KY-MANI MARLEY

Radio

(p) 2007-sep-25

CD:

Tracklisting:

 
01 I'm Back (ft Young Buck & Louie Rankin)  
02 The March  
03 Slow Roll (ft Gail Gotti)  
04 One Time  
05 Hustler  
06 The Conversation (ft Tessanne Chin)  
07 Royal Vibes  
08 I Got You (ft Mya)  
09 Jezebel  
10 So Hot  
11 Ghetto Soldier (ft Louie Rankin & Maintain)  
12 Breakdown  
13 I Pray  
14 The March (bonus track - vox spanish remix)  
AAO MUSIC / VOX MUSIC GROUP, AAO/VOX 40651 CD

REVIEW IN ENGLISH:
SOURCE: ROOTS MUSIC Reggae & Dancehall
AUTHOR: Teacha Dan



Although Ky-Mani Marley's latest album was released in the United States in as early as September 2007, it still has not found European distribution. Though lavishly filled with radio-friendly tunes, Radio is not what some would expect from Ky-Mani. The album is a predominately urban R&B and hip hop oriented album, at least to the average reggae listener and especially those who loved his previous outing, the 2001 Grammy nominated straight up reggae album Many More Roads. To hardcore hip hop lovers on the other hand, the interesting genre mix that is Radio probably sounds too reggae-ish.

Six years between albums is an awful long time but thanks to the recent success of his brothers Damian and Stephen, and more yet thanks to his own media offensive including his own BET reality soap Livin' The Life Of Marley and a tour alongside rock group van Halen, Ky-Mani has again found his place in the spotlights. In his own words: "It's been a while since I've been up in your face, it's been some time, I've just been taking a break, but now I'm back!"

Ky-Mani's Marley heritage and name must be both a blessing and a curse. The upside is to be able to do what he wants when he wants and the downside is dealing with false expectations. People all over the world will expect any of Marley's dreadlocked musical sons to fulfil the role of one love, Rasta preaching, reggae ambassador. But there's more to him, Ky-Mani is not just like that. Another quote from the same song: "I keep switchin' and switchin', one minute it's like this, next minute it's like that, one minute I write songs, next minute I write rap."

Radio contains plenty ghetto hip hop slang and although Ky-Mani was not raised in a real actual ghetto, he was raised without the Marley riches until the estate madness was settled years after his father Bob had passed. He sure saw his share of poverty and violence around him growing up in Jamaica and from age eight in Miami, FL, USA. But his table tennis champ mother made sure Ky-Mani took up guitar- and piano lessons and she made sure he practiced the drums. She raised him "as a soldier", with plenty of sports and teaching him to never back down from anything.

It's not all just ghettospeak on Radio, there still is nuff to enjoy for reggae and dancehall fans. We often hear his trademark giggle, the one that sounds like a car hitting the brakes hard. Ky-Mani's voice still is the most laid-back of the family and, yes! Radio holds one straight up one drop reggae tune, the streetwise ghetto style 'Hustler', set to a fine roots rhythm. It fits surprisingly well with the rest of the tunes.

(Teacha Dan, January 2008)