ragga ragga ragga! 2003 – Compilation
Greensleeves Records (GRELCD271)

Hidden among the 18 tunes on Greensleeves’ ragga ragga ragga! 2003 is a superb 11-track compilation. Unfortunately, the weight of unnecessary filler drags the latest entry in the company’s stellar ragga series down from potentially great to merely very good.

For the last couple years, two of Greensleeves’ compilation series – ragga ragga ragga! and The Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems – have given VP’s Reggae Gold and Strictly The Best collections a serious run for their money as the kings of the annual greatest hits category (Greensleeves’ Rhythm Series collections regularly flop VP’s competing Riddim Driven compilations). However, while the little British company again releases some of the year’s biggest tunes before its stateside rival, they may have compromised quality control in the process.

Things start off swimmingly with “Row Like A Boat,” a rare challenge to Elephant Man’s primacy in the dance-by-numbers category, and one of Beenie Man’s few big tunes for the year. Sean Paul’s “Ever Blazing” is another Lenky-produced smash, and Ward 21’s “Rhyme” is a tongue-in-cheek regurgitation of the standard Dancehall cliches.

ragga! 2003 is positively dripping with testosterone-drenched sexuality, from the too-hot cover models to Beenie Man’s nah bow anthem “Red Red.” Elephant Man’s raucous “Chiney Ting” requests the Black anaconda with a well-phrased “mushy-mushy maa,” and Vybz Kartel blazes a hot “Sweet To The Belly.” Bounty adds a pair of sex songs that sound more like a war tunes. Elephant Man’s “Mr. Lover” is mundane, and “My Dickie” is Beenie Man’s awful answer to rapper Missy’s “Work It.”

Wanye Marshall continues to milk his inexplicable popularity with another eediot solo tune, and Buccaneer, Bounty and TOK team up for a would-be badman anthem that sounds suspiciously dated. Buju’s “Nuh Lame Thing” is exceedingly ordinary, and Ward 21’s “Petrol” only made it onto the album because Ward 21 is signed to Greensleeves. Ditto the Mr. Vegas combination, which is unfortunately another reminder of Vegas’ extraordinarily bad musical choices of late.

THE VERDICT: ragga ragga ragga! 2003 is a worthy successor to recent ragga albums, and once again delivers some of the biggest hits currently running the dance. Unfortunately, even Hayley, Melissa and Fawzilla (the models) can’t distract us from some of the filler that is strictly fast-forward material.