A Time to Chill. . .
Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 09/03/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The era of the dancehall singer having just as much, if not even more, influence in the music is long gone. A trip through dancehall's ever growing history lists names such as Nitty Gritty, King Kong, Admiral Tibett and of course Tenor Saw who have made there names as the genre's top singing acts. However, over the past decade or so after the emergence of greats such as Wayne Wonder, Nadine Sutherland and the incomparable Sanchez, the role has descended to just being occupied by newcomers and older singers making comebacks. Still, the dominant and everlasting name has been Beres Hammond, who sometimes is overlooked due to his slimmed down recording schedule, but make no mistake about, the real big man in charge of singing in the dance over the past fifteen years or so, has been Beres Hammond. The last few years, however, have shown quite a few new entrants for the role who have shown serious potential. One of the first few was the eclectic and seriously underrated Mr. Vegas who on the wings of his MONSTER hit, Heads High, entered the dancehall game with a buzz which hadn't been seen in quite awhile. Vegas also attached himself to a young DJ, the now superstar Sean Paul and the two grew together in the business making hits all the while. Today, the Martian toned Vegas, after several dry spells and breaks, is regarded as a proven hit maker in the dancehall an is on quite an upswing over the past two years (check out his new album, Hot it UP). After Vegas, the next singer to emerge of substance was probably Wayne Marshall. Marshall also took the path of aligning himself with an up and coming DJ in the ridiculously talented Vybz Kartel and while he is a singer, his style is one so close to djaying that it lends itself to making songs which aren't too dissimilar to those of his pure DJ peers. Some have said that Marshall doesn't actually sing at all, instead he melds his singing style to a DJ style for something which can be called longwinded djaying. Marshall entered with quite a buzz and has maintained such buzz ever since, and despite not being one of my favorites, I have to give him credit for maintaining such hype in spite of his recent break from the business. You've also had Ce'cile who has been a model of consistency over the past half decade, while continuously overlooked, she continues to be one of the most highly regarded female talents in the business. And of course, you have to mention Mavado whose brand of lethal and unforgiving singing makes him the current (and most controversial) singer of choice in dancehall. We've also had others over the years such as Singer J, Singing Melody, Lukie D, Tony Curtis, Nitty Kutchie, Ghost, Egg Nog and the newest female talent, songbird Alaine who have made strides in the business as well.
And then there's Da'Ville. Coming from one of Jamaica various harmonizing groups (which actually starts a great deal of these singers in their careers), ARP, one could make that case that above all other singers to emerge over the past few years or so, Da'Ville has been one of the most consistent in Jamaica. Since he has pursued his solo career to the fullest extent Da'Ville has scored moderate and large hits at many turns. ARP was a rather popular local act (that I'm now wishing had released at least one album before their split) which included Da'Ville as the lead singer and backup singers Patrick and Mitch. Mitch himself has made a nice progress in the business having been taken under the guidance of reggae superstar Buju Banton in 2005 and is currently making quite a few nice moves being labeled with the title as the `dancehall Akon'. Da'Ville himself has gone on to have quite a career early in his solo break, having already garnished the unofficial award of Singer of the Year for 2006 due to his successes. Musically speaking, Da'Ville makes a type of dancehall which pushes him away from the Vegas', Marshalls and Mavado's of the world in that, when he is really at his best, his much more of a balladeer in the same vein as the aforementioned Wayne Wonder and Sanchez. Its rather refreshing to hear actually, often times I have to go to those singers, particularly Wayne Wonder who continues to record on a semi-constant schedule (check his new album, Forever, out in September) in the more modern style, when I am completely overwhelmed with the rapidfire chatters of today's era. Da'Ville (who is also prone to recording remakes just in as much as many of predecessors does his best when he takes r&b vibes and combines them with dancehall. And while normally this style would require much more of a detailed and long approach, Da'Ville remains one of the more active singers on the scene. He has also benefited locally with a great deal of exposure, although he tours quite frequently, Da'Ville remains one of the most visible artists on the scene appearing on nearly every large festival and stage show on the island. He has also made himself an apparent favorite of many of the genre's top producers, over the past few years alone, having voiced for the likes of Snowcone, Vendetta, Stone Love, the King Jammy's family and even Penthouse (also should mention that as a part of ARP he was afforded some of the best Shocking Vibes riddims as well) have showered the young singer with their finest productions. And now, having taken the continuously popular method of beginning through labels in Japan of releasing albums, Da'Ville has reached what is arguably the biggest stage in all of the genre (outside of a major deal of course) for albums and is releasing his `debut' album, through reggae giant label VP, having signed a deal with the label late last year. The album, On My Mind is actually his fourth (more third and a half) as he had previously released In Heaven on his own locally, only to have it later picked up by a Japanese company (in a slightly amped up style) and also the follow up that album, Can't Get Over You, through the same channels. D'Ville has probably been the most successful in a slew of artists taking the Japanese route such as young vocal group Voisemail, the aforementioned Alaine and even veterans such as Ward 21 and most recently, Spragga Benz.
On My Mind is a rather impressive official introduction to international audiences for the artist which puts Da'ville's ultra smooth style on full display. Da'Ville's own Fashozy label is charged with doing a great deal of the production for On My Mind, so he shows off his talents behind the board as well. On My Mind is also highlighted by two very large combination which reached major successes for the young singer in 2006-early 2007.The album opens with one of Da'Ville's JA number one tunes the Always On My Mind remix featuring superstar Sean Paul. Actually, for my money, the song is a touch weaker than the song in it's original form, but a song of such hype was almost mandatory for this album and for what I hear the tune received and continues to receive quite a bit of international airplay, for the song and video as well. The other high profile combination here also happens to be the best tune on On My Mind and probably the best track Da'Ville has ever been involved in. All My Life is an excellently done Penthouse produced track as the most unlikely of pairs combine to do the track, originally penned by American Karla Bonoff, a justice which unlike it had ever seen before, as Da'Ville comes together with the incomparable and timeless Marcia Griffiths on the very fine tune. Definitely an absolutely beautiful song which needs to be heard and a song which just makes you feel good. Interestingly enough, Griffiths' usual sparring partner is Beres Hammond and its always interesting to watch such eras interacting on such an extremely large stage for the music (and check Griffiths' Melody Life anthology for similar combinations featuring the legendary songstress).
On My Mind is one of the easier listening pieces you'll find in reggae music this year, this album, checking in at fourteen tracks, comes and goes very quietly. This is largely due to the very laid back vibe of the album, Da'Ville has recorded heavier songs on crazier and more uptempo riddims, but the album appears to have been strictly geared towards the smoother vibe. Check I'm In Love With You, probably the smoothest of them all. I'm in Love With You easily registers as one of the strongest pieces the album has to offer built over a very fine and rather `jovial' one-drop which is amongst the most addictive on the album and lends itself very easily to backing the track. The song is just one that is very easily enjoyed, especially when relaxing with your lady or such. One of the songs here which I was very familiar with going in and fairly happy to see present, was My Grade for Maximum Sounds a couple of years ago over the very popular World Jam riddim (which is more popular for being versioned over and over and serving as the backdrop for Junior Reid's Boom Shack-a-lak and more notably as the riddim which backed Damian Marley's MASSIVE Welcome to Jamrock). My Grade is a very welcomed mix of the vibes on the album, yet it doesn't stick out (like the tune Gallis would for instance) or take away from the overall vibe as well as it is definite pure dancehall, but in a nice laid back stylee (and really isn't every album just flat out better with a ganja anthm anyway!). Another big track here is This Time I Promise. The self produced piece is another of the artist's number one tune which reached the top of Jamaican charts earlier this summer. The tune is your basic `I'm sorry I messed up, I'm sorry I treated you back and please take me back' anthem, which always strikes a chord with everyone anyway, its just a nice song and one that is infinitely comfortable on this album and it's a nice score for VP as it actually became the truly big tune after the album was released. Yet another big hit here (told you he had been consistent) is Can't Get Over You. Can't Get Over You was actually the name of Da'Ville's third album (second Japanese release) which was very similar to On My Mind, actually the two albums actually share 3 tunes (of course the big ones) and is one of Da'Ville's signature tracks, I've been to approximately three shows of his where he opened his performance with the ballad. It's another typical lover's/broken hearted track which you'll find on 99% of the r&b albums touching the road these days and again, it is exactly what he does well and he is right at home over the subtle guitar tinged Confessions riddim for his Fashozy label (not to be confused with Jukeboxx`s Confessions Riddim which most notably backed Chuck Fenda`s 2006 hit Gash Dem), produced by he and his partner Janice Brown (which means that she produced the tune, you look at all of those artist/producer combinations, I.e. Mr. Vegas and Byron Murray, Ce'cile and Scatta and Delly & Di Genius the producer actually does the work on the riddim, and the artists promote it). Da'Ville shines over it, definitely his type of track.
Few other tracks worth your time. Check Give Thanks for What You've Got over Arif Cooper's extremely popular and gorgeous Guardian Angel riddim. Da'Ville pushes one of the stronger tracks on the already STACKED riddim. Check the very nice Have You Ever?, a remake of the timeless Dennis Brown clasic of the same title. Of the dozens or so people who Dennis Brown remakes each and every year, you have to say Da'Ville does a respectable job on the track. Give a spin to the track My Heart which finds Da'Ville going on like UK dancehall singer Bitty McLean in an old school type of vibe. The album ends with the original version of the title track which is a very nice inclusion in spite of the popular remix also being on board.
Overall, I think Da'Ville's on my mind is a very nice choice for those out there seeking something a little softer in their dancehall. I'd also recommend it to r&b fans who are seeking a piece to maybe get them more involved with the dancehall vibe, this would be an absolutely excellent choice (also check out any Beres Hammond release if you happen to fall into this category). You have to respect what Da'Ville has done in his relatively brief time in the game in attracting the attention and making the vibes he has. On My Mind is a very nice showcase for one of the future big time singers in the dancehall game.
(oh and definitely check out Dancehall Lovers Rock as well, very nice track)"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1