A. Sizzla – Juvinile
B. Jah Cure – Dance Hall Vibes
Kings of Kings – VPRD 6267
We start with a 1998 release from producer Colin Levy. He brings Sizzla and Jah Cure together on the catchy On Bad Road riddim. Sizzla’s track Juvinile is classic culture style. He talks straight to the youth, warning them, teaching them, trying to pull them toward a better path.
Sizzla Kalonji, born Miguel Collins, came up in the early nineties as a rough-edged dancehall deejay. His shift into the heart of the Conscious Dancehall movement happened a few years later. The turning point was his work with Philip “Fattis” Burrell of the Xterminator label. Fattis helped channel Sizzla’s raw fire into songs full of spirituality and Rasta reasoning, and those sessions shaped the sound that carried him into worldwide attention. Sizzla follows the Bobo Ashanti tradition, and you feel it in his voice and energy.
His international breakthrough came with the Xterminator set Praise Ye Jah in 1997. Right after that he dropped Black Woman & Child, produced by Bobby Digital. Fans also rate Good Ways and Rastafari Teach I Everything as key albums from this era. In 1999 he released Da Real Thing, home to tunes like Solid as a Rock. Controversies aside, he’s released more than seventy albums and built a reputation as one of reggae’s true cultural giants.
Jah Cure’s tune on the flip side, Dance Hall Vibes, celebrates the energy of the dancehall itself. It’s all about that uplift you feel when the sound starts running and the whole place comes alive.
Jah Cure, born Siccaturie Alcock, began his career in the late nineties with support from Beres Hammond. His rich, soulful voice made him one of the standout young artists in conscious roots. Everything changed in 1999 when he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Even so, he kept recording from behind bars and released albums like Ghetto Life and Freedom Blues. When he was released early in 2007, his career took off again. True Reflections…A New Beginning reset the stage, and The Cure in 2015 hit number one on the Billboard Reggae Chart and earned a Grammy nomination. His freedom was unfortunately cut short again in 2021 after a conviction in the Netherlands.
A. Scion Sashay Success – Petty Petty Murderer
B. Vassell Gold – Another Sad Love Song
Grade One – GO-012
On the second single, produced by Hyman Wright and Percy Chin, we meet Scion Sashay Success with Petty, Petty, Murderer, a tune that clearly nods to Barrington Levy’s Murderer from 1984. Scion rides an uptempo cut of Bob Marley’s Natural Mystic riddim and drops a sharp message about senseless killings. He warns the wrongdoers that justice always circles back.
Scion Sashay Success, born George Narcisse, launched his career in early-eighties New York, one of the most active reggae hubs outside Jamaica. Jah Life Records and producers like Mikey Jarrett, H. Wright, and Percy Chin helped him build momentum. His first single, Can’t Leave Jah Alone, came out in 1983. His debut album Success (1986) delivered NYC dancehall favorites like Put It On and his signature track Sound Bwoy Fall. He also cut standouts like Settle Them A Settle, Legal We Legal, and Every Style Get Regular, which kept his name moving through sound system circles. Several tunes became staples in sound clashes and earned him serious respect among selectors and soundmen. He may not be a mainstream name, but collectors and dancehall heads rate his work highly.
As for Vassell Gold, we couldn’t find any real background on him. What we do have is his version of Toni Braxton’s Another Sad Love Song on the flipside.
[These tracks were digitized directly from vinyl using a Technics SL-1210MK2 turntable equipped with an Ortofon cartridge. The recordings were captured in 24-bit/96kHz WAV format via SoundForge]