Ram’s 14-track album is a presentation of recent and past work. ‘Now’ tracks include, Wake Up (Don’t be Sheep), Bumpa Burner, Schoolgirl and Redd. Redd, a soca track featuring Karen and Skinny Fabulous out of St. Vincent is distinctive. While Redd does have Ram’s familiar quick-tongued verbal spits, it has much more of a wine-ya-waist vibe than the flag-in-the-air vibe of Ram’s hit Fire Controller, which is also included on this album. ‘Then’ tracks include old dub favourite Quicksand, De Rum, RingTing (featuring Dirts Man) and the patriotic De Pledge (Blue, Yellow and Black). Ghetto Fire’s refreshing approach, a presentation of both new and old, definitely works.

Free is one of the best albums so far for 2K6! Jomo Lord has made fans of his guitar-infused rock/world-music style wait 10 years for a full album since his first single Understanding Joseph, which is included in the production. It’s definitely been worth the wait. Free contains enough variety to please both the borderline rock fan and the full-fledged rock enthusiast. Songs such as Lingo, infuse reggae themes, while slower numbers add some variety to the album. Some of the most outstanding tracks include the faster-paced Free and In The Jungle (The Natives Are Restless). Even though the album does have a rock influence, it is broad-based enough to appeal to a wider audience. Get it.

It’s not often that an album surfaces with Bajan hip-hop at its core, but Get Ur Money Up does just that, with Mixmaster Donné showing his DJ skills throughout the album. Songs like Dre Dinero’s I’m From Baytown, which shouts out just about every crew in Barbados, give listeners an authentic underground feel for Bajan rappers who continue to develop their game. Levi, Dunnz, Nitro, Benz Killa, Snappa, Strategy, Dameyon and others also represent with tracks like Got What You Need, Get At You, and Gimme The Night. While some international artistes such as Beenie Man are featured on Get Ur Money Up, the biggest pull for local listeners is undoubtedly the impressive lineup of local talent. More of this stuff is needed to push local hip-hop forward.

Bajan reggae takes a huge stride with the release of this compilation, which shows just how diverse the local music scene really is. While the majority of the tracks are quality ‘conventional’ conscious vibe reggae tracks, a number of hybrids add much appreciated flavour. Unity stands out because of its hip-hop/reggae blend and because of the various styles of the four artists (Blade, D-Marvay, Billy Kincaid & Trezay) performing on the track. Toni Norville’s R&B Dust Myself Off is also a must-listen-to number. The compilation features tracks from Peter Ram, David Kirton, Shanghai, Papa T, Albert Olton, Brimstone, Storm Thrilla and others.