Data wrote:

Artist: Khari Kill
Album: Picture of Selassie
Date: 2007
Genre: Reggae

Codec: MP3 @n/a Kbps Size: 66 MB

Context wrote:

If you\’re a reggae fan and you ever take a trip through Trinidad\’s ever expanding roster of artists and catalogue of big tunes, you\’ll be doing yourself a rather large favor. With the expansion of reggae music reaching all over the globe, it may be tempting to overlook a place such as Trinidad which is historically so CLOSELY associated with traditional calypso and now of course the burgeoning Soca vibe. But the reggae vibes in TnT have grown to a point where literally hardcore reggae heads can no longer afford to overlook the neighboring island as some truly fine rootical talents are emanating from what is probably Jamaica\’s closest neighbor in all of the Caribbean culturally. And while you might expect the reggae touch in Trinidad to be of a dancehall variety, much more up-tempo vibes because of the affinity for the mind-numbingly hypeness that is Soca, the real Trinidad reggae vibe is one that is purely cultural. I first became directly aware of exactly what was going on with TnT reggae just a few years back (and I know that\’s bad, yes I am half Trinidadian) when I `discovered\’ a downright shockingly impressive roots Empress by the name of Queen Omega. Queen Omega, despite being STILL being very young is actually somewhat of a pioneer in the more modern vibes of reggae in Trinidad and Tobago, and currently she is one of the more highly regarded roots reggae female talents in the world. After Queen Omega, you have a variety of names with definitely the most well known being the truly wicked Marlon Asher. Asher had a rather sizable hit a couple of years ago when his Ganja Planter literally put himself on the reggae map. His subsequent releases have proven Asher to be so much more than a one hit wonder, showing himself as well to be at the forefront of Trinidadian reggae. There are others still. Check Prophet Benjamin. Prophet Benjamin has literally been one of the most consistent artists in all of reggae music over the past few years; check Isasha and Million Voice, the duo has already distinguished themselves, largely due to a mega shot from the former with the wicked Don\’t U Know. There\’s also the supremely talented Jah Melody who has created quite a buzz for himself with a style very similar to that of Jamaican singer Jah Cure, and actually landed a great opportunity in the form of becoming the first Trinidad reggae act to sign to reggae giant label VP Records. His debut is expected later this year as well. There are many others still such as Jah Bami, King David, Levi Myaz and the wicked chanter Jah Defender. Simply put, Trinidad reggae is going high.

The artist with whom the genre has perhaps been most closely associated with, however, over the more recent years is definitely Khari Kill. Although Queen Omega hit out before Kill (on the international scene) and certainly represents Trinidad full and proper, she has almost been absorbed to the point of even myself forgetting sometimes to mention her in discussions of TnT reggae, now four albums deep into her career. Khari Kill, on the other hand, has been extremely tied to the TnT reggae scene and serves as somewhat of a figure head for the vibes along with arguably pushing some of the finest material altogether. Hailing from the apparently musically rich La Horquetta area of Trinidad (the same area birthed Kill\’s peers Isasha, Zebulun and Cutty) Khari Kill has become a personal favourite of mine over just the past couple of years in building towards his debut album. Khari Kill (now living a lot in New York) has made himself into a literal reggae underground sensation, but one who is definitely respected in all facets and corners of the game. Kill has shared the stage and share venues with some of Jamaica\’s top names, and his songs appear on compilations right besides them as well. Here in Jamaica, he has made some waves also as his biggest hit to date (more on that in a minute) routinely played here. And in the New York scene, Khari Kill has been one of the more popular names alongside the `usual suspects\’. Much like the last review that I wrote (for Chezidek\’s new album, Inna Di Road, everybody pick that up as well) Khari Kill has done a great deal of his material and found a home with the New York based Massive B label and Bobby Konders. Massive B\’s kind of random style of production has suited the somewhat streaky style of Khari Kill perfectly in that you never know exactly what Konders and co. will produce. Also, if you stay in the knowledge stream, you\’ll see the name Khari Kill on almost every mixtape coming out of New York, regardless of whether or not he has new material out at the moment. The first sign that Kill actually had something worth paying more than a little attention to was of course the title track for his debut album, Picture of Selassie. Massive B released the Truths and Rights riddim (which I believe they also called the Take a Ride riddim) with a truly stacked lineup of artists. Longtime favorites Johnny Osbourne, the orginator of the riddim, King Kong, Burro Banton and even Nicodemus appeared alongside contemporary pillars such as Sizzla Kalonji, Chezidek, Chuck Fender and Richie Spice (who probably scored the biggest literal hit on the riddim with his superb Youths So Cold) all voiced the riddim but topping them all was the truly excellent Picture of Selassie. Ever since, although by no means remaining stagnant, Kill has been riding the wave of fortune which came with pushing the tune (which was accompanied by a simply powerful video which featured a moment where Kill took to a classroom and was actually passing out PICTURES of SELASSIE to school youths). By no means had Picture of Selassie made him a household name in reggae, but I wasn\’t the only one paying attention to the name Khari Kill afterwards.

It took entirely too long to materialize, but FINALLY Khari Kill reaches the masses with his debut album, Picture of Selassie for Raptivism Records. While Picture of Selassie the song, set out to single-handedly make the world aware of HIM, Picture of Selassie the album maintains a very high spiritual vibes which belong in the collection of any roots reggae fan. If you\’ve never heard Khari Kill, probably the best artist to use as a vocal reference point is Chuck Fender (whom he also resembles physically). Imagine an overall vocally slightly less versatile version of Chuck Fender (which is still saying something, I think for how much he does with his voice, Fender is definitely overlooked on that side) and you have Kill. Lyrically, he\’s not much away from Fender on that side but he has something extra as well. Take Chuck Fender and dash in a bit of Sizzla for that almost kind of \’wandering\’ style. Kill, at times, appears to paint himself into corners lyrically where you can\’t see exactly how he could possibly remove himself and EVERYTIME he comes out perfectly. Be it something like an idea or something as small as just a rhyme, both he and Sizzla always seem to do that equally well (but his overall lyric style is far from Sizzla\’s almost completely spiritual side when he chooses to do roots); certainly not a bad pair of artists to be compared to (and wouldn\’t a Kill-Fender combination be a nice thing in 2008!). Picture of Selassie opens with the very strong Bird Pepper over the Sign riddim out of Trinidad. Bird Pepper is rather easily one of the best songs on the album and a superb way to start off the album. Props to Khari Kill and his producers and programmers for eschewing the basic run of the mill way to open an album in the form of an intro (and further respect goes to them as the album is completely devoid of intros, outros or interludes). Instead, we are given the excellent Bird Pepper which takes a truly wonderful message to the youths who have maybe lost their way (and to those who have led them in the wrong way as well) and does so on a tune which will have you bopping your head and tapping your feet throughout the very enjoyable 3:50. The song immediately following Bird Pepper, Humble as a Lamb, continues the very high level of vibes in an even more free-flowing and slightly more aggressive over another Trinidad riddim, the very nice and somewhat old school sounding Hear My Cry riddim. Humble as a Lamb is another strong praising tune of His Majesty and, depending on when I listen to it, may even be stronger than Bird Pepper (although as of this writing I\’m still leaning towards Bird Pepper between the two tracks).

Then Picture of Selassie starts to get familiar.

Arguably the second biggest tune of Kill\’s career is Mary Grandson, Kill\’s cut of Massive B\’s excellent Jah Love riddim (which you probably know more so for backing Chezidek\’s Inna Di Road). The anti-violence (ALL VIOLENCE) track became a very nice follow up for Picture of Selassie the song and kept Kill\’s name in the international reggae circles, as well as, apparently, mashing up New York as well. It also received decent spins in Jamaica as well and its presence on this album was downright mandatory. Still, I would have to say the best track on Picture of Selassie overall is. . . Picture of Selassie. Almost after 2 years of overplaying the song just on my own, I\’ve still yet to tire of the tune (much like Far From Reality by Natural Black. Although it certainly would have looked much better heading an album like this, this time last year, better late than never and if you haven\’t heard the tune, trust that this album is worth whatever you\’ll end up paying for it based on the title track alone. The track did and does an outstanding job of relaying a very nice spiritual message, but, and you could probably say this of Kill\’s style as a whole, that he never takes his spiritual tunes to a height of the stars making them so mental that they become hard to really pick up for someone without a rich history in reggae music. Picture of Selassie is a very nice spiritual track and everyone follow that message definitely! Following the title track is the excellent As I Am. Built over a DIVINE riddim which includes an excellent keyboard and equally excellent and subtle nyah drum to the vibes. The other tracks which I was familiar with going into the album include the every nice While I\’m Living. While I\’m Living is a lovely song put together by the Lustre Kings outfit out of Oakland, California in the States on their very fine New Day riddim. The song is a very nice slow down, for the album changing the vibes just a bit and its presence is definitely welcome on the album, as I had remembered the track actually, but figured it was ultimately likely to be left off of the project, but Picture of Selassie (much like it\’s namesake) proves to be truly all encompassing. The last track which I remembered hearing before the album release appears later in the album with Don\’t Loose Your Soul. The track is a Pow Pow production for their Overstand riddim and proves to be one of the bigger tracks on the album, and I love how it was saved for almost the end of the project, giving the album a nice lift towards the end.

The newer material (new to me that is) is also quite impressive. Check Free Jah Cure (which I actually had heard before), Kill\’s call for Babylon to free not only the newly emancipated Jamaican singer, but others as well. Very nice track over Massive B\’s very infectious No Borders riddim. Check the ultra familiar vibes of Marijuana Pumping which flows on the same Ganja Farmer riddim which backed Marlon Asher\’s hit Ganja Planter. The song doesn\’t reach the stratosphere of Asher\’s tune, but it definitely is a very nice track. Check the very solid and inspiring Real Bad (Pray For Dem) a very aggressive praising track which features a very nice female backup singer accompanying Kill. Lastly, check the two rather controversial tunes later on the album, Jesus and Mad Cow. Jesus is not the standard gospel praising tune. Instead, over the same lovely riddim which birthed Asher\’s excellent Love of Jah, Kill casts a different light on the situation and its definitely something to be heard. And on Mad Cow, Khari gives a check to all those who aren\’t necessarily eating properly on the fiery track. Oh and I\’d be doing you a severe disservice if I went without mentioning the very nice and celebratory closer of Picture of Selassie, the wonderful Top Ranking.

Few things missing here: Music Ting for Massive B would have been nice here as a changeup (as is, Free Jah Cure is probably the changeup). Also would have like to have seen a combination or two. Either or both of his tunes; Why, why, why, why for Lustre Kings with Lutan Fyah and Princess Menen and his current Trinidad piece the superb dancehall track Life with Jah Bami would have fit perfectly.

Overall, this one is exclusively for the reggae heads. If you\’ve at all been keeping an eye on what has been going on in Trinidad (and for that matter, New York as well) you\’ve probably been looking forward to this one for quite awhile. Khari Kill\’s determined commitment to the spiritual side of roots and of course HIM fits alongside some of the stronger rootical efforts coming out of Jamaica. I\’m throwing Picture of Selassie (even despite its rather unusual cover) near the head of the class with the pounds and pounds of other quality reggae releases in 2007, Khari Kill lays a big shot, one which the hardcore reggae fans would be wise to not ignore.

Tracklist wrote:

1. Bird Pepper
2. Humble As a Lamb
3. Mary Grandson
4. Smoking Aroung
5. Picture Of Selassie
6. As I Am
7. Feel It
8. Free Jah Cure
9. Marijuana Pumping
10. Real Bad (Pray For Dem)
11. Jesus
12. Mad Cow
13. While Am Living
14. Don\’t Loose Your Soul
15. Top Ranking

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