With one foot in the 3 minute world of pop and the other in the world-a-reggae, this succinct and well rounded production rides smooth like a well oiled vintage Rolls Royce. By joining forces with UK reggae producer/ engineer Nick Manasseh (Roots Garden) and his regular cohort Andy J Jones (Acid Jazz), Jstar has produced a surprising blend of tracks including Spanish, French and Cantonese in a distinctly UK style.
Jamaican heritage MC Ranking Joe also appeals to today’s yout in the horn skunking Bad Boy Stepping, Brixton sound system veteran Brother Culture tells a tale of a mafiosi Cosa Dubstra in the parody ‘Deadly Dance’. Scotland’s diminutive but vocal powerhouse Soom T proclaims her independence and sympathetic ear on ‘Stand To Order’ as Denmark’s Kinck outs her lover’s misdemeanours in the gypsy infused ‘Liar Liar’. Romania’s Mahala Rai Banda make an appearance with French/Spanish MC Tomawok bragging the ‘Real Apache Style’. Called “the most important Chinese reggae release of the year” Hong Kong’s MouseFX incants a Cantonese request for human connection in ‘Baby Fan Ying’ (Bei Di Fan Ying). Blackout JA sets a mellow dancehall tone, and the unparalleled Spikey T pays Aswad a homage on ‘Babylon Children’