Strictly The Best, Vol. 31
VP Records (VPCD 1699-2)

If it should ever come to pass that the mighty VP Records topples from its lofty post as Reggae’s greatest record label, music historians will point to Strictly The Best Volume 31 as the beginning of the end. Coming on the heels of probably their best year ever in terms of albums sold, STB31 abandons longtime fans and its own legacy in search of further crossover profits.

Once upon a time, you could count on VP’s twin Strictly The Best releases to chronicle the year’s hottest music, with a few future hits and slept-on gems thrown in for good measure. VP would put out two discs – one was straight DJing, and the other catered to the singers – and many consumers bought both. For the core fans of Reggae and Dancehall Strictly The Best was the year’s must-buy music set.

Money, however, changes everything.

VP enjoyed massive and well-deserved success in 2003 with the multiplatinum sales of Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder’s hit single, and Elephant Man’s dancehall domination. A partnership with industry heavy Atlantic Records and multiple Grammy nominations gave VP a taste of success that it could only dream of before. Instead of 50,000 units being a success, now VP was dreaming in gold and platinum. STB31 is an attempt to continue their amazing commercial hot streak.

Step one in their attempt to cash in on Dancehall’s crossover potential was to eliminate one of the traditional two STB discs, no doubt reasoning that Yankee audiences may buy one Reggae album, but definitely not two. The result is that singers and DJs jostle for space on STB31, and immediately compromise one of the special features of the STB series.

Step two is to inject Hip-Hop into the Dancehall flava. On an album supposedly chronicling the year’s best Reggae and Dancehall music, we shouldn’t be reading the names Mobb Deep, Fat Joe, Fat Man Scoop and Crooklyn Clan on our album jacket. Worse yet, the presence of these artists on remix tracks from Sean Paul and Wayne Wonder reduce VP’s most bankable artists into also-rans on their own tracks. Still worse, both remixes are horrid.

Step three is to call on other established crossover stars, whether or not they released anything in the past year remotely approaching the Strictly The Best classification. Thus, Rik Rok of “It Wasn’t Me” fame shows up on two unremarkable tracks, joined once by the always bankable Shaggy. Tanto Metro and Devonte, whose “Everyone Falls In Love” was once the darling of Foreign radio stations, show up with the eminently forgettable “Burn,” which should only be on a compilation called Strictly The Mediocre.

VP and major competitor Greensleeves Records also continue their battle to the death over market supremacy and artists rights. Thus, hot Greensleeves artist Vybz Kartel is unrepresented on STB31, a gross oversight.

However, VP has more than enough talent on its roster to put out a solid compilation album, even if it falls short of the series’ usual standards. Two tracks from Dave Kelly’s utterly unstoppable “Fiesta” rhythm – Beenie Man’s “Dude” and Baby Cham’s “Vitamin S” – are superb, and absolutely deserve their place on the album. The Strictly The Best Series usually introduces an up-and-coming artist, and Assassin’s “Girls Alone” fits that bill nicely. And while we know that Junior Kelly’s “Smile” and Beres Hammond’s “Good Old Dancehall Vibes” are only here to promote VP solo releases by those artists, it’s hard to argue with the quality of those songs. Ditto Sizzla’s two tracks, one of which – “Solid As A Rock” – was sampled on rapper Ja Rule’s “The Crown,” much to VP’s delight.

THE VERDICT: As a compilation album, STB31 isn’t half bad. However, as a successor to the legendary Strictly The Best Line, it doesn’t quite mek it. One disc is missing, too many rappers in the mix, and not enough music truly representing the year’s best output. As countless failed individual acts can tell VP, the secret to sustained crossover success is to never alienate your diehard fans.