We go deal wit d case
Face to face
It really doh have nutten dat we fraid to say
This is the chorus of track one of the first major album venture of Word Sound & Power. And it's no 'Mamaguy' (fellas, why isn't this song on the CD?) when I say that they live up to their lyrics. Take four poets, each with their unique style. Link them with one of the sweetest, most haunting voices in UWI St Augustine. Add to that a group of musicians who have been honing their trade for years in their young lives. This, Trinidad and Tobago, is Word Sound & Power, a rising force in the rapso world with the blessings of the veterans in the art form.
Chike "BukkaRoots" Pilgrim, Muhammad "Mudd" Muwakil, Mark Esan "Dialectik Chantuelle" Lawrence and Kyle "Skeeto" Amos form the force behind the hard-hitting lyrics of the songs on the album. And these young men leave nothing and no one untouched. From crime to politics (some may say they are blood brothers) to poverty to redundant artistes, one can feel the passion in each of the seven tracks offered to the public. Also included are three insightful interludes that would have one debating the state of our country, and where we may all be headed in the near future. I personally love the "Independence" interlude by Bro. David Muhammad, which focuses on the reasoning behind the Black Power movement.
Apart from the heavy-damage lyrics, I was blown away by the "teefheadism" of the accompanying music and Akilah Riley's soothing voice. The Castagne brothers, Chris and Joel (grandsons of acclaimed composer Patrick Castagne), provide the body of the music with acoustic guitars while Akinlabi Holder, who hails from our beautiful sister isle Tobago, keeps it all together on the djembe drum. The musicians did well, for they gave each tune a calming effect not unlike that of a mamba silently biding its time before smashing into its prey. And Ms Riley's crooning in the seven songs served to help lure the listener into believing that the album is full of sugarcoated pop songs, and not the acidic offerings that eat away at the cover-ups and expose the stark reality that our beloved country faces today.
The songs, although overlapping in content, have their own drive and feel. 'Deal Wit D Case', 'Questions' and 'Trouble' (tracks 1, 7 & 10 respectively), for example, are the most militant in terms of content. 'Freedom', 'Sweet Rebellion' and 'Everyday War' (tracks 2, 5 & 9) offer us a look into the introspective side of the poetic quartet, and 'Rapso' (track 4) is the most celebratory of the offerings. In terms of recording quality, the mixing and editing were skilfully done, and the four lyricists were virtually flawless (heard you speed up in 'Questions', Chike, but it didn't detract from the overall song).
This CD is a must for the followers of our underground music movement. Sadly, although every single tune of this album is radio ready, I doubt we'll be hearing any of them on any station soon...if ever. Too many corns getting buss up by the soles of these young men's military boots, as well deserved as they are of such treatment. Ah mean, check this little piece from Skeeto's two cents in 'Trouble':
De President playin mas
But what in de cup
Max drink mix bad, Max drunk in he a**
If CroCro and Aloes doh sing bout dis
Then they have no problem with censorship, so
We eh go be on de airwaves
Not even ah DJ wheel, we eh lookin for no airplay
Like I said, these guys never hold back a blow. When you have a cuff to collect, you are going to collect it.
While we on collecting, you can get your copy of Word Sound & Power's debut album from the group members. Just email them at wordsoundandpower@gmail.com and they'll take it from there. If you want to know more about the group, you can visit their page on MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/powerindplace
After listening to the CD, feel free to call a friend and tell them to look out for this blazing young rapso group in the near future. You won't regret it, trust me.
I out.
Correction: We previously attributed the "Independence" interlude to David Abdullah instead of David Muhammed.