Jah Cure – Undeniable

Every now and then you get the honor and privilege to listen, digest and actually review an album by one of your absolute favorite artists. There just so happens to be many in my book, being that Reggae music is my lifeblood, and sharing my love, thoughts and opinions with my Reggae-Vibes family is one of the unadulterated joys in my life. So when I got the okay to give one of my personal top performers’ The Yankee Nupe onceover, I pounced at the chance. A man who in his brief (if you want to call 26 years “brief”) career has already cemented himself as a legend in the game, the illustrious Jah Cure with album number 9, looks to continue to impress with the usual collection of ballads, one-drop masterpieces, and genre stretching hits that are par for the course for the man born Siccature Alcock.

Uncomfortable Part

Aptly titled Undeniable, Cure has come back with the fanfare appropriate of an artist of his stature and has set the table for a summer season of great music and vibes. Okay, now for the uncomfortable part. As we all know Jah Cure has had his fill of legal trouble since his ascension to superstardom. Most Reggae fans know the details of the allegations (if not, Google away) and there is no doubt a faction of us who have moved firmly away from any endorsement of him or his music. I won’t tell anyone which side of the line to stand on, or even how I side personally but I’m here to do a job, and by George (Nooks), I’m going to do it!

Musical Perfection

Undeniable starts off with the title track, which features the perfectly matched Kaylan Arnold over musical perfection courtesy of Jah Cure himself on the production. He in fact produced or co-produced all of the album which only further serves to highlight his immense talent. Everything which features Ghanan Afropop icon Stonebwoy, is a vibe setter and thankfully, the only other track enlisting another artist. I’d say this is due to the hard fact that Cure’s voice, so damn compelling and the perfect blend of smooth/rough, is not easy to compete with head-to-head, but I could be wrong. In digesting JC’s latest charcuterie board of dopeness, I was never at a feeling of being put off by ANY of his tracks, a very rare feat for an album with 10 + songs. Bangers like Trust, One More Time, Find My Way, and the flat-out best track on the album Good Life solidify his status as the One Drop king (no disrespect to my boys Romain Virgo and Christopher Martin) while he also taps the heartstrings as well as any on measured smokers like Beautiful and Think About It.

Haymakers

While Undeniable is as good as anything dropped by JC previously, it unfortunately lacks the haymakers that his albums are usually known for. There’s no Life We Live, Never Find, What Will It Take, or even an All Of Me (which I will go to my grave saying that he did it better than John Legend) on this effort, but this latest addition to the catalog is as cogent a plea for Cure’s enduring occupancy as reggae’s top male singer as one could ask. If he could just for the sake of his fans, and continued good music, keep his a** out of the police ledger and in the studio, I’d sign up for that any day.