Thursday, March 20, 2008

Sizzla - Somehow (Jennah remix) (2004)


Tracklist:

1. Somehow (Jennah remix)

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About this artist

 

Sizzla

  / artists (S)
Real Name:Miguel Orlando Collins
Profile:Miguel Collins a.k.a. Sizzla Kalonji, a Bobo Ashanti dread Born 17.4.1976 in August Town/Kingston, Jamaica, made his first musical steps as a singer for Caveman Hi-Fi. His energetic singjay-style and spiritual lyrics earned him enthusiastic acclaim already with his 1995 debut album "Burning Up", while the 1997 follow-up "Black Woman & Child" was an international breakthrough, which brought Sizzla the 1998 MOBO award and a place in various magazines' top 100 albums of the year. At that time, Sizzla was part of the Phillip Burrel's XTerminator stable, touring with Luciano and other artist of the new roots&culture wave.



Sizzla is very prolific, even by Jamaican standarts. Since 1995, he released over 30 albums and most likely over 400 singles. With such an enormous output, fans often complain about the mediocricity of many of the material, yet Sizzla again and again manages to surprise his listeners with a quality album after a few mediocre ones.



Especially after 2000, Sizzla aroused controversy with his lyrics in several ways. First, European listeners and gay-right organisations take offence at his partly homophobic lyrics. Second, Sizzla's explicit description of sexual issues in some of his tunes, as well as his reportedly extravagant lifestyle, led to a break-up not only with his Rastafarian ex-colleagues like Luciano, but also with the Bobo Ashanti order, whose elders repeatedly distanced themselves from Sizzla's music and lifestyle, while the later still considers himself a Bobo Ashanti member.



Despite all the controversies, Sizzla remains a major figure in Jamaican music, and his throaty singing style became a trademark for a whole new generation of militant rastafarian singers and deejays.
URLs:http://www.sizzla.org
Aliases:Miguel Orlando Collins
Name Variations:All |Sizzla| S. Kalonji
  Buy Sizzla albums on mp3skyone
(from discogs.com)

Sizzla bio:

Emerging during the latter half of the '90s, the enormously prolific Sizzla was one of the leaders of the conscious dancehall movement. Along with Buju Banton and Capleton, he helped lead dancehall back to the musical and spiritual influence of roots reggae, favoring organic productions and heavily Rastafarian subject matter. A member of the militant Bobo Ashanti sect, he sometimes courted controversy with his strict adherence to their views, particularly his aggressive condemnations of homosexuals and white Western oppressors. Yet overall, his music was generally positive, advocating faith, compassion for poor black youth, and respect for women. He remained something of an enigma to the public at large, rarely granting interviews and keeping his concert appearances to a minimum. Nonetheless, he still ranked as arguably the most popular conscious reggae artist of his time, thanks to a normally high standard of quality control -- all the more impressive given the frequency with which he recorded. A versatile singjay-style vocalist with a gruff, gravelly tone, he was capable of both rapid-fire chatting and powerful, melodic singing, and his best backing riddims were among the strongest in contemporary dancehall.

Sizzla was born Miguel Collins on April 17, 1976, and was raised in the August Town area of Kingston by devout Rastafarian parents. After honing his vocal skills, he landed a gig with the Caveman Hi-Fi sound system, where he first made a name for himself as a performer. He cut his first single for the small Zagalou label in 1995, and soon moved on to Bobby "Digital" Dixon's Digital B imprint. However, he didn't manage a breakout success until saxophonist Dean Fraser recommended him to producer Philip "Fatis" Burrell. Sizzla released a series of singles on Burrell's Xterminator label, including "Judgement Morning," "Life's Road," "Blaspheme," "We Uh Fear," "I'm Not Sure," and the Shadowman duet "The Gun." His first LP, Burning Up, appeared on Xterminator later in 1995, and he toured extensively alongside Luciano and Mikey General. Unlike kindred spirits Capleton and Buju Banton, Sizzla's early material was culturally oriented right from the start; he was able to build an audience without any of the lyrical slackness that helped establish the other two.

Creatively speaking, Sizzla really came into his own with the release of his second album, the Burrell-produced Praise Ye Jah, in 1997. Widely considered one of the top conscious dancehall albums of its time, Praise Ye Jah was quickly trumped by the release of the Dixon-produced Black Woman & Child that same year. The title track was a smash hit and became something of a cultural reggae anthem. Sizzla scored several more hits during 1997, including "Like Mountain," "Babylon Cowboy," "Kings of the Earth," and the Luciano duet "Build a Better World." This hot streak kicked off an enormously productive recording binge that lasted over the next several years, with much of his output still done for Burrell.

1998's Kalonji was issued in the U.S. under the title Freedom Cry, and featured the successful singles "Love Amongst My Brethren" and "Rain Shower." No less than three albums -- Be I Strong, Good Ways, and Royal Son of Ethiopia -- appeared in 1999, with Be I Strong achieving the highest profile among them. 2000 brought three more albums: the double-CD Liberate Yourself (which featured one disc of Sizzla material and another of his prot�g�s), Words of Truth (which featured a bonus live disc), and Bobo Ashanti, a well-received, highly spiritual set with a stronger hip-hop flavor. Refusing to slow down, Sizzla issued four more albums in 2001 -- Black History, Taking Over, Rastafari Teach I Everything, and Blaze Up the Chalwa -- and often displayed a harder edge and a willingness to embrace digital production. That approach changed in 2002, when he concentrated on softer, mellower, more romantic material, which dominated that year's albums Ghetto Revolution and Da Real Thing. Two more albums, Light of My World and Rise to the Occasion, appeared in 2003. Soul Deep was released in 2005, with both Ain't Gonna See Us Fall and Waterhouse Redemption landing a year later. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)

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