Thug Life Army

By now almost every reggae and hip-hop fan have heard the catchy hook from ‘Stepping Razor.’ There are even some of these music fans who are saying that the song played a role in Colin’s Powell departure from the Bush administration. The song borrows its chorus from the Peter Tosh's classic 'stepping Razor'' but the verses are packed with intelligent, thought provoking yet funny lyrics. How did this relatively new dancehall artist make it to the top of the Jamaican dancehall chart so fast? Well to find out the answer, all one has to do is listen to the song where Bookman belts out lyrics such as ''I am a stepping razor don''t you watch my size I am dangerous, I am only 5''8 but my gun is big like Jennifer Lopez's butt''. Big A of irie FM, the top reggae station in Jamaica, refers to Bookman as being ''funny like Professor Nuts yet Serious like Sizzla Kalongi''. This comparison is evident in the way Bookman took some serious jabs at Colin Powell and the Bush administration all while maintaining a comedic edge throughout the song.

When ask why such a harsh stance was taken against Colin Powell, Bookman replied: ‘Well I am a Jamaican and he is of Jamaican heritage, so I hold him to a much higher standard than the other major players within the Bush administration. When those high standards are not met, then it is only natural that he be shown the errors of his ways through words, powers and sounds. As a matter of fact, during the election campaign the Bush administration referred to John Kerry as a flip flopper but if you look at how Colin Powell as change his stance on major issues to fit in with the administration or to try to convince the media that he was in agreement with Rumsfeld and Cheney, he is probably the biggest flip flopper of all times. He makes Kerry look like a stubborn bull.’

Judging from the heavy downloads of the song from ITunes and Napster, a lot of people, or at least the fans of hip-hop and reggae, seems to be in agreement with Bookman’s sentiment towards Colin Powell. As a matter of fact, the song is one of the most downloaded by an independent artist on an independent label. TCOOO Productions, the label responsible for releasing the song has now taken a bold step and is making the song available for free downloads at www.sharenewyork.com/shnyfile/listing/uid/65. Anyone can download the song from this website and listen to it three times absolutely free. If after the three listens they want to continue listening to it, only then they would have to buy the song. TCOOO is giving away the free listens because they believe everyone needs to hear this song. According to a TCOOO representative, the Caribbean and African American communities still love Colin Powell. ‘He still has a chance to return to a position of respectability, integrity, strength, hope and admiration in our communities. Leaving the Bush administration was a major step toward that feat. We would love to see him running for the presidency of the United States someday, maybe even in 2008’. Whether Powell will take such a bold step remains to be seen. One thing is for sure however, according to Bookman he will continue making hot songs with messages for all reggae and hip-hop fans. Bookman would like to influence these fans the same way he was influenced by Sizzla, Capleton, Nas, Chuck D and KRS-One.