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 Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:15 am Post subject: SHABBA: SONG BY SONG OFFICIAL KM CD REVIEW OF 2ND SOLO CD! |
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ZOKIKI: This track features arch rivals SHABBA and ROBERTO MARTINO on a very special and serious social message termed "Zokiki" in Haiti. The track is radio friendly and really starts shifting into gear at the 2:12 mark. If the song is pushed, it can become a hit. RICHIE comes in with an uplifting rap that just sends the track on another level, only for him to disappear as quickly as he came in. Nice track to kick off the cd.
CHIKITITA: This song had me pressing the rewind button over and over again when I got the cd. Yes, this song is one of the main reasons for taking so long on delivering the cd review, simply because I just could not stop playing it. Excellent job by Carimi vocalist MICKAEL GUIRAND on the vocals. It should be noted that I think it is one of his better vocal performances on cd. This song has hit written all over it and that's whether it is WITH or WITHOUT a music video. "Centuron Kole" guarantee.
POU LA VI: This Harmonik kid SANDERS continues to impress me with his songwriting skills as he is the one responsible for this track. Nicely matched with TI JOE ZENNY, they both deliver a very addicting tune for music lovers. It is filled with nice melodies on a very nice flow as both artists sing about the "us against the world" love cliche with lines like "KITE'M PRAN CHANS MWEN" and more. This is a gem of a song. I will not go out to say that it will be a hit song, but I can almost bet that it will be one of the favorite tracks on the cd for many.
JOU A LA: We're going to keep it real and say it straight up that this track is a 100% "old" Kassav copycat of a track. When we say "old" Kassav, we're talking about the one before they signed for the major record label..the band that used to be the darlings of the Haitian community. With that out of the way, I will tell you that SHABBA did it so well on this track, and also because Kassav has not given us Haitians "THAT" version of Kassav in decades, it is going to work very well. It is extremely danceable and catchy. Shabba at one point during the song even gives a dead on impression of Jean Philippe Martelly that is easily one of the highights of the track. You are going to either like this song very much, or you are going to dismiss it as a Kassav wannabe track. I can tell you where I clearly stand on this one. I can't stop bumping to this tune....so it must be working on me.
ASE: Olivier Duret takes center stage on this track with Shabba on the vocals as well. At the 2:36 mark is when the song really starts shifting into gear to get you in the mood. It is a pretty solid track with a very catchy hook, who unfortunately might get lost among the other ones that are on this cd.
MEZI PYEW: REGINALD CANGE stars in this duet with SHABBA. This track looks like a song that could easily be off of a Djakout CD, with the only difference being Reginald's voice instead of Pouchon. TI REGI's keytar play is off the hook, and the "OU PA GIN ZIN SA NAN MIN'W" parts catch your attention. It's a GUYS VS THE LADIES battle in terms of topic, and the way the story is described, it is screaming out for a music video because it seems the like the script is already written by listening to the lyrics and music. Another solid track on the cd, even though I think there are other songs MORE DESERVING of a music video than this one.
CHE AN MWEN: HIT...HIT...HIT....HIT PI RED written all over it. SI SA PA HIT....SHABBA VOYE FLEUR! Zouk night, Music video and all that good stuff is written all over this track featuring PRINCESS LOVER and J.PERRY. This I simply could not stop playing this on my audio system. Princess Lover's voice is simply seductively smooth and steals the song here starting at the 1:03 mark with her introduction as the background vocalist, and then the lead. J. PERRY represents well as well. At the 3:06 mark, TI HAROLD delivers a song changing keyboard sound that is HEAVENLY refreshing to say the least; that actually puts you even more in the mood for this tune. Icing on the cake I would like to call it. Catchy, danceable, radio friendly...I WOULD BE SHOCKED if this song does not become a hit...and SI LI PA VINI YON HIT...SHABBA FE FOT.
TI MANUELLA: This song stood out to me even before the cd was released as I was in the studio with SHABBA and TI REGI as they were mixing this song. This AFRICAN VIBE banger features the legendary African Queen MONIKE SEKA and upcoming HMI artist WANITO, as well as MIKABEN. All participants give outstanding performances on this track, especially Wanito. Wanito's part is a song stealing part that when I first heard it in the studio; it had TI REGI and I going nuts over the part. It is a different plate on the menu in terms of taste, but it fulfills the crossover purpose for Shabba in terms of trying to reach other markets.
ZANMI: SEPTEN and TROPICANA legendary singers TASSY and PARISIEN team up on this track. First of all, just putting those two together on 1 song already accomplishes a major thing, given all the hoopla surrounding the long rivalry between their respective bands, with them never playing for a regular bal, except for 1 fundraiser together (The bands that is). This song also represents a nice change of pace from the norm in terms of the style of Compas music heard on the cd up to that point. CLASSIC...CLASSIC...CLASSIC, as Djakout keyboardist TI POUCH delivers a great track for the legends to collaborate on. SHABBA also makes sure that his roots are displayed in the way that he talks throughout the song. I enjoyed it very very much.
PITO'M PAT KONEN: The DWET CELESTE sound of NICKENSON is fully displayed here as Harmonik's leader takes the lead on this one. It's a story about how a guy finds out more than he can handle when he goes digging in his wife's Facebook. POUKISA LANMOU FE'M SOUFFRI KONSA being the major theme here. Very solid track PLOGE STYLEEE, but one that will give HUSBANDS/BOYFRIENDS a major headache when they have to listen to the song over and over again. BON BAGAY.
CLUB LA CHO: Different vibe to close out the cd. CLUBBIN' STYLEE with the beat. TI HAROLD steals the show with his hype man appearance. The song also features BRIMAD, J-ZO, and SALI.
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THE GOOD:
*Nice list of guest artists on the cd. Solid performances by all.
*Different styles on display to help with crossing over to other markets.
*SHABBA's vocals are on full display here and he does a good job in that role.
THE BAD:
*The Compas Lovers/purists will scratch their heads and ask why a couple of songs even made it on the cd because they will think that he has moved away a little bit from his roots with this one.
MY FAVORITE SONGS ON THE CD "Chikitita", "Che An Mwen", "Zokiki", "Pou La Vi", "Ti Manuella" and "Jou A La".
I SEE THE HIT SONGS WITH: "Chikitita", "Che An Mwen", "Zokiki".
BIG QUESTION: How many songs CAN Djakout play LIVE from the songs on this CD due to the many guest artists? Maybe the better question should be how many songs will Djakout "WANT" to play?
THE WORD: SHABBA delivers an EXCELLENT CD. There are different plates on the menu to satisfy different tastes. SHABBA has 9 different producers with most on SEQUENCING MODE on this cd to help him accomplish this excellent CD as he has enlisted the help of guys like TI PACHOU, SANDERS, DANO, NICKENSON, TI HAROLD, WANITO, TI POUCH, WANITO, and JUDE SEVERE.
SHABBA proves with this cd that it is not a joke if you start mentioning him along the same lines as RICHIE and ARLY among the top best studio producers in the game. He just seems to know EXACTLY which artist is going to fit best with which song...exactly what a great studio producer of artists should be able to do.
SHABBA is also threatening to become BIGGER than DJAKOUT as he keeps on working and raising his name's stakes whether by doing appearances on other bands/artists projects, or by doing his own albums. While you hear Djakout musicians every 3 years when they release their group's cd, SHABBA I guarantee you is heard many more times than that on other projects, as well as Djakout's, and HIS OWN like this one.
SHABBA GIN YON GWO PLAK NAN MIN LI LA...The sky's the limit as to how far he wants to go with it. MAP GAD FEINT SHABBA AK ALBUM SA! BON BAGAY!
KM!
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