Bounty Killa – My Xperience

What is Dancehall music? Is it simply the music you hear in dancehalls? If so, on any given night, the Jamaican national anthem may qualify.

Is it the beat? If it is, where is the common ground between "Untold Stories," "Nuff Gal" and "Stucky?"

The subject matter? Pro-weed yet anti-(other) drug, pro-sex but anti abortion, pro-human rights but anti-homosexual, pro Selassie yet anti-political leader, pro-bible but anti-Pope Paul, pro and anti gun,... well you get the point.

Dancehall, in actuality, is an incredible assortment of contradictory concepts in everything from rhythm to politics to attitude. But if Dancehall is embodied in any one man, that man is Bounty Killer.

Bounty's first states-side release, by extension, should be an album-length definition of Dancehall music itself. A tall order, but My Xperience, very nearly pulls it off. Over the 20 tracks of the album, The Killa manages to urge us to "Seek God," brag about how many people he can "Gun Down," caution women who are "Living Dangerously," brag about his sexual prowess ("Virgin Island," "Marathon"), beatify his "Mama" and simultaneously embrace and attack his nemesis, Beenie Man.

We get fast-paced dance songs ("Maniac"), plodding sermons ("The Lord is My Light and Salvation"), hip-hop beats, and everything in between. With true Dancehall aplomb, Bounty manages to blur the lines between, around and among sub-genres. He is everything to everyman, vilified and idolized. And there is no contradiction.

My Xperience gets things started with "Revolution III," a stunning combination with arch-rival Beenie Man and reggae legend Dennis Brown. One of the highlights of a highlight-filled album, Bounty forwards a Bill-Clinton inspired conspiracy theory, Beenie commits some of the most grievous errors in the history of mathematics and Dennis Brown reprises one of his biggest hits over an intoxicating rhythm. My Xperience is worth getting just for the first cut.

But "Revolution" is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Of the 20 tracks on the album, 17 have appeared in Jamaica's top-10, including the final 12 tunes of the Xperience. What's impressive about this is the fact that Bounty has chosen some of the most durable of his countless hits, not the disposable "flavor of the month" songs that get released in the ever changing Jamaican music scene.

Four songs that you already know have been remixed for My Xperience, with varying results. "Seek God" benefits greatly by the added presence of the great Junior Reid; and "Ask Fi War" gets an interesting update from the Rza of New York's infamous Wu Tang Clan. Less successful is the soulless remix of Bounty's bad bwoy anthem "Suicide or Murder." Who the hell thought of the heavy tongued Jeru The Damaga for that track??

"Mama (Scare Dem Version)" gets only a minor facelift, but it is almost criminal to tamper with that song. "Mama" is one of Bounty Killa's grandest achievements; a heartfelt tribute to his mother and a multi-layered metaphor on the state of the world and 'mama' Africa in particular. Some things are best left alone.

The only problem with My Xperience is Bounty Killa's readiness to bow to commercial pressures and include four(!) hip-hop flavored tracks. In addition to the aforementioned "Suicide" and "Ask Fi War," The Killa collaborates with Busta Rhymes on the disastrous "Changes Like the Weather," and wastes a brilliant verse by the Fugee's Lauryn Hill on "Hip-Hopera (Mr. Punk)." Much as Bounty may hate to hear it, and much as the Fugees love Bounty, Beenie Man would be much better suited to the sing-songy operatic style of the "Hip-Hopera."

THE VERDICT: My Xperience is an album of undeniable quality, and the best full-length Dancehall offering since Buju's Til Shiloh. The crossover attempts are a nuisance, but cannot mar an excellent album that you'll be listening to for a while. When someone asks "what is Dancehall?" play them My Xperience.