| Lyrical Gangsta | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Genre | Dancehall | |||
| Label | East West [1] | |||
| Producer | Philip Burrell | |||
| Ini Kamoze chronology | ||||
| ||||
Lyrical Gangsta is an album by the Jamaican musician Ini Kamoze, released in 1995. [2] [3] "Listen Me Tic" was the first single. [4]
The album peaked at No. 6 on Billboard's Reggae Albums chart. [5] A compilation album, Here Comes the Hotstepper , was released right before Lyrical Gangsta, to the consternation of Kamoze and his label. [6] [4]
The album was produced by Philip Burrell. [7] It was influenced by American hip hop, although Kamoze continued to release purely dancehall singles in Jamaica during the same time. [8] Guru guested on "Who Goes There"; Nine also appears on Lyrical Gangsta. [9] [10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | [12] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [13] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ [14] |
| MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide | [8] |
| The Republican |  [9] |
| The Tampa Tribune | [10] |
The Toronto Sun dismissed the album as "a blatantly commercial brand of dancehall." [15] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution determined that "the second half of the album is a lesson in dance-hall crooning... The Hotstepper wafts his mellifluous tenor over hip swaying reggae beats sounding more natural and carrying more of an impact." [12]
Entertainment Weekly wrote that, "with his sweet, singsong tenor offsetting abrasive dancehall reggae backbeats, Ini Kamoze manages to straddle two worlds." [14] The Toronto Star considered the album "more American hip-hop than Jamaican reggae." [16] The Tampa Tribune concluded that "the beauty of his run-of-the-mill vocals is that he doesn't compete with the music, a product of great studio work." [10]
AllMusic wrote that the "duet performance with Guru (of Gang Starr fame) is a great juxtaposition of two very different rapping styles, and 'King Selassie' is a surprisingly sincere and sweetly melodic example of rootswise dancehall." [11]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Trust Me" | 0:33 |
| 2. | "Hole in Ya Head" (featuring Nine) | 4:06 |
| 3. | "Listen Me Tic" | 3:51 |
| 4. | "Don't Burn Ya Bridge" | 3:59 |
| 5. | "He Jus Jokin" | 0:39 |
| 6. | "Love Em Doe?" | 4:28 |
| 7. | "Who Goes There" (featuring Guru) | 3:30 |
| 8. | "Ballistic Affair" | 4:19 |
| 9. | "How U Livin" | 4:03 |
| 10. | "King Selassie" | 4:14 |
| 11. | "Hot Steppa" | 3:59 |
| 12. | "Imagine ... In Dub" | 4:30 |
| 13. | "Turn Me On" | 3:14 |
| 14. | "Kildatsounboy" | 3:40 |
| 15. | "Hotter This Year" (Hot Steppa Remix) | 4:54 |
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Ini Kamoze is a Jamaican reggae artist who began his career in the early 1980s and rose to prominence in 1994 with the signature song "Here Comes the Hotstepper". The single topped the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as record charts in Denmark and New Zealand, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart.
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