Toppa Top 10: The Best Caribbean Albums of 2011

Words by Jesse Serwer and Martei Korley

Now that Christmas is over and 2012 is nearly upon us, we’ve finally gotten around to taking stock of all that’s happened this year. For the rest of this week and into the next one, we’ll be bringing you Toppa Top 10 best-of lists covering a variety of categories, starting with a pan-Caribbean countdown of our favorite albums from 2011. It was certainly an interesting year for music in the Caribbean and the diaspora, with all sorts of new directions and unusual pathways taking shape, from new-wave inspired mento and Guadeloupian soul to pop bachata and Panamanian hyphy. There were some good reggae LPs, too, and even a uniquely brilliant dancehall album from the genre’s biggest and most divisive star. Read on—and don’t hesitate to tell us what we missed.

10. I-Wayne, Life Teachings (VP Records)

On his third album, Life Teachings, Fiya Wayne continued in the vein of his two previous releases: burning fire on the wicked, giving health tips (beet root anyone?) and exalting the virtuous, all with a squarely roots approach that sounds even more original in today’s soundscape. It is exactly this which helps I-Wayne stay so relevant in Jamaica and lets singles pop up off his albums as many as two years after their release—He keeps it pure.

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/The-Fire-Song.mp3|titles=The Fire Song]
“The Fire Song”

9. Midnite, King’s Bell (I Grade)

Already regarded by many as one of the best touring reggae bands in the world, St. Croix’s Midnite released an album to quiet non-believers in King’s Bell. Working for a first time with a Jamaican producer (Andrew “Bassie” Campbell), the group tapped Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, Earl “Chinna” Smith and Sticky Thompson, among other JA session legends, for musical contributions, and even released their first video (for “Mongst I&I”), while Vaughn Benjamin’s lyrics on the New World Order provided much food for thought on songs like “Pon A Watchlist.”

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/09-midnite-pon_a_watchlist.mp3|titles=09-midnite-pon_a_watchlist]
“Pon A Watchlist”

8. Meemee Nelzy, Kreyol Seasoning (Yumi Empress Music)

On the aptly titled Kreyol Seasoning, her second LP, Guadeloupe’s Meemee Nelzy crafted a uniquely Caribbean soul sound, as inspired by the rhythms of her native French Antilles as by the continental R&B of Les Nubians and the futuristic soundscapes of Flying Lotus.

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/01-Ola-w-té-yé.mp3|titles=01 Ola -w té yé]
“Ola w te ye (Where Were You?”)

7. Romeo Santos, Formula, Vol. 1 (Sony)

As the lead singer for New York City-based bachata quartet Aventura, Romeo Santos has become one of the Latin music world’s leading hearthrobs. On his solo debut, Santos applied his distinctive high tenor in occasional new directions—see the Rico Love-produced, English-language Lil Wayne collaboration, “All Aboard,” below—while adhering mainly to the bachata formula that produced successful Aventura LPs like 2005’s God’s Project.

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Romeo-Santos-ft.-Lil-Wayne-All-Aboard.mp3|titles=Romeo Santos ft. Lil Wayne – All Aboard]
“All Aboard”

6. Jolly Boys, Great Expectation (Geejam Recordings/E1)

With their covers of Iggy Pop’s “Passenger,” Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” and, most famously, Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab,” Jamaican septugenarians the Jolly Boys (See our LargeUp TV episode with them here) brought mento into the 21st century with Great Expectation, introducing a whole new generation of listeners to the sound of pre-ska/reggae Jamaica. Originally released in Europe in the the fall of 2010, the LP only hit U.S. shores in March.

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/01-Rehab-Modern-Mento-Version-•••.mp3|titles=01 Rehab (Modern Mento Version) •••]
“Rehab”

5. Stephen Marley, Revelation, Pt. 1: Root of Life (Universal Republic)

A sort of companion piece to his brother Damian’s 2010 collaborative LP with Nas, Distant Relatives, Stephen Marley’s Revelation, Pt. 1 was a call for unity to African people worldwide. Consistent throughout, the LP’s centerpiece was the megawatt lighter-lifter of a Buju/Damian collaboration, “Jah Army,” one of the year’s most massive-sounding reggae tunes.

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Jah-Army-Feat.-Damian-Marley.mp3|titles=Jah Army (Feat. Damian Marley and Buju Banton)]
“Jah Army”

4. Gloria Estefan, Miss Little Havana (Crescent Moon)

This stellar comeback album from Ms. Miami Sound fell under a lot of people’s radars, but it shouldn’t have. Producer Pharrell Williams put Estefan in a zone that reawakened Estefan’s dance music diva instincts. With their poppy Neptunes sheen, tunes like “Say Ay” and “Wepa” put fresh, modern spins on the Latin dance sounds of the mid ’80s.

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/05-Say-Ay.mp3|titles=05 Say Ay]
“Say Ay”

3. Los Rakas, Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada EP (Soy Raka LLC)

Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada was just an EP in terms of length, with eight songs total, but for those who’ve been waiting for an official release from Los Rakas, it was as satisfying as could have been anticipated. Oakland-based Panamanian-American cousins Raka Rich and Raka Dun (Watch our LargeUp TV episode with them here) delivered on the promise of their mixtapes (and breakout single “Abrazame”) with a gang of songs running the gamut from turfin’-inspired Hyphy to folkloric styles from their native Panama, all over crisp original production from a crew of talented producers led by Chief Boima.

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/4.-Los-Rakas-Ta-Lista.mp3|titles=4. Los Rakas – Ta Lista]
“Ta Lista”

2. Vybz Kartel, Kingston Story (Mixpak)

Vybz Kartel had probably the strangest year of any major recording artist the world over. When it started, he was the only dancehall artist that mattered—he could’ve farted into a microphone and called it a hit. As it ends, he’s looking at life in jail as the murder charges pile up, and the tide continues turning against him. In between, Addi Di Teacha somehow quietly released one of the stronger dancehall albums in recent memory. A truly cohesive LP produced entirely by Brooklyn’s Dre Skull, Kingston Story nonetheless covered a wider variety of material than some might realize Kartel is capable of, from protest songs to fairly heartfelt love tunes, and even a haunting piano interlude.

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/02-Beautiful-Girl.mp3|titles=02 Beautiful Girl]
“Beautiful Girl”

1. Hollie Cook, Hollie Cook (Mr. Bongo)

Thoroughly fresh in terms of feel and presentation yet a total throwback full of vintage style lovers rock grooves and mixes, Hollie Cook’s debut album was a true revelation, and a memorable opening salvo in what we are sure will be a long and fruitful career. Never mind her status as true rock’n roll nobility (Cook is the daughter of Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook, and a British-born St. Lucian punk mum)—this record speaks for it self. Just what the doctor ordered for reggae music post Kartel’s hegemony…

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/06-Hollie_Cook-Sugar_Water_Look_At_My_Face_Feat._Horseman.mp3|titles=06-Hollie_Cook-Sugar_Water_(Look_At_My_Face)_Feat._Horseman]
“Sugar Water (Look At My Face)”

Jimmy Cliff-Sacred Fire EP, Various Artists-Reggae’s Gone Country (VP Records), Sizzla-The Scriptures (John John)

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Jimmy-Cliff-Guns-of-Brixton-Prod.-Tim-Armstrong.mp3|titles=Jimmy Cliff – Guns of Brixton (Prod. Tim Armstrong)]
Jimmy Cliff, “Guns of Brixton”