The album kicks off with the soulful Sea of Love where Ras Shiloh gives you a taste of his incredibly cider-sweet voice before seguing into the plaintive So Much Heathen. It is clear after the first couple of tracks that Ras Shiloh sounds every bit like the second coming of Garnet Silk in his vocal phrasing, delivery and substance.
And the rest of the album does not disappoint.
Standout tracks include Rastaman to Africa which is an ode to love and to repatriation to the Motherland, the African continent where he declares: Mama Africa, we’re coming home/we’re coming home/Ithiopia, how great you are.
On Hardcore Steppers, Ras Shiloh shows the gangster-revolutionary side of his personality showing the aggressive tendencies of rastafari saying he ‘will step in your chest’, and burning out the ‘heathen’. On Mama Africa, he flips the script deejaying a few verses in a pseudo-Sizzla voice that shows that he cannot be dismissed merely as a Garnet Silk clone. Anyone making that mistake will rue the day
One of my favourite songs is Man From the Mountain where the feel-good vibes of a naturalistic lifestyle shines through in a new fantasy land delivered in Rash Shiloh’s crystal clear vocals. When he sings: I am the man from the mountain…fresh from the fountains, free like the birds in the breeze, Babylon getting conquered/coming with their guns and tankers/trying to destroy the plant of the ganja/what are you doing to me jah?
Produced by the legendary King Jammy at his Waterhouse studio, this album is rootical to the nth power with a mixture of microwaved classic Jammy rhythms mixed with new rhythms. The only drawback is that some of the rhythms sound too much alike giving the later tracks a monotonous feel. However, Shiloh’s emotive, heart-tugging vocals make this album a great listen, and there is an aesthetic surprise or two towards the end for the ardent reggae lover who makes this emotional journey with what is indeed a remarkable artiste for the 21st century.
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