Vybz Kartel – Up 2 Di Time
Greensleeves Records (GRELCD275)

Every once in a while, an album comes along that pushes the creative envelope just far enough that you have to readjust your expectations for future Dancehall albums. With Up 2 Di Time, Dancehall supernova Vybz Kartel has produced such an album. It’s far from perfect, thematically limited and almost undanceable in spots, but lyrically, Kartel is on a whole ‘nother level. Stripped to lyrics alone, Time is one of the wickedest rudebwoy albums to come along in a long time. To date, none of the other badman/shotta DJs in the business have managed to release an album as lyrically consistent, and consistently excellent, as Time.

Kartel’s lyrically dense rhyme style is heavy on graphic imagery, clever rhymes, and a sneaky sense of humor that separates him from most of the other screwface badmen in the business. Almost every track on Time has a quotable or rewindable moment, and even though Kartel isn’t saying anything new, the way he says everything is fresh and innovative.

Time is Kartel’s debut album, and it manages to avoid the “compilation” trap of most Dancehall debuts: Most of the songs on Time are brand new, and most of the rhythms are exclusives. Vybz tries to keep collaborations to a minimum, although fellow Bounty Killa protégé Kardinal Offishall passes through on “Kartel & Kardinal,” and Wayne Marshall continues his parasitic relationship with Kartel, attaching himself to three of the album’s 18 tracks.

Kartel continues his musical partnership with producer Donovan “Vendetta” Bennett, who produced all but five of the songs on Time. And while it still sounds like live musicians weren’t allowed within 200 feet of Vendetta’s studios, Time is a quantum leap forward over his work on Sizzla’s Rise To The Occasion. Some of the tracks on Time do not lend themselves to dancing, or even enjoying in a club, but all of the tracks are interesting, and add another layer to the complexity of Kartel’s lyrical performance.

The guest producers add some welcome variety to the Time, most notably the Renaissance Crew, who make “Buss It Off” the album’s musical highlight. “Sen On” benefits from Lenkey’s weeded-out production, and “Tattoo” is a weird, spare Baby G track that meshes well with Kartel’s frenetic rhyme style.

Kartel himself also takes a turn behind the boards on “Who Knows,” which sounds like a straight-up underground Hip-Hop track, with no musical concessions to Dancehall. However, in spite of our distaste for Hip-Hop’s continued encroachment into the world of Dancehall, even we have to admit that the track is a winner. Kartel’s rhymes on “Who Knows” are the album’s highlight, and require multiple listens to catch all of the imagery, metaphors, and pop culture references.

However, even beyond “Who Knows,” Kartel shows the beginnings of an unhealthy fascination with Hip-Hop and all things Foreign. “Robbery” lifts the concept of rapper 50 Cent’s “How To Rob An Industry Nigga,” and “Buss It Off” jacks Busta Rhymes’ cadence and flow. “Start Well” is another slice of pure Hip-Hop breakbeats, and all the lyrics about throwback jerseys, Fendi glasses, 24 inch wheels and bling-bling eventually wear thin. Given Kartel’s preoccupation with Foreign, it’s more than a little ironic that he recently couldn’t get a visa to come to the USA, and thus missed a number of shows. When he contrasts two women by rhyming “from she born she been sufferin’/if a nuh for MTV she nuh see no Foreign/ but you go Foreign/ You have your 10-year visa link,” the irony is hilarious.

Up 2 Di Time also comes with a bonus “Freestyle” disc, which is essentially 13 minutes of Kartel spitting lyrics over some of the more popular Dancehall rhythms. Since Kartel wisely avoided dating his album by DJing over stale rhythms, the “Freestyle” is a nice opportunity to hear him on those beats while still preserving the album concept. And, as usual, the rhymes are incredible.

THE VERDICT: Vybz Kartel’s only competition for sheer lyrical skill is Bounty Killa, and while Kartel hasn’t shown anything near the range or intelligence or social conscience of Killa, he may be the superior pure rhymer. At times the beats on Up 2 The Time sound more like a video game than an album, but everything is redeemed by Kartel’s irrepressible personality and mind-bending rhymes. For the narrow segment of the Dancehall public that can listen to rhymes about girls, guns and ganja all day long, Up 2 Di Time is a winner. As he often says himself, Kartel definitely start well.