Mr. Lex (VP, 2000)

With his debut, Lexxus immediately grabbed the attention of the dancehall public with songs like "Ring Mi Cellie," "Cook," and "Divine Reasoning."   His style -- which combines the forceful edge of Bounty Killer with the fun, likeable side of Beenie Man and at times the funky, robotic flow of Ward 21 -- commands your attention and is hard to resist.  And yet, listening to Mr. Lex, resisting is all I did.  Beyond the three tracks previously mentioned -- easily available elsewhere -- the rest is mostly as predictable as these hits were exhilarating.   Part of it has to do with the fact that several of the songs have indeed been heard elsewhere many times over, and part of it has to do with the fact that many of the rhythms are recycled ("Look How Long," for instance, uses the beat from Professor Nuts' "Satan Strong," while "Get Wid It," while nice, rides the rhythm from Ward 21's "Haters.") and the songs just sound generic.  The major exception is "Di Message," an excellent throwback to the old school dancehall days, featuring Dean Fraser on a wicked sax.  If you can find this song without buying the entire album, do it.  As for the rest of the best on Mr. Lex, you can get "Ring Mi Cellie" and "Divine Reasoning" on Planet Reggae 2000, "Cook" and "Call U" are on Reggae Gold 2000, and "Let Those Monkeys Out" (not that you'd necessarily want that irritating song) is on Greensleeves Reggae Sampler 21.