Thug Life Army

While reggae and hip-hop fans are all making raves about the new 18 Karat Reggae Gold, one song from the album seems to be causing quite a stir in the digital download arena. Every fan with an IPOD seem to have ''Party all Night'' by Dre on their ITunes playlist. The song is also one of the most downloaded party songs on Napster. ''The lyrics are hot, the artist has an excellent flow and the beat is just awesome'' says Bobby Konders of Hot 97FM in New York City. The beat is so awesome; that even the instrumental without the vocals is getting major downloads. Jamaican producers have a way of giving names to their instrumentals just like a song, and the instrumental for ''Party all night'' is called ''Any Type War''. Big A of irie FM in Jamaica says this is definitely the hottest party track of the year, ''the horns are so addictive I kept playing it again and again''.

While ''Party all night'' is currently gaining its fair share of accolades, the entire 18 Karat Reggae Gold is loaded with roots reggae, dancehall and hip-hop masterpieces.

The album starts off with a hot party track entitled ‘Are you ready to party?’ Stapler is the lead singer on this track and is backed up by Attorney who laces the track with some real ‘grab a partner and dance’ lyrics. The Jamaican Star refers to Stapler as a cross between Sanchez and Tenor Saw. You can also find this golden voice singer on other tracks on the album. He goes solo on ‘Wife type’, which is a tribute to every woman who has all the qualities to be the wife of any great man. He then teams up with Attorney again on the heated break up track ‘Forget You’. This track catches the singer belting out notes such as:

”Since we’ve been together girl, I’ve never done you wrong / I don’t think you have a heart, you dirty Vagabond / So Forget you and your friends and everything you do / I’ve reached the point of no return / I want nothing to do with you.

The album also features two blazing tracks from Vineyard. Carl Brown of Reggae Strong magazine says Vineyard is so refreshing he reminds him of the first time he heard Warrior King and Jah Cure. No one can disagree with this comparison once they listen to the track ‘Stolen Legacy’. Chanting over beautiful acoustics, the Rasta man chant against oppression and imperialism in ‘Stolen Legacy’. Stolen Legacy is a must have, the lyrics are very deep yet uplifting and gives an eerie reminiscent of Bob Marley’s ‘Old Pirates’.

Next there is Afayah who also have a beautiful break up song called ‘I still love her’. Unlike Stapler in ‘Forget You’, Afayah can’t seem to get over this special someone who has broken his heart. So in a kind of Keith Sweat’s style he sings to her ‘…roses under your pillow, that’s what you’re missing’. Afayah also drop a another classic reality tune on the album called ‘That’s how the story goes’ and he switches from the smooth reggae to a more hardcore dancehall style in the Party tune ‘Energy’.

The album also has the sing-jay sensation Zeego Zaro, sometimes you can’t tell whether Zaro is a singer or a DJ, but he sums it up himself in ‘Babylon leave me alone’ when he chants, ‘Leave me alone this is my life/Let me sing how I want this is my voice’. The album has numerous other hot artists and hot songs such as Bare Face Warrior with ''Vatican Babylon'', Bookman with ‘Bus di dance’ and Dr. Serious with ‘Horny’. Simply put, there are way too many hot songs by great artists on the album to mention here, but if you are a true lover of Reggae music then 18 Karat Reggae Gold is a must have.

”Just when reggae was getting tired of the same old Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Shaggy and Sean Paul then here comes a breath of fresh air in 18 Karat Reggae Gold. There is not one song on the entire album that I did not want to listen to ever and over again. It is packed with great reggae beats, excellent flows and deep conscious, yet sometimes funny lyrics. With this album you can dance, laugh, vent, all while having an enjoyable time.” Geoffrey Garland -- Entertainment Times

18 Karat Reggae Gold is currently available on Amazon, Tower Records, CD Baby and all leading retail stores. Listen to samples of the new reggae gold HERE .