| Infiltration (VP, 2005) In the past two years, Assassin has been one of
the hottest DJs inna di dancehall, as his inclusion on Reggae
Gold 2004 ("Girls Gone Wild") and Strictly the Best 32
("Idiot Thing") and his two hits on Reggae
Gold 2005 -- "As a Man" and "Step Pon Dem" --
attest. "As a Man"
and "Idiot Thing" are two of the hottest dancehall tracks in
recent memory, the former a welcome throwback to the early '90s dancehall
sound, with a simple, percussive riddim and tongue-twisting hook, and the
latter pounding over the militaristic Stepz riddim that Sean
Paul rode to success on "We Be Burnin." Assassin leads off his debut album
Infiltration with these two
cuts, drawing the listener in but also promising standards that the rest
of the album can't maintain. Dragging
the set down is the silly "In da Club," which celebrates
irresponsibility ("I'll be in the club drinking that same money away
I should be paying them.") over a poppy, pseudo-hip-hop beat with a
corny Sugar Ray-like chorus, and "Let Me Know," an obvious
crossover attempt with a sultry female singer. To Assassin's credit, though, there is still niceness to be found in
tracks like "Don't Like You," which rides the Applause rididm
that Sean Paul (again) used to rule the charts on "Temperature,"
the gleefully self-promoting "I'm a Husta," and the lone
one-drop vibe on the album,
"Youths Well Cold" with Freddie
McGregor (a cover of Dennis Brown's
classic "Some Like It Hot").
Lyrically, it's all pretty basic street talk and braggadocio
("I'm full of ice like an Eskimo."), "Free At Last"
being one of the few, much appreciated forays into topical speech.
Another, "Wandering Mind," stands out not only for
its social commentary, but also its faux-Native American chanting
chorus. Assassin has the skills to pay the bills; his husky voice (a bit
like a dancehall version of Busta Rhymes) and seamless flow are
tailor-made for the dancehall. Just
don't expect all of Infiltration to live up to the standards of
"Idiot Thing" and "As a Man." |
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