Blessed

Juno winner and the cream of Toronto’s reggae crop, Blessed has released his full-length debut, co-produced by Jazzwad and Bobby Digital, and it’s a torrent of bouncy vibes, conscious attitude and ram-dance masters. Two of his previous hits — the addictive, fast-paced ska track "Reggae Time” and now world-renowned "Love (African Woman)” — are included here, the latter in a remixed version called "Natural African,” featuring Queen Ifrica. The album’s trademark is its ability to cater to both the mind and body. Songs like "Dance,” "Party in the Street” and "All I Need” showcase Blessed’s dance floor appeal, while "Ghetto People,” "Road of Life” and "Thank You” (based on the classic "Three Blind Mice” riddim) offer life lessons over bass-y boom shots. The perfect blending of this comes in the form of a love song to the artist’s homeland ("Jamaica Land of the Sun”), an almost resort-ready good-time roots rocker that, upon closer listen, is actually an acute critique of the two-dimensional, touristy stereotype popularised by travel agents. With an album of such wide artistic breadth and strikingly good tunes, it’s hard to imagine that Blessed won’t soon top the international reggae scene.