Search - Born Jamericans :: Kids From Foreign

Watchmenowstyle

3rdeadly3rd | Brisbane, Queensland Australia | 06/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As far as dancehall goes, Born Jamericans are one of the best pairings going around at the moment. Edley Shine is right up there in the DJ stakes with some of the legends of the game, while Mr Notch evokes memories of Pliers in the old (pre-Chaka Demus) days."Kids From Foreign" is a great debut album and showcases their potency across the board. The first proper cut "Warning Sign" has Ed showing his talent right from the word go "red light/yellow light/green light/GO/Kids pon de mic/we have fe start fe de show" with Notch giving a highly credible backing to him. The cut also has some words which appear on King Kapisi's track "U-Not-Red-I".The next few tracks "50 Ladies" and "Sweet Honey" are typical dancehall fare, both men bragging about their prowess. It would get boring after a while, but just as one voice gets to be boring the other DJ comes in and freshens things up. They've also chosen some delightful tracks to toast over, thus keeping things interesting there.Edley Shine then delivers a solo cut "Informer Fe Dead". This puts paid to any doubts that might be in the listener's mind that he can't rip up the mic when given a chance. The force with which he delivers this piece is just great, as is the sly humour he injects every so often.Officially, "Boom Shakatak" appears last on the album - this isn't the case. In actual fact, it is the cut after "Informer Fe Dead". This makes everything else one track after it is listed. Regardless of where it appears, the track is a superb duet with Notch demonstrating his art very capably. "Cease And Seckle" follows with the great opening line from Ed "inclination is DEAD" and never lets up from there.The one misfire here is Edley attempting to rap in recognisable english on the track after "Cease" (can't remember the name right now). While he's perfectly capable of doing so, it does come off as being out of place with the toasting surrounding it - a sad day indeed when a dancehall performer has to rap to make it big. The track is saved by Notch's chorus "all of the girls keep winin'/winin" over a marvellous track.Overall, a great album from a dancehall pair to watch. Well worth buying."