Seh Calaz - Love Story Reggae Album

Boss Yala is one of the best vocalists in the dancehall genre. He has managed to remain quite consistent over the year with a rather steady flow of releases. I have to however admit that not all the releases have been impressive, sometimes he makes you ask " Whaaat is this??!!!" then the next moment he impresses you, sometimes you feel he doesn't put effort intentionally. However I have been his fan from years back and everytime he releases any project I have my fingers crossed. 

Among his projects his reggae projects have been the better ones as compared to the pure dancehall ones. Some weeks back he was asking whether his fans are ready for another reggae project and he has finally released the reggae album. Have managed to get my hands on the album and today will be sharing my views and thoughts on the project. 

The album contains tracks and as usual will be doing a track by track review.

1. Love Story (No Woman No Cry Cover)
This is the title track of the album. The intro is inspired by the classic In This Together riddim, it borrowed the saxophone progression. As implied by the title this is a rendition of Bob Marley's classic No Woman No Cry, it borrows a lot from the classic from he vocals to the bass line. On the track Seh Calaz is apologizing to his woman for all the wrongdoings he has done and is committing himself to do right by her side from now till death. The track is produced well, its sounding good, Oskid did a superb job on the production, that saxophone at the end...yjuuuh. On the vocals Seh Calaz did a commendable job, enjoyed his performance. The backing vocalists were also superb, adding flavur to the track. Was afraid Seh Calaz was gonna make a mess of this but he did a solid job.

2.  Saru
This is a sad love story, which talks about jealousy can lead many to do unspeakable stuff. Seh Calaz narrates a story about a beautiful girl called Saru from Mkoba in Gweru who was loved by many but she did not accept any proposal from the local guys, who came flaunting their wealth and she fell in love with Emmanuel who did not have much. The guys from her hood got jealousy that a guy from outside has won their most beautiful girl and they ambushed the Emmanuel and beat him to death. When they turned to Sau she ran and whilst crossing the road she got hit by a Haulage truck and died and got reunited with her love in death. The production is done very well, the instrumental is arranged well and creates the perfect platform for the vocals and story to take center stage. Seh Calaz was good on the vocals, loved his storytelling style, its easy to follow and comprehend. Played this song to my partner and she was not impressed with the ending, she did not want Saru to die,...good music should invoke feeling withing its listeners. Regardless, I love the track.

3. Unondisvitsa Kure
This track which with some visuals and they are quite nice, simple and straight to the point. The track is better than the visuals, it talks about having that person who believes in you, someone who pushes you to be better everytime. The production is done very well, the instrumental is arranged well, the track is sounding good overally, Cymplex did a good job on the production. Seh Calaz was equally good on the vocals, delivering quite a passionate performance.

4. Ndakusuwa feat Jah Prayzah

This will probably be the first runaway track from the album, whenever Jah Prayzah's name is included, attention is guaranteed. Its also the first time these two collaborated and that will also pull views. The collaboration definitely works, the two artists have different vocal styles which complemented each other well. Seh Calaz was superb on the vocals, showcasing his vocal dynamism throughout the track, loved how he switched his vocals from the first verse to the chorus. Jah Prayzah was also superb, he sounded awesome, his vocals fit this sound perfectly well, you can clearly understand why many have fallen in love with JP. On the track they are saying to their partners I Miss You, how one cannot function when their partner is far, you are always looking at the road hoping to see them coming.

5. Unondicheater

On this track Boss Yala is saying; I am proud to be your partner, I tell the whole world that I'm yours and you're mine but you do not care about that and you cheat on me with other people. He is crying out that its better you tell me that it's over than drag me around, causing untold pain to me. The production is done very well, love the guitar riffs, they give the track a lovely feel, overall instrumental arrangement is done well.  Seh Calaz was also good on the vocal, blending well with the instrumental and arranged the vocals in a way that brings out the needed emotion.

6. Handinyare Newe feat Ngoni Kambarami.

They upped the tempo for this track but kept it largely reggae on this track, where they are telling their partner that they are not ashamed of them, they are proud of them. The production is quite okay, the instrumental arrangement is not as smooth and composed as the other tracks on this project, this is closet to a dancehall song that there is on the album. The two artists also delivered commendable vocals performances, complimenting each other quite well.

7. Rudo Chete

On his last reggae project he did a rendition of John Chibadura's classic jam Mudiwa Janet, and he continued honoring the legends with this rendition of Marshall Munhumumwe and The Four Brother's classic jam Rudo Chete. The production is done quite okay, enjoyed the guitar riffs, Cymplex also incorporated the iconic guitar progression into the instrumental and it kind of worked. The vocal performance is done quite well, Seh Calaz continued with his signature performance. In overall the track is not bad but in certain moments I feel it could have been better. Its always a massive risk doing a rendition of such as loved timeless classic.

8. Mhanya Newe feat Celscius 

This is a collaboration I was waiting for for some years especially on a reggae track given how both artists have performed on their solo reggae projects and how vocally talented they are. They went for a minimal skeleton kind of instrumental with few instruments and it delivers a old skool kind of vibe, which I'm sure they were going for. The production in overall is done well. The vocals are what many will be looking out for the most and the artists managed to combine quite well, each showcasing their vocal abilities. On the tack track they are talking about dating someone who once dated someone you know, one is saying your turn is over now its my turn and the other is saying she cannot date you because I'm still with her. Its quite a good song but somehow expected it to be more flames, maybe that will change with time.

9. Ndaneta
On this track Seh Calaz is saying I'm tired of crying because of you, I'm tired of being stressed by you so if you do not want me anymore tell me so I move on, relationships don't work if they are forced. The production is done quite okay, the mastering could have been better as sometimes the instrumental is fighting with the vocals. However the instrumental arrangement is good, love bass line. Seh Calaz was also good on the vocals but on some parts he sounds a bit distorted, for example on 1.53mins, it could have been more smoother.

So ya that's it for the album and have quite enjoyed listening to it. The Reggae Album remain Seh Calaz/s best projects, he shines the most when he is doing reggae, his vocal dynamism really shines.  I wonder why he just does not concentrate on reggae full time, he is already good at it and already has a very good stage presence.

In terms of the production, its standard throughout the album, its not the most well mastered project you will hear but it good. The instrumental arrangements are done well most of the times, the different producers brought their own flavors, some excelled some not so much. Oskid is really showing that class is permanent with his recent productions and he showed his talent again on the tracks he produced on this album (Love Story, Mhanya Newe & Unondisvitsa Kure). Cymplex was also good on the tracks he produced; Saru and Unondicheater, on Rudo Chete he did well but the track sort of has me split in the middle, sometimes its good sometimes not so much. Rodney & Tamuka did a superb job on Ndakusuwa. TMan Mount Zion was the responsible for all the lesser tracks on the album Handinyare Newe & Ndaneta.

In terms of vocals, Seh Calaz was generally solid throughout, showcasing his vocal range. He however sometimes sound a bit monotonous despite his huge vocal range.  When it comes to themes as the album title implies its all about love and he did well in that regard 

In overall this is not a perfect project but have enjoyed listening to it. My top 3 favorite favourite tracks are Saru, Ndakusuwa & Unondisvitsa Kure. I do recommend this album, reggae fans will love it, its the best reggae project from Zim for some time.

My overall Rating is 7/10

What are your thoughts on the album???

Proud_Zimbo