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How many groups do you know that released only two albums and still - by popular demand of their fans - rate a greatest hits album? The fact that this was the case for Born Jamericans is a testament to their greatness and the brilliance of the new artform they created: the musical style known as "yardcore".
During the golden age of dancehall/hip hop fusion (the late 80s to the mid 90s), we saw American hip hop MCs (often of Jamaican descent) draw on the well of dancehall to lively up their work (KRS One, Queen Latifah, Special Ed, etc.). We saw dancehall artists infuse their work with hip hop in an effort to bring their music to a global audience (Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Shabba, etc.). We saw Stateside deejays toasting inna dancehall style over hip hop beats (Shaggy, Mad Lion, etc.). We saw Jamaican born r&b artists chatting patois between verses of Dionne Warwick classics (Diana King) and even hip hop MCs and dancehall deejays spitting together in a unified posse (Da Bush Babees). But the Born Jamericans crew was something altogether novel and original. Although all of the aforementioned artists are geniuses in their own right, as Mr. Notch once sang, "Yardcore, it is something more". A new genre. A movement. Dancehall and hip hop held in perfect tension. Only the redoubtable Shinehead, whom Notch was paraphrasing with that line, could claim to occupy approximately the same space.
After the amazing "Kids From Foreign" disc dropped in '94, fans of Born Jamericans were left waiting what seemed like an eternity for for a follow-up. Finally, in 1997 we were blessed with "Yardcore" on which the blistering combination of raw-throated deejay Edley Shine and golden-voiced singer Mr. Notch brought their vision to fruition and fleshed out the philosophy behind the new musical artform they had created almost three years earlier.
This greatest hits album contains 13 tracks: 5 from "Kids From Foreign", 5 from "Yardcore", two remixes/single versions, and one track exclusive to this disc.
From "Kids From Foreign" we are blessed with:
The heavy and menacing "Warning Sign", which puts rival crews on notice that the Born Jamericans are not to be trifled with, riding the classic Stalag 17 riddim and riffing off of Willie Williams' legendary tune "Armagideon Time".
"Sweet Honey", by contrast, is aimed squarely at the girls. Both Jamericans shine on this anthem of devotion, proving that they are equally adept at playing the rudeboy and the playboy. "Sweet Honey" declares a man's love for that one special girl who stands by his side and does him right. You'd be hard pressed to find a sweeter pledging of one's devotion in the hip hop or dancehall canon. The version on this disc is the album version, which is excellent, but I can't help wishing that the hard to find and mellifluous single version had also been included.
"Cease & Seckle", which is a light and joyful declarations that the "Kids from Foreign" have arrived, want their props, and will take no shorts from either the dancehall massive or the hip hop crew.
"Why Do Girls", which is a meditation on why good girls like bad boys and play hard to get when a good man comes along and shows any interest.
And finally the album, and so-called "dancehall", version of the breakhrough single ""Boom-Shak-A-Tack", though I don't know what makes this version more dancehall than the single version. It is slower in pace and more mellow, but both versions are built over a dancehall riddim (the immortal Real Rock riddim in the case of the single version).
From Yardcore we have:
The title track, "Yardcore", which is a Born Jamericans manifesto. Here, Edley Shine and Mr. Notch give form to what was merely hinted at on their first disc: that Yardcore is a movement, a lifestyle, and a new form of music combining the essential elements of dancehall and hip hop to create something new, something more. "Not an accident/just a new revelation". And while some of the dancehall massive and the hip hop crew "can't catch the style", Born Jamericans will continue to forward ahead "'til that brighter day" when their work is accepted on its own terms. In the meantime, they vow to continue to "pave the way/for the core to remain the same/even though it may not happen right away/but we know it won't be long/'cause the vibes are just too strong/it will endure for sure/ people of the world want more yardcore".
After this, Mr. Notch flexes his vocal muscles, going line for line with the legendary Johnny Osbourne on "State of Shock IV", a song with a rootical vibe which encourages young men to cast a wider net and embrace the plentitude of readily available women out there in the world rather than to kill one another over one particular chick at a party.
"Send My Love / Send One Your Love" is a smooth, bouncy reprise of the Stevie Wonder classic. Both Edley Shine and Mr. Notch are in top form here in terms of lyrics, delivery, and performance. A word of warning for the cd release both here and on the original album: at one point in the song Edley Shine quotes a line from the old Tavares song "A Penny For Your Thoughts". On the old "Yardcore" tape I had back in the day, this played straight through, but Tavares must have pitched a fit about copyright laws or whatever, because on the cd release this line is edited out and a snippet of Mr. Notch's verse from another part of the song is inserted incongruously in its place. It's kind of like when "La-Di-Da-Di" was marred for its digital release because someone wouldn't get off the dime to clear the quotation. Too bad. A great song is disfigured in both cases.
"Superstar" is a mellow tune which warns up-and-coming artists that it pays to be kind to one's fans and peers, as you'll eventually meet the same people coming down that you stepped on during your ascent to the top.
And finally, "Wherever We Go" which is an introspective tune on which Notch and Edley Shine contemplate their respective journeys down life's sometimes confusing road.
As far as remixes and single versions go we have:
"Venus (Got it Goin' On)", the original version of which appeared on the "Yardcore" album. The album version, a cover of the classic Frankie Avalon tune coursing with ebullient hip hop and dancehall energy and incorporating a spot on KRS One sample, was brilliant. This remix is a little more on the harsh tip, going for a cool, club/hip hop type feel that doesn't really go as well with the sweetness of the lyrics as the original track.
And the single version of "Boom-Shak-A-Tack". Built as I said over the banging Real Rock riddim, this was an instant dancehall classic when it was released, immediately securing Born Jamericans their rightful place as kings of the dancehall. On this track Edley Shine established himself beyond a shadow of a doubt as a gruff-voiced 90s gorgon ready to take on any deejay in the dancehall arena and Notch came through as a transcendant singer riffing and running somewhere between Garnett Silk, a chanting Byzantine monk, and a bona fide angel.
Finally, by way of exclusive tracks, we have the frantic, frenetic "Go Girl", featuring the mighty Spragga Benz, a big-up tune encouraging a particularly sexy and desirable young lady to keep doing what she's doing and shake off the slings and arrows of her jealous haters. It's amazing how well all three artists (Notch, Edley Shine, and Spragga) meld on this track. It's almost as if Born Jamericans was, for an instant, a trio instead of a duo. As all three performers trade rapid fire lines, it becomes clear to the listener that Spragga Benz gels with Born Jamericans better than any other artist who has featured on their albums.
Together, Mr. Notch and Edley Shine created a new form of music in which dancehall riddims melded seemlessly with boom-bap hip hop beats to create something new and in some ways greater than both. The fact that Born Jamericans, a group that only put out two albums before imploding, actually rates a "greatest hits" disc on top of that speaks for itself. Their like has not been seen before or since, and while both Edley Shine and Notch have produced some memorable solo work over the years since the group disbanded, their fans can only hope that some day in the future we'll once again find them inna combination, bringing the yardcore vibes back to the masses. Until then, this compilation stands as a testament to their greatness.
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2012
