Ini Kamoze: Ini Kamoze (Import) Vinyl LP

If you've been shopping for reggae for longer than a couple weeks, you've probably passed this record about 30 times and always just kept on flipping:
"pssh... Ini Kamoze." Thing is, no matter how bad a Jamaican artist sucks when they reach international fame, you can pretty much guarantee that they've got some rocket launcher JA tunes in the attic. Inner Circle, Third World, Aswad, right on down the line- these guys all have heaters if you look. Anyway, this is the Ini Kamoze album you need to be checking for. There's only six tracks on here (all extended disco / dub edits), but all of em are harder than the balls on a brass monkey. You should already know about "World A Music," the tune that provided both the chorus and rhythm for Damian Marley's "Welcome To Jamrock." And I'd forgive for thinking that was the only Ini song worth seeking out, but this whole album is on par with that. Sly & Robbie production is off the charts, all this tough basslines, syn-drums and echo effects, with a big help from Solgie on the engineering. Digital dub / roots music at it's finest and I'm really digging Ini's vocals, check "Trouble Me A Trouble You" or "General" for the goods. All tracks are about 6 minutes long with the dubs, which are also way above average, especially for this time period. One of the baddest 80s LPs for sure. Recommended.

• black vinyl pressing
• original release year: 1984
• music label: Taxi 2026

reviewed by the Natty Professor 09/2006