Sizzla: Crucial Times (VP)

By March 25, 2010Music & Reviews

As someone who is not only a fan, but also a collector of Sizzla Kalonji’s music, I have no idea how this man finds the time to relax. My collection consists of about 500 45 rpm Sizzla singles, many of which are not on his proper albums. Crucial Times is a continuation of the outpouring of Sizzla music, his first album in this new decade showing that he shows no signs of ever slowing down.

Crucial Times begins with a slight throwback to the roots reggae he has been exploring in the last few years. Sizzla started out as a young and ambitious dancehall artist but has managed to explore many of Jamaica’s musical roots, from ska to reggae to rock steady. Songs like “Precious Girl,” “Take A Stand,” and the infectious title track could have easily been released in the late 70’s or 80’s, he would have found it easy to associate himself with Peter Tosh, Third World, and Burning Spear. In fact, “Jolly Good” could be mistaken form Third Pulse’s “Now That We Found Love” or “Standing In The Rain”. Jamaican music in the last 40 years has often showed the influence of sounds coming in from the United States, and “Charming” shows how well he’s able to transfer his vocal style to create modern R&B.

Sizzla has had no problem in showing the roots of reggae, but what has always made him an adventurist is his knack to stretch the limits of his vocal capabilities or to dabble in different musical backdrops from track to track. “There’s No Pain” shows he can easily be a ballader in the vein of Bob Marley, by performing it with a Nnyabingi rhythm and a synthesized Melodica, while “Sufferation and Poverty” sounds like an outtake from an abandoned Thom Yorke album project. He’s capable of doing left of center in a Lil’ Wayne-type fashion or magically using auto-tune and yodeling while screaming and crying at any given moment. By the time you’ve become comfortable with his music, he already has five more albums to record. While Crucial Times lacks the urgency and cohesiveness of albums like Praise Ye Jah, Black Woman & Child or I-Space, it does show a passionate artist who is willing to turn out as much music as possible while still challenging himself and his fans.

-John Book