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Real Lover (VP, 1995) If you couldn't tell from the cover, this is a rather cheaply put together album. The production value is minimal on many of the tracks -- Mad Lion's voice is so much louder than the music, it sounds like he's chatting directly into the microphone while a boom box is playing the music in the distant background. "Real Lover," in particular, sounds like he just threw Mary J. Blige's "Real Love" on the turntable and started chatting (The lack of originality in choosing music doesn't help him any in that case.). Seven of the 12 songs on Real Lover are of the hip-hop reggae sub-genre, a small percentage compared to his later works. His style -- a gruff Jigsy King-like voice over old school New York hip-hop beats -- is appealing but wears thin after several listens. A partial solution to that problem would be better material. Of the hip-hop reggae stuff, only "Must Get You Back" -- utilizing a great reggae horn riff and a catchy chorus that may or may not be a cover -- and "Idiot Drumpan Sound" and "Murderah Man" -- two slow, funky rude boy tracks -- stand the test of time. Mad Lion's dancehall cuts meanwhile are unabashedly derivative, from the music to the melody. Indeed, he seems more adept and at ease with the hip-hop beats, which explains why he chose to stick to that style in his later work. |
| Track Listing 1. Real Lover 2. Still Friends 3. Fluffy 4. Must Get You Back 5. 411 6. Lust fi You Man 7. Love Woman So 8. Idiot Drumpan Sound 9. That's the Way 10. Murderah Man 11. If You Know 12. Bad Boy Life |
Real Ting (Nervous, 1995)
Significantly better production -- courtesy of KRS-1 -- than his amateurish debut (Now, if only he'd work on his cover art.) helps this album rise above the first...just a bit. The underground hits "Shoot to Kill" and "Own Destiny" both incorporate portions of Mary J. Blige tunes, which, along with the title track of his Real Lover album, makes you wonder, "What's up with that?" (Of course, Mary J. Blige take so much of her material from other people, whatever Mad Lion took probably didn't belong to her in the first place.) Tighter tracks than these include probably his biggest hit, the cool rude boy anthem, "Take It Easy," as well as "Double Trouble," "That's All We Need," his version of Horace Andy's "See a Man Face," and a funky disco-ish remix of his "Love Woman So," here called "Body and Shape." Unlike Real Lover, this album contains no straight dancehall beats whatsoever. Only "Real Ting" comes close, with a digital bass line backed by hip-hop drums. Mad Lion makes a point to stress that his music is "hip-hop reggae," not "reggae hip-hop." This distinction -- along with his hip-hop producer -- shows where his heart truly lies. The favoritism paid to hip-hop shows in his vocal style, for while he attempts to chat like a dancehall DJ, he puts little into his delivery (aside from his gravely voice) that interests the listener. Dancehall DJs are known for their wild vocal gymnastics -- throwing in operatic singing, catchy half-sung melodies, etc. -- but Mad Lion does little of this. Additionally, his repetitive gun lyrics that seem to permeate every song don't help matters at all. The great old school hip-hop beats supplied by KRS-1 almost hypnotize you enough to overlook the DJ's shortcomings, but when you begin to get tired of these cuts after 3 or 4 listens, you'll realize that it's Mad Lion's dull skills that are the cause.
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