Inner Strength (Higher Bound, 2007)

Sista Kat is a vibrant and exciting new artist from the burgeoning Oneness Sound/Higher Bound collective (see also Biblical) who will likely polarize listeners because of her vocal style. As shown on her debut Inner Strength, she's primarily a rapper, but she will ocassionally switch into a melodic chanting mode, and many of her choruses are sung outright. How much you enjoy her material is likely dependent on how much tolerance you have for rap in your reggae. Personally, I don't care for it, although Sista Kat has solid skills. Her choice to be a rapper, though, is a bit perplexing when you hear her sing so angellically on "Help in Every Stress" and when you hear how viable her sing-songy chanting flow -- something like Dezarie by way of Rickie Lee Jones -- is on tracks like "Carry InI," "Spirit of a Lion," "Keep Cool," and the title track. Unfortunately, most of her singing is reserved for the hooks, rendering cuts like "Love Gone" and "Emaye," which feature outstanding choruses melded with rap verses, up-and-down experiences. My personal taste aside, I'd assume that a traditional singing/chatting flow would be more marketable in the reggae community, but on the other hand, her rapping makes her stand out more (as if being a conscious Caucasian female reggae artist wasn't distinctive enough). Musically, Inner Strength is as vivacious as Sista Kat's vocals, and like her vocals, it's mostly hip-hop-oriented. Aside from "Emaye," only at the end -- the final three tracks, specifically -- does a bit of roots reggae creep in, despite the Rasta-centric lyrical content. When combined with an artist who raps, of course, this brings up the question as to whether or not the material is even reggae. Certainly, it's hard to classify a tune like "7 & 3" as such, but on the whole, I think that the sound of Inner Strength works as an intriguing branch of reggae that earnestly pushes the boundaries of the genre. I just personally wish there was less rapping. But judge for yourself at oneness-sound.com.