‘member good good Sizzla
rise to the top
with “Black Woman And Child”
and some tune like that?
How the youth powerful,
make the crime rate drop
but since from whe’day him start chat bare crap
‘bout under frock and how much him want clash
– Bounty Killa,
“Likkle Dread Bwoy”
Bounty Killa’s 2002 assault Sizzla’s integrity was amazing not only for it’s harshness, but for it’s unerring accuracy. In 1997, when Sizzla released the monumental Praise Ye Jah and Black Woman & Child albums, he was a social and political force, and easily the most important and powerful artist in Dancehall music. Not since Buju Banton grew his locks and chanted “Murderer” did an artist transcend the music like Sizzla did.
Fast forward five years and at least 14 albums to 2002. Sizzla’s hit tune “Hard” on the massive “G-String” rhythm is dedicated to “the fat pussy gal dem with g-strings” and begins with the words “mi fuck di gal dem hard/ and mek di gal dem bawl.” Sizzla was officially consumed by the Dancehall that he once threatened to recreate in his own image. His moral authority and significance were spent. Bounty Killa dared to upbraid the “Likkle Dread Bwoy,” and no one cared.
Da Real Thing triumphantly marks the prodigal DJ’s return to the themes and sounds that initially established his greatness. Sizzla is back within the warm musical embrace of producer Bobby “Digital” Dixon, who produced Black Woman & Child and the excellent Good Ways before being abandoned in favor of Phillip “Fattis” Burrel (Burrell produced the classics Praise Ye Jah and Freedom Cry, plus six other uneven and increasingly mediocre albums). The Dancehall massive may have lost too much innocence over the course of the last six years to allow Sizzla to reclaim his position as Jamaica’s soul and conscience, but musically, Da Real Thing is as good as almost anything in the Kalonji canon.
With nary a gun, a claat, a fuck or a pussy, Sizzla clearly left his gangsta-dread persona at the front door of the Digital-B Recording Studio. Da Real Thing is proof positive of Dancehall era artists’ ability to make upful music that is at once timeless and timely. “Mash Dem Down” and “Solid As A Rock” are assured and quietly defiant anthems of resistance against Babylon’s system. “It’s Amazing” and the instant-classic “Simplicity” hint at the humbleness and introspection that first separated Sizzla from the Dancehall rabble. “Boom & Go Through” sees honor and quiet dignity in the Rastaman’s daily struggles, and “Bless Up” returns to the themes of faith and unity that originally helped bring a measure of peace and hope to Jamaica’s troubled ghettos and garrison communities.
Sizzla the romantic also reappears on Da Real Thing, singing sweetly of love and breakup as if all those X-rated sex tunes never happened. “Woman I Need You” is an earnest plea for the love of the empress who makes him “feel so safe and secure.” On the brilliant “Just One Of Those Days (Dry Cry),” Kalonji is torn between facing the loss of his girl with a philosophical shrug of the shoulders or wallowing in the pain and insecurity it brings. And “Thank You Mamma” may be a little saccharine, and may lack the pan-African appeal of “Black Woman & Child,” but for sheer heartfelt emotion, it’s hard to beat. Indeed, after his recent rudebwoy bravado, gunplay and punanany sexploits, it’s great to hear Sizzla back to exploring the themes that made him such a special talent in the first place. Thank you, Sizzla. Thank you, Bobby Digital.
THE VERDICT: Da Real Thing is probably not the best Sizzla album ever made, but it's damn close to the Praise Ye Jah and Black Woman & Child high water marks of 1997. After tracing the works of lesser talents for the last few years, it's beyond refreshing to hear one of Dancehall's greatest talents returning to his roots. A must have for all Dancehall and Reggae fans. |
