Beautifully Done!. . .
Achis | Kingston, JA/Philipsburg, SxM | 10/25/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is quietly one of the best albums in it's entirety that I've heard this year. I've had less than a week, and it immediately, grew on me. I like the fact that its a compilation, but it doesn't do the normal thing that a lot of records of the same nature do, by drawing on the same artists over and over (Sizzla, Capleton, Luciano, Jr. Kelly and Anthony B are the usual ones)Culture Dem uses artists that I've never even heard of before, and I would consider myself a huge listener of reggae music. Artists like I Lue, Jah Marcus, King Shadrach, Mabrakat and Al Pancho were previously names that were foreign to me before I listened to the vibes on this record. And while I had heard of Lutan Fyah, I had never heard his work, and again, this album introduced me to him. Normally on albums like these, the best song by Sizzla is my favorite, as he is my absolute favorite artist, and anything he does I'll usually like, but this is different. Kalonji is certainly, in my opinion, the best artist on this album (respect Prophet and Anthony B), but the best tune on this one is not on of his 2 excellent pieces of work, the well done Worthy to be Praised and the fiery Crush Dem Out (which i was priviledged enough to see him perform at Sting 01). My favorite song on this one (okay maybe it is Crush Dem Out, but my unbiased favorite-) is The Sabbath by I Lue, with No More War by Lutan Fyah coming in as a close second. But the tune the Sabbath by I Lue is absolutely amazing, his cool and relaxed vocals ride the riddim perfectly and i will certainly be attentive to his future releases. Another artist that is very well represented on this one is Norris Man, I was never really a fan of his before I heard this one, but his two tunes on Culture Dem, the title track and the excellent Thunderous Sound show his true class. There are two artists that I think are going to eventually take over and take Rastafarian music and teachings to the next levels, one is present on this record with two very strong showings, Turbulence (the other is the extraordinary Warrior King)does amazing of course, on Gone With the Wind and even better on Bad in the Past. Take all of that, and throw in a truly wicked condemnation by the Prophet on Cyan Even See Dem, 2 very good track by Jah Mason, YAMI BOLO with the most underrated vocals in reggae today on War and Revolution, Mabrakat sounding a little like Anthony B on Herb Inspiration and doing so wth very good lyrics, Anthony B himself, a very old veteran on this one astonishingly, doing very good Youth Turn Gangsta; and did I mention that Love Dem Up by Jah Mason was truly wicked (I'm listening to it right now)and his Caring isnt bad at all either. Joy Bells by Al Pancho is very good too, and Nah Live Clean by the same artist is very good as well, not as good as Joy Bells, but still very good. King Shadrach with a very hip-hop sound on Rise My People, nice changeup on that one. And thats it! I mean, I'm so passionately happy with this one because I just basically stumbled upon it spent very little and I got this amazing album. Easily one of the top 3-5 reggae albums of the year released so far. This is the type of record that might gain new fans for Rastafarian music i believe. Its a very well presented package, the cover is a very interestingly drawn portrait of the artists on the album (the drawer got Anthony B, Norris Man and Jah Mason down perfectly, and he displays the Bobos very nicely, and they are overshadowed by the Prophet, by the Priest and by the King (Marcus Garvey, King Emmauel Charles Edwards VII, and the King of Kings (in Rastafarianism) Haile Selassie I). Also on the cover is a little message which tells exactly what it is "An essential collection of conscious music" I couldn't put it any better myself, but I just tried. Like I said, this is an excellent project, well done, couldn't ask for anymore. . . okay maybe a tune by Steve Machete but, much props and massive largeup to Lustre Kings Productions for putting out such high quality material, and if this is any indication to their motives and their future works, I will definitely keep picking up their efforts, because this one is truly divine.
AMAZING!"
Scorching hot beats and vocals
Achis | 03/23/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is an essential album, featuring some of the best studio musicians and reggae vocalists of the day, I'm especially feeling Jah David's blazin' bass work. Go pick this up, you won't be disappointed baby"
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1