Happiness (Is in Your Heart) (ZKing of Hearts, 2007)

Hailing from the tiny Caribbean island of Anguilla, reggae singer ZKing of Hearts made a bit of a splash under the name Daddy Roots, releasing a couple of albums in the early 21st century. However, he wasn't satisfied with the direction his career was headed in and decided to change his sound, as the liner notes of Happiness state, "from roots reggae to more pop and dance music." And so voila, we have ZKing of Hearts, not to mention the uber-bubbly manga-inspired cover art. This strategy might raise an eyebrow or two, but it could be a shrewd move in terms of attracting the more casual reggae listeners while also generating higher name recognition (certainly, ZKing of Hearts is more memorable than Daddy Roots). Of course, diehard reggae fans might not be so thrilled at this new direction, but Happiness actually isn't as musically "out there" as even ZKOH might think. Really, I'd say 9 of the 13 tracks still retain a reggae base, with 5 or 6 of them being straightforward reggae, and little here is quite as insufferably cute as the cover art implies. The opening tune, "Make Love Not War," in fact, has the feel of a modern classic, a soothing call for peace that rises above the cliched title to make you believe that a song can actually unify a people for the common good. "Come Tonight" and "Are You Willing" are similarly groovy straightforward roots songs, the former a more sultry love song and the latter featuring a more social-minded message. "La, La, La" meanwhile is likeable pop reggae, while "Happiness" is a heartfelt ballad in the tradition of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross." Of the less reggae-fied tunes, "Sunshine" shines with catchy drum 'n bass escapism and "You're So Beautiful" is a sweet slice of '80s pop, but "Weedy Wop" is an attempt at a party jam that suffers from a nursery rhyme-ish melody (it's actually more suited to the club mix, although I don't think we also need a dub version of the club mix). I don't know if Happiness is enough to convert hardcore reggae heads to this more accessible sound, but no matter what you think of his music, you have to recognize ZKing of Hearts likeable self-confidence and admire his willingness to boldly follow his heart. Take a listen at zkingofhearts.com.