My Crew, My Dawgs (VP, 2001)

Listening to their debut My Crew, My Dawgs, it’s not terribly difficult to see that T.O.K. began its career as an R&B-influenced vocal harmony group.  The material on this album mixes liberal amounts of singing with their dancehall chatting, often adapting known pop melodies into their songs (for instance, "Somebody's Watching Me" on the untitled hidden track and "When Doves Cry" on "Eagles Cry").  They even throw in an R&B ballad, "Alone," a lovers cover of the schmaltzy pop ballad “I Believe” and a Boyz II Men-style a cappella interlude of the Temptations' "The Way You Do the Things You Do" (the quartet began as an a cappella act).  Make no mistake, however, this is a dancehall album, and T.O.K. makes this abundantly clear from the get-go with the brutal "Man Ah Bad Man," featuring a verbal brow-beating from Bounty Killer.  Then, the group traverses into what is inexplicably their biggest hit to date, "Chi Chi Man."  Frankly, I will never understand the appeal of this song.  Not only are the lyrics morbidly homophobic, but the chorus is sung to the melody of the Christmas carol, "Do You Hear What I Hear?"... Huh?  Is this supposed to be entertaining?  I guess some people think so, but for me, it mars what otherwise is an entertaining album.  Luckily, T.O.K. follows up the worst track on the album with the best, "Gimmi da Muzik" which puts forth a funky interpretation of the classic riddim from Barrington Levy's "Murderer," combined with an invigorating chant featuring part of Musical Youth's "Pass the Dutchie" (they adapt another part of that song on "On the Radio”).  Most everything from that point on has a fast, fun tone with catchy hooks and riddims – highlighted by the popular “Money to Burn” and “Shake Yuh Bam Bam," along with "On the Radio," "Saturday," "Mona Lisa," and "All Day" – with lyrics generally dealing with partying and bad boy posturing.  The group’s sound is perhaps most comparable to a fellow "new school" dancehall team, Ward 21, but with fewer hip-hop beats and more singing.  As with Ward 21 (and, to be honest, as with many modern dancehall artists), however, T.O.K.'s lyrical content can occasionally leave something to be desired.  "Chi Chi Man" in particular left me with such a bad taste in my mouth that I resisted even listening to this album for a long time.  It’s bad enough that they sing about "burning down" the "chi chi man," but they have an interlude with little children gleefully singing that same hook, and then later in the album, they inexplicably cover "I Believe," a song all about tolerance (!) whose chorus states, "I believe love is the answer; I believe love will find a way."  It’s scary to think that they don’t see the irony in including this song on their album.  It’s truly a shame, too, because My Crew, My Dawgs is generally an excellent, exciting debut with an infectious sound that, given the success of Sean Paul and Wayne Wonder, positions the group to cross over in the American market.  Any more songs like "Chi Chi Man," though -- given America ever deciphers what is being said -- may kill those chances as quickly as Shabba Ranks' international career plummeted upon his notorious anti-gay remarks.