Prince Osito - Play Me! (No Shaking In Zion Productions)

First and foremost, this album should be nominated for having the most motivating title of the year. Because of the imperative with exclamation mark, you almost have no choice but to play the record (or click the media file for the less nostalgic souls).

Prince Osito may not be too well-known in our region but this album leaves little doubt about his talent. Versatility is the word of choice to describe 'Play Me!' but therein lay both the album´s strengths as well as its weaknesses. Prince Osito, originally from Nigeria, has been living in Spain for quite a while now but Africa is definitely still a crucial theme on the album, for example in songs like 'Wake Up Africa' or 'Diobu Boy'. Osito mentions artists like the great Fela Kuti and Lucky Dube as a source of inspiration, and at times his way of singing reminds us of Tiken Jah Fakoly.

Osito clearly listened well to renowned Jamaican singers such as Luciano, Culture, Sanchez, Beres Hammond, Anthony B or Bushman so reggae remains heavily represented on the album. 'Play Me!' also contains collaborations with other well-known artists such as 'Leaving', a soulful roots track with Gentleman and Daddy Rings. 'Mama Africa' featuring Junior Reid is a less successful experiment where he chants rather monotonously over a combination of distorted guitar and samples of Damian Marley´s 'Welcome To Jamrock'. Prince Osito does lovers rock really well so tracks like the adorable retro duet 'Baby Girl' (feat. Sandra), or the hypnotic 'If I Love You' are definitely recommended. Another highlight is 'The Man Nah Bad Man', a track with an early 90´s dancehall feel to it. Also hard to resist is 'Rock This Place' (with a rolling "r"), a track that reminds of more mainstream artists like Rihanna or Akon, but with an African-Jamaican flavour to it, and a big -up to Obama.

Lesser tracks on the album are for example the bonus track 'Pump Around', a remake of House of Pain´s hip hop classic 'Jump Around', the soca song 'Spanish Girl' and the dance influenced 'Champagne'. The bonus tracks, five in total, also contain drum & bass remixes of the songs with Gentleman and Junior Reid. Listeners really get exposed to a multitude of genres, samples and riddims, which demonstrates an enormous talent and creativity but sometimes it results in an almost schizophrenic listening experience. It is no coincidence that the simplest songs on this album are usually the best ones. Less is more but more is what we´d like to hear from Prince Osito. Play It!