Loaded

iTunes Review

Loaded is the sophomore full-length from the promising Kingston based Dancehall artist Busy Signal, a DJ with a swifter tongue, a sharper wit, and a better ear for beats and riddims than the vast majority of Kingston DJs. Loaded, which bundles some of Busy Signal’s more successful singles from the last few years together with newly recorded material, signals a significant change in direction. Dancehall stunners such as “Tic Toc”, “Wine Pon di Edge,” and “Cool Baby” feature icy digital rhythms bolstered by metronome-steady electro beats. Though some critics will inevitably accuse Busy Signal of catering to the electro-hungry sensibilities of American audiences infatuated with Kanye West, M.I.A., and Daft Punk, the truth is that these rigid, infectious productions hearken back to a seminal era in Jamaican Dancehall music. The skittering, Kraftwerk by way of Timbaland rhythms of “Tic Toc” wouldn’t have sounded entirely out of place on a mid-‘80s Prince Jammy production, and Busy Signal has an unapproachable way with his riddims of choice, recalling Tenor Saw, Half Pint and other great Jamaican DJs from that storied era. Though it is perhaps laden down with too many previously released tracks Loaded remains a bracingly exciting contemporary Dancehall record that demonstrates a clear reverence for Jamaica’s storied past.