up a Resistance" to no avail ].

"Mi haffi smoke a pound fus"

A few dancehall artists immediately come to mind when you think of clever lyrics. Put a baseball cap and a jersey on Professor Nuts , and you have Vybz Kartel. [Oh yeah, tell the Professor to try and get up the nerve to box down Ninja Man also]. Not many in the bizniz nowadays can touch Kartel when it comes to lyrics so if you are a dancehall fan who not only appreciates a wicked riddim but can also appreciate the true art of a lyricist, yu haffi check di Vybz.

The only complaint that some may have about Up 2 Di Time, is the sometimes too heavy hip-hop influence in many of the tracks. About 5 of the 18 tracks feature riddims which are definitely more hip-hop than dancehall. You could easily substitute Busta, 50, or Eminem on those tracks and have a hip-hop hit.

I suppose that it is almost inevitable that the more dancehall becomes accepted into the mainstream that it will naturally pick up influences from other genres of music. For the dancehall purist though, that is not a trend that we want to go to far. Yu can tek likkle bit from hip-hop here and there but fi wi ting must always keep its distinction from other more commercially successful forms of music.

Overall though, nuff luv to Vybz Kartel and Greensleeves Records for the wicked compilation of tracks that comprise "Up 2 Di Time". It's just the debut album so trust mi, Vybz nuh dun yet and is definitely an artist to check for years to come. We give this album an overall rating of "4 Lightaz". Check di details below :

Category	Rating/# of Lightaz
Riddims - Quality of music production Wicked riddims like "Krazy" and "Mad Ants" set the stage but some of the hip-hop style riddims naah seh nuttin
*Lyrics - Originality and quality of lyrics* Definitely Kartel's strong point is his artistic and clever delivery of lyrics in a distinct manner unlike others
*Danceability - Club quality beats* Several tracks to mek di gyal dem skin out in di club and di bad bwoy dem skank.
*Smokeability - Just chill and light one !!* "First ting mi do when mi wake up ... mi haffi smoke a pound fus". Several tracks to give yu dis vibe.
Consciousness - Positive uplifting material Not much in this department unfortunately but then again, that's not everybody's style
Overall - Add it all up One of the baddest lyricists to come along in quite a while and some decent riddims to dance or light a spliff to. Could use a likkle consciousness though. Add this to you collection.

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nuff hip hop flava pan dis one \nuff-hip-hop-flava-pan-dis-one\
1. [expression] A lot of hip-hop flavor on this one

wicked nuh raas \wicked-nuh-raas\
1. [expression] Wicked without a doubt

fi-wi-ting \fi-wi-ting\
1. [expression] Our thing

nuh dun yet \nuh-dun-yet\
1. [expression] is not finished yet