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Let Jah Rise (Obeyjah Productions, 1998) Born in Mississippi and raised listening to R&B and gospel, Ras Otis, AKA Obeyjah, naturally infuses soul into his reggae. Specifically, Obeyjah's soul is old-fashioned, gritty '60s and '70s soul, the type that so influenced Toots Hibbert, to whom I can most closely compare Obeyjah's style. Like Hibbert, Obeyjah combines rich vocals with exuberant music, as on "Run Your Race to the Top," "Ten Thousand Lies," and the instant classic "Let Jah Jah Rise." As you can tell by the titles, he puts forth cultural messages, but he manages to make them sound fun and danceable. In most of the songs on Let Jah Rise, either the vocals, the melody, or the music -- and often all 3 -- exude soul. And in the case of "Ancient People," he goes for pretty much straight '60s/'70s R&B. Make no mistake, however -- this is a reggae album. Recorded at Tuff Gong Studios with the able backing of musicians like Earl "Chinna" Smith and Dean Fraser, Let Jah Rise has a refreshingly live-band roots sound featuring invigorating horns, pianos, and African drums. Unfortunately, this seems to be Obeyjah's only album thus far, but hopefully we'll here from him again soon. |
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