Sizzla - 876 (Judgement Yard/868 Music/J-Vibe Productions/Zojak World Wide)

With the exception of 'Beautiful Place', Sizzla's falsetto nowhere becomes overbearing and some songs even have some hit potential. Quite remarkable: with songs like 'Love Me', 'Never Ending Love', 'You Belong To Me' or even 'Longing For', Sizzla mostly seems to have opted for lovers tunes  this time. In that category its especially 'You Belong To Me', a duet with Samira Taylor, a singer we weren't as yet familiar with, that really stands out. The intimate 'Show Them The Way', underpinned by a nyahbinghi influenced riddim, ends with an excerpt from Haile Selassie's speech in front of the United Nations in 1963. With 'Bad Mind' Sizzla and Jah Cure try to revoke the magic of 'King In The Jungle'. The effort isn't quite as successful, but still, this is far from a bad tune. Another one of the better songs from the track list is the solid ganja tune 'High Grade', and in 'Leave My Ganja Alone', another ganja tune, Sizzla is also in fine shape. That being said, our favorite track on '876' is, 'Street Life', in which Sizzla calls on youngsters to stay in school instead of being lured into a life of crime and violence. Kalonji's still got it!