SONG: Empire Army
ARTISTE: Vybz Kartel
RATING: FIVE STARS

Dem waaan fi war me, so mi send fi mi army
Bullet ah spray dem like Issey Miyake
Diss the empire, gunshot ah go fire
Mr. Palmer got the rifle dem weh taller than Palm tree

Artiste: Vybz Kartel
Track: Empire Army


The Teacha kicks off this joint with a catchy singalong hook on a stripped down dancehall rhythm from Stephen Di Genius McGregor that is almost cinematic in its intensity. There is no doubt that this song will be the gangster anthem for the Summer and the upcoming election campaign. VK has transcended to a new high in the dancehall game, finding sweet sounding 80s toaster-like hooks to compliment his off-the-chain, unpredictable rhymes.  With clever lines like look inna him head without a cat scan, no meeting, if yu diss yu get beating and my favourite, God have the whole world in His hands, but me have own the &&^% and the big bombs.

Take a leap into Kartels dizzying imagination and obsession with violence for its own sake, macho street theatre and blatant gun worship.

VK changes his flow every eight bars but the message remains the same: MURDER. This is the sort of message that resonates with Jamaican adolescents, who are the most dangerous animals on the planet Earth. This is the sort of track that can revitalize dancehall which has gone rancid from stale samples and stagnant beats. VK mixes aggression and c**ckiness in just percentages to make a track that will make FM radio sit up and pay attention.