Major Lazer might be the gateway and current hipster choice for dancehall, reggae, et all, but there are so many more legitimate artists out there that are true to the form and maintain the genre's credibility. Hailing from Guyana and actually part of the Major Lazer project, Jahdan Blakkamoore is the real deal. Raised in Brooklyn on hip hop smarts but obviously influenced by reggae, dancehall, cumbia and dubstep, Jahdan sounds a thousand times better than anything on the Major Lazer project and his album Buzzrock Warrior is a brilliant blast of beat inflected tropical sunshine.
Buzzrock Warrior is a laidback record that owes much of it's chilled vibe to R&B as it does to tropical influences. It's a beat heavy, slow rolling record that pounds it's way across the oceans and islands into your soul. It's an intense and melodic album that shows just how good pure dancehall and the like can be. Buzzrock Warrior is fantastic stuff that's thought provoking and entertaining and that's what makes it stand out. A novelty record this is not; this is seriously good stuff.
With production help from everyone from DJ Rupture to Modeselektor and a few grime superstars, Buzzrock Warrior is a punishing proposition. The bass lines and beats will either blow out your ears or push your soundsystem to its very limit and that's not a bad thing. Buzzrock Warrior wouldn't sound nearly as good if the production was held back and thankfully it wasn't and every song on it pulsates with a chilled vitality. From the self explanatory, "Earthshaking," to the chilled out melodic ballad of "Come With Me," Buzzrock Warrior is as good as it gets. Jahdan Blakkamoore is a super talented artist that not only has a way with words but a way with melody and timing. He's got the knack and it's all over Buzzrock Warrior. If you think Major Lazer is the bomb then check out something far purer and cooler...check out Jahdan Blakkamoore.
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