Heavy Soulz

The Neybuzz – Heavy Soulz (Wadada Soundz)
Reviewed by Sadie O., 1/21/07
Jazzy funky dubby stuff with a variety of vocalists and styles. Although the production seems rooted in dub, only a couple of tracks qualify as full-on reggae – I just had to stick it in some niche. Dang these genre-benders… Anyway, mostly the brainchild of local KPOO DJ and Dub Addxx mainstay Ismael, attempting to “find the perfect balance between Dub, Downtempo, African, progressive and Soul.”
I would actually like the record better if it was all instrumentals – the music is killer throughout, the vocals vary widely.
Crystal clear FCC on track 8, iffy stuff on track 5. I like 6 and 9.
1. **starts with a bit of spoken interchange, then midtempo funky jazz, cool discordant horns, nice syncopation. Male vocals don’t start until almost 4 minutes along.
2. **downtempo, relaxed and minimalist classic roots dub.
3. ***starts with solo female vocals, then midtempo jazzy funky Afro-Latin mashup with lots of energy, female vocals mostly in Spanish throughout. Male hip hop vocals in English in second half.
4. *funky midtempo jazz, female vocals in English about bad love affair. Changes halfway through to pretty acoustic stringed instrument (oud?).
5. **slightly downtempo minimalist funk with interesting dub instrumentation and electronics, female vocals. NB: “bitch” and “kiss my ass” – use your discretion
6. ****midtempo dubby keyboards and trap drums, male vocals, gradually turns into seriously funky stuff, political lyrics. Some SICK bass work halfway through.
7. ***electronic beat, funky as HELL, female vocals (that to me detract from the great music…)
8. FCC: “Shit” at 1:48 in. *male vocal intro, midtempo ultrafunky dub, female vocals.
9. ****downtempo roots dub, great sound, totally insane monster instrumental dub.
10. ***slow funky one-drop, lots of electronics, female vocals. Minimalist, but with lots of good noises. Vocals better than most tracks. Interesting horn lines.
11. ***slightly downtempo ultra dubby instrumental skank.
12. **nice downtempo funky one-drop with electric guitar. Female vocals, another love gone bad song.