Uman - Umanist (Umanmusic)

For this album full of reggae and dancehall tunes, Uman clearly returned to the vibes from his early days. For the riddims the singer called on producers like Demolisha (France), Dreadlocksless (Switzerland), WMG, DnH and Heartical (France), and of course his regular acolytes Simon Lesaint and Selecta Killa, with whom Uman has been organizing his Dancehall Station nights for a while now, couldn't be absent. With vocal contributions by guests like Yaniss Odua, Taïro and Brussels based rapper Za and Gifta, 'Umanist' also contains more than a few combinations. The only name popping up in the track list twice is that of B.I.C., a Haitian artist Uman met at a concert in Port-Au-Prince back in 2015 and with whom he felt an immediate chemistry. Uman seems to suffer from mood swings, as 'Umanist' contains both cheerful positive songs like opener 'Faut Y Aller', 'La Vie Est Belle' or 'I Love My Life', as rather pessimistic socially critical tracks like 'Pas De Justice Pas De Paix', an indictment of the police state, 'Revolution' or 'Combien De Temps', about the ever growing inequality in the world. Without the slightest competition our favorite track on 'Umanist' is 'Sinsemilia', a ganja tune and duet with Yaniss Odua and really a personal take on Black Uhuru's 'Sinsemilla': "J'ai un stock de mon plaquard, j'ai un sinsemilia pakhton dance stock the sinsemilia si le dealer est en retard ...". Excellent album from a Belgian veteran in top shape!   This summer, among others, Uman will be performing at Dour, Bomboclat, Reggae Geel and Couleur Café!