Buju Banton

Even if you find the male voice dancehall has unleashed on the world as incomprehensible in its brawny macho as in its machine-gun patois, the way it embraces contradictions of pride and arrogance, class and gender, strength and menace ends up being more original, powerful, and distinctive than the beats it rode in on. Banton's gay-bashing "Boom Bye-Bye" remains one of that voice's vilest moments. But nobody out there commands a huger growl--Buju could whisper sweet nothings to the World Bank and be a hero by force of physical endowment alone. So I'm grateful for the maturity he vaunts at 23. There is one about the size of his other physical endowment, which he hooks to Maurice Williams's "Stay" just in case. But let the guy have his fun. He can carry a tune, pick a hook, choose a collaborator (a few more cameos like this and the whole world will mourn Garnett Silk). And everywhere else here he articulates empathy, vulnerability, and concern, personalizing and politicizing a style of conscience that comes naturally to the 15th child of a Maroon family. The most fully accomplished reggae album since the prime of Black Uhuru. (Grade: A-)