Luciano, better known as Messenjah, extols his devout Rastafarian beliefs with a stirring sense of melody on this excellent offering released in early 2003.
The Messenjah's smooth proselytizing is aided by a slew of modern reggae's finest musicians: superb drum work from Sly Dunbar and "Clevie" Browne, deft guitar licks from Robbie Shakespeare and Danny "Ax Man" Thompson, polished horn work by Dean Fraser, and expert keyboard touches from "Steely" Johnson.
Master producer Jack Scorpio puts it all together to create lush, contemplative one-drop riddims for Luciano's effortless toasting.
"I Will Survive," "Win or Lose," and "Long Story" stand out as the most emotive cuts on this solid-throughout album.
But while the musical elements are invariably strong here, so is the somewhat repetitive lyrical content, replete with Rastafarian-styled prophecy and admonishments.
Luciano's soulful vocal qualities evoke the best of the R&B and gospel traditions, but his spiritual brand of reggae is far removed from the lovers genre and fun-time crossover dancehall as well.
For those who like their grooves irey, this release may more than suffice, but if you like your reggae light and fancy-free, this won't be your cup of tea.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Will SurviveMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 2 | Serve JahMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 29 MB |
| 3 | Win or LoseMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | InjusticeMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | True LoveMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | No Where to HideJepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | Born FreeMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 8 | Long StoryMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 9 | Gideon BusMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 10 | House of the LordMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 11 | I Am Not SorryMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 12 | MankindMaurice Johnson, Jepther McClymont | Luciano | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 13 | Hail King Selassie (feat. Luciano) | Capleton, Luciano | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 50 mins | 116 MB | |||||
| 50 mins | 367 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clifton Bailey | Composer |
| 2 | Richard Bell | Producer |
| 3 | Barnabas Stanley Brian | Musician |
| 4 | Dalton Browne | Musician |
| 5 | Capleton | Primary Artist |
| 6 | Joel Chin | Editing, Executive Producer, Mastering, Project Coordinator |
| 7 | Clevie | Musician |
| 8 | Paul Crossdale | Musician |
| 9 | Glen DaCosta | Musician |
| 10 | Fluxy | Musician |
| 11 | Dan Fraser | Musician |
| 12 | Edwin Howell | Project Coordinator |
| 13 | Adrian Irving | Engineer, Mixing |
| 14 | Deron D. James | Art Direction, Design |
| 15 | Maurice Johnson | Composer, Producer |
| 16 | Luciano | Primary Artist |
| 17 | D. Madden | Musician |
| 18 | D. Marshall | Musician |
| 19 | Jepther McClymont | Composer |
| 20 | One Drop | Musician |
| 21 | Bo Pee | Musician |
| 22 | D. Pinkney | Musician |
| 23 | William Richards | Photography |
| 24 | Robbie Shakespeare | Musician |
| 25 | Paul Shields | Editing, Mastering |
| 26 | Steely | Musician |
| 27 | D. Thompson | Musician |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |