"red Star Sounds V.3: Def Jamaica" features Music from the Superstars of Rap and Reggae Sharing the Mic Along with the Voice and Music of Legend Bob Marley.
"red Star Sounds V.3: Def Jamaica" features Music from the Superstars of Rap and Reggae Sharing the Mic Along with the Voice and Music of Legend Bob Marley.
"There's some real garbage on this album. Sweetness by Buju Banton and Cam'Ron, on which I'd bet my left arm to a bucket of spit that Buju to this day has yet to hear his songmate's opening verse, Girls Callin' with Ghostface and Elephant Man and the OVERLOADED Reggae Remix of 112's Na Na Na Na isn't anything to write home about either.
That being said there is some really good material here as well. The first single Anything Goes along with the video is an impressive tune with a video giving a fairly accurate representation of life in Jamaica, the well done Together with Black Ice and DYCR is also very good. Murda sounds pretty much like an average base for a TOK track but it goes above and beyond what they normally do thanks to their unique pairing with Nokio and Scarface; Damian Marley flat out destroys the riddim on Lyrical .44 with brother Stephen and the men Red and Method. Also love the strange combo Dave Kelly style with Shwanna(?) and Baby Cham and Sisqo on the hooks. All that being said my favorite 2 tracks on the album are Mardi Gras with Tanto Metro & Devonte and Joe Budden(?) and of course the current #1 tune in Jamaica Dude with Beenie Man and Ms Thing remixed with again the impressive Shawnna.
This album probably served me differently than most people, dancehall comprises a huge percentage of what I listen to, thus I wasn't really familiar with some of the hip-hop artists on the album (i.e. Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, Cam'Ron, Ghostface Shawnna and others) but i was fairly impressed by some of them (Shawnna especially).
Overall, it was much better than what I expected. I expected a few MC's to put on accents and play DJ (and there is definitely some of that going on here, but not too much). For hip-hop fans I would definitely encourage checking this one out as it serves to show (in part) where dancehall music inside of Jamaica is today and not just what you've been exposed to before, and you would be wise to check the future releases of such artists as Vybz Kartel, Baby Cham and TOK. For dancehall fans, I can't imagine that you wouldn't be the least bit curious about what's going on here, and its not bad at all, check it out one and all."
A Classic
R. Awoseyin | Cleveland, Ohio USA | 04/10/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Never have I enjoyed the fusion of hip-Hop and Reggae since the Bob Marley Chatn Down Babylon album. A must get for both hip-hop and Dancehall fans. Though it must be said that the dancehall DJ's talents outshine most of the hip-hop artists. Top peformers in the hip-hop side are: Method Man, Redman, Scarface, DMX and Joe Budden. The others should really not have been there. There are alot better talents than them available. The best performace however, goes to Damian "Jr Gong" Marley, Method Man and Redman on Lyrical .44. This is by far the best track on the CD. Other highlights include:
Dude (The Remix)
Mardi Gras
Anything Goes
Top Shotta
Murdabut all tracks are good."
Bad ass CD
juddjs | Vt | 01/21/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one of the best dancehall/hip-hop cd I have ever heard. If you like dancehall you will love this cd. The beats are as always with dancehall inventive and energetic, and when mixed with a cast of all-star rappers you get a cd that simply can not be beat. "Anything Goes" is a anthem!!! The song is just amazing, with CNN, wayne wonder, and lexxus. Over all one of the best cd I own. You can put it in and listen to the whole cd without having to get up to switch the song. With guys like DMX, CNN, Ghostface Killa, Cam ron, Method Man and Redman, also dancehall icons such as Tanto Metro & Devonte, Elephant Man, Beenie Man, Mr. Vegas, Lexxus, even Lady Saw drops in. You can't go wrong!!! Buy this CD"
Don't miss out, buy it!
ragga_gal_uk | London, UK | 12/18/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Being from the UK, the dancehall/hiphop mix format of the CD aint really a new concept as much of our own hiphop is strongly influenced by reggae/dancehall. However the best ting bout the CD is that it brings some of Jamaica's hottest talent to the mainstream through hiphop without losing the identity of each artist. Until now it seems that only Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder and Beenie Man have had mainstream success outside of the Caribbean. The CD manages to combine hiphop and dancehall, but the dancehall artists are doin their ting without trying to sound american. My personal favourites are 'Sweetness' although Cam'ron adds nothing to the song, Buju could have done fine on his own. I would say 'Dude' if i wasn't already sick of hearing the original on radio every 10 minutes. 'Love is on my mind' is a nice song, smooth vocals from Sisqo and heavy raps from Shawna and Baby Cham, 'Anything Goes' is probably the best on the CD with a wicked beat and nice video to go with it. But i gotta give a big up to the song 'true to me' featuring Blak Twang, one of the UK's most successful hiphop artists, gwaan! Anyone that likes his flow should check out his CD Kik off which also has strong influence from yard"
Cop this it's what dancehall/hip-hop fans been waiting for!!
Jennifer Rodisio | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 11/24/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is the Bomb!!! It is the perfect mix of hip-hop and Reggae. All who love reggae and hip-hop should cop this, plus some of the proceeds go to charity."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1