Entertainment

Sizzla is the year's best

Sizzla - File

IT IS THAT time of the new year when the musical achievements of the previous 12 months are totted up and the awards handed out to our entertainers.

Internationally, all eyes are on the Reggae Grammy; locally, it falls to the one remaining awards show to allocate the accolades. Which show is it? None other than the THE STAR Awards in February.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Of course, there are other standards, what with dancehall enjoying a resurgence on the Billboards, so there will be an eye cast on the chart placings there. In addition, there is rotation on the BET and MTV, as well as appearances in interviews.

That's all well and good.

However, my choice - and I do believe the overwhelming choice - of many for deejay of the year is Sizzla. In fact, it is more than deejay; it covers songwriting as well.

By the Grammy standards he does not qualify, as Da Real Thing has not even been nominated. He has not hit the Billboard charts, no interviews on 106 and Park, no hype videos on international music stations and, since the wutless and dutty have long sabotaged the STAR charts he has not even got a formal number one here.

Artistic expression

But Sizzla is the man.

It is for more than one reason and the most significant is not the tremendous play songs from Da Real Thing have been getting on radio and in the dancehall. Sure, that is an indication of popularity, but the significance of the album is not just in the massive airwave and dancehall time. The album flies in the face of everything that the Jamaican music industry currently is cracked up to be.

For one, none of the songs is on a 'hype' dancehall 'riddim'. Hence, it cannot be 'juggled' in a song after song on the same beat format, which seems to be key for a song getting anywhere these days. They are on one off - even if some rehashed - rhythms and for so many songs on the album to be getting such airplay is a huge statement to their quality.

Heck, the trend is to juggle Sizzla with Sizzla.

Another factor which testifies to the strength of Da Real Thing is the content of the songs. They go directly against the materialistic, macho trend of dancehall music and rely on sheer emotion and artistic expression. How many artistes could confess to crying over a woman in a song - even a dry one ­ and find popularity among men in Jamaica? It has to be Just One Of Those Days. Furthermore, there is a healthy dose of love content in the songs.

To cap it off is the roots reggae orientation of the album. Sure, there is a jazz flavour, but Da Real Thing is mainly the heavy drum and bass of the roots reggae which seems to lag behind dancehall. This is done without Sizzla falling into the ditch that so many roots artistes rush into, where they believe that singing 'praise Jah, burn herbs' is all it takes to make a 'conscious tune'.

Easily dominate

What also impressed me about Sizzla last year is that he has not separated himself from the dancehall fraternity. I have seen him on stage with Elephant Man and the rest, not rushing the mic, just waiting his turn, hitting the lyrics and then handing it back over. This is even when he could easily dominate the show.

And, to show that this is a vein that he is continuing on - we hope (don't want any more of that 'pump up' crap) - there is the title track from Rise To The Occasion.

There may not be any charts but Da Real Ting has got an accolade that very few do - Most Pirated Album. At one point every other car was blasting songs from the album - and when you check it, pure burnt CDs.

Sizzla has woven his songs into the fabric of Jamaican consciousness for 2003 and for me he is Solid As a Rock.