Virtuous Woman (VP, 2002)

Warrior King is a rootsy dancehall singer (or is he a dancehall-y roots DJ?) who has emerged with a bullet, creating quite a stir among reggae fans hard up for a laid-back, conscious, rootsy sound amidst the aggressive, slack dancehall landscape.  I think that part of Warrior King's popularity lies in the fact that, although he's primarily a singer (he semi-chats occasionally), his voice often resembles Sizzla's when the latter is in his rootsy sing-jay mode, a style that many fans have complained he has largely abandoned since Black Woman and Child.  Thus, I think that many Sizzla fans find Virtuous Woman as something of a God-send.  While I can certainly understand this point of view, Warrior King certainly is no Sizzla clone.  It goes without saying that he has a stronger singing voice than Kalonji (although frankly no one will mistake him for a great singer), something bordering on Jahmali (who appears on this album) or even Turbulence.  The title track was a big hit in 2001 (it was included on Strictly the Best 27, interestingly the DJ volume, not the singers volume), and "Never Go Where Pagans Go" was a smash in 2002 (see Reggae Gold 2002), but other tracks shine just as brightly, namely the funky "Power to Chant," "Africa Shall Be Free," the Nyabinghi drumming "Health and Strength," and perhaps the best cut here, the powerful, full-blooded roots track "Love Jah and Live."  Unfortunately, not everything on Virtuous Woman is so stellar.  The watery cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," for instance, is utterly unnecessary, while the dub poem "Oh Mama," though sincere, is dull -- with only an acoustic guitar and a saxophone -- and hardly listenable.  Additionally, ,R&B/hip-hop beats on "Boast Not Myself" and "Make Me Feel" might rub some listeners the wrong way, although the album largely remains true to the reggae genre.  All in all, Virtuous Woman is a solid, promising debut, but I can't say that it's any more impactful than similar, less renowned debuts by Turbulence, Norris Man, Jah Cure, and Jahmali.