The Winner (RAS, 1999)

Zebra is an unabashed copycat.  Period.  Even the liner notes of this, his debut album, refer to his "uncanny resemblance to Tiger" (For the record, he sounds like Tiger mixed with Louie Armstrong.).  Still, originality aside, a second-generation Tiger isn't necessarily an unwelcome commodity, especially considering the original's virtual inactivity since his devastating 1993 motorcycle accident.   Zebra gets Tiger's sound down pretty well for much of The Winner, even going so far as to incorporate largely old school riddims throughout (aided in no small part by the fact that the producer is old-school DJ Prince Jazzbo), giving the album a circa 1991 feel.  This sound is a welcome change of pace (unless you don't like that stylee), but its effect becomes negligible quickly, since the songs themselves aren't generally that great, and since Zebra simply isn't Tiger.  He lacks the manic charisma that endeared Tiger to so many fans.  But, in Zebra's defense, it's not for lack of effort.  I'm afraid for his sake, though, that if he doesn't break out of Tiger's shadow, his career may be brief; he may be remembered as a novelty act only.  Even some of his best songs find their precedence in Tiger's material ("Trailer" is a mirror image of Tiger's "Beep Beep," for example.).  Solid yet distinctly unspectacular tracks like "Delilah" and its dub "Sampson," "Weh," the hit "Hype Type of Love," and "The Winner" (which adopts the chorus from the classic "The Drifter") help sustain this album, but in my opinion, Zebra might want to change his stripes the next time around.