****TURBULENCE - turbulence****

.....

****TURBULENCE - turbulence****

TRACKLIST


1. Living in Sufferation
2. Where Are Your Wings?
3. Hotness a Gwaan
4. Hold the Faith
5. Love Can Make a Difference
6. One Gun
7. Treat Her Nice
8. Freedom Call
9. Naw Beg No Friend
10. Woman a You
11. Rainy Day
12. For the Nation
13. Don't Let Them Stoop You Low


DATE 2000
LABEL XTERMINATOR

Perhaps you heard his resonant "Where Are Your Wings?" on Phillip "Fattis" Burrell's Armageddon Time Chapter II. If not, and if you haven't heard of Turbulence, then you are missing out on a potential star who has quietly stepped onto the scene. If you were to clone a "sing-jay," you might choose Turbulence, for he sings almost as much as he chats, and he is equally adept at both. Not as overtly righteous as, say, Sizzla, Turbulence is nonetheless positive, and with the expert backing of Burrell, Turbulence puts together a nice debut effort. Turbulence has a similar feel musically to Prince Malachi's Watch Over We; indeed, rhythms are shared between the two, such as that used on Prince Malachi's "Meditation Time" and Turbulence's "Hold the Faith." This plodding, un-reggae-like R&B beat made me a bit wary, but it is a credit to Turbulence (and, to a lesser degree, Prince Malachi) that he can craft an irresistible melody that still draws you in. As evidenced by this example, Turbulence, like Watch Over We, has several tunes that seem to strive for crossover success. But Turbulence manages to overcome Burrell's questionable beats with stellar songwriting. Upon hearing the first 5 or 10 seconds of the unabashedly pop/dance music of "Freedom Call," for instance, I was ready to hit the ol' Fast Forward button, but to my delight, Turb (as I like to call him) belted out a wonderfully emotional, captivating melody that far overshadows the beat (ditto for "Love Can Make a Difference"). More than any other sing-jay I can recall, his singing voice displays an appealing tenderness and sensitivity, as displayed on the aforementioned "Where Are Your Wings?," a funky yet heartfelt love song. More hardcore dancehall fans, meanwhile, should be appeased by tracks like "Living in Sufferation," "Hotness a Gwaan," and "Naw Beg No Friend." However, like fellow sing-jay newcomer Norris Man, Turbulence fails to prove that he can come up with good material consistently. The last part of the album sags noticeably, and the tune "One Gun," which features an inconsistent rap, is just bad. While there is a bit of "turbulence," though, this debut gets you to where you want to be and portends great things for Turbulence's future.