Micah Shemaiah - Original Dread (Descendant Music)

As far as we're concerned Shemaiah may be considered an absolute revelation and 'Original Dread' is an absolute gem of an album. As the cover design by British graphic artist Mau Mau already somewhat indicates, the music on 'Original Dread' is really meant to blast out of the speaker set of a good sound system and therefor it should come as no surprise four of the eight vocal tracks on the album also come with an excellent dub version. In Will Tee of the British Descendant Music label, Micah found the ideal partner for the production of 'Original Dread'. The album opens with the eponymous title track, immediately setting the tone for the rest of the album. Micah Shemaiah is a member of Jah Ova Evil movement and for 'Original Dread' he surrounded himself with a number of other artists from the collective: in 'Easy Breezy' Shemaiah is flanked by Exile Di Brave, for 'If I Could' he got the company of InfiNate and Jahkime, and in the excellent 'Truths & Rights' Nicole Miller provides the second voice. Lovers of classic riddims can enjoy 'Spengaleng', a version over the Shank I Shek riddim for which Micah invited Brigadier Jerry's son TJ. 'Dread On Yah', a lovely ode to Rastafari over the Jacqueline riddim (Hugh Mundell) and both musically and content-wise our absolute favorite from the track list, concludes the album on a high note. 'Original Dread' doesn't really contain any weaker tracks, but the upbeat ska of 'Smile' sounds somewhat out of place and Micah's hit-tune 'Reggae Rockit' is also missing from the track list, minor details though that shouldn't keep you from acquiring this truly outstanding album!
 
You can check out Micah Shemaiah live in The Yard at Reggae Geel on Saturday August 1st!