Some of the elders do not always appreciate the young acting bold. Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew are standing up for all who are BOLD. “Bold” in their sense is completely different to what you or I might consider bold. Bajah and his crew hail from Sierra Leone, and unless your culture insensitivity is at an all-time high this afternoon, they have been in the midst of a civil war for the most of the last decade, plus some. In their culture to be “Dry Eye” IS to be bold; dry eye is an expression of boldness.
“We just gonna stand, no matter what. No more tears in the eye. We’re just gonna stay dry eye and say something. You understand? That’s strong.
We talk about different things,” Bajah continues. “We talk about love. We talk about life, social problems. Music is about life.” And now, Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew are sharing their unique perspective on life and spreading their message of hope, love, and inspiration across the globe through their vibrant, infectious music and their electrifying live shows.
And now I am ( you should too!) listening as well. This reggae/dancehall/rap fusion group is doing big thangs all over the world.
The swagger they possess as hip/hop artists has attracted the likes of ?uestlove and Black Thought of the Roots, Talib Kweli, K’Naan, Res, and El-P to collaborate on various levels of their musical production. After my first listen, I could instantly picked up on this swagger, Bajah, who is the groups front man, is a very talented rapper and his deliver is quite up to par with most acclaimed and successful rappers out there. Been rapping since he was a wee lad, his energy and rhythm sync beautifully with the reggae/dance hall background music provided by his band. His lyrics, a little controversial at times, but always delivered with a hot-fire flow, are one of his strongest attributes, speaking of social injustice, as well as hope, and love.
Their mix-tape can be downloaded for $free.99 on their website, ( that means fo free), http://planetbajah.com/album
Pretty neat website overall in my opinion.
Bajah plays with A-Klazz, and Dovy Dovy in the U.S. and the Jungle Leaders (Funky Fred, Dell, and Sly) back in Sierra Leone, they combine for some hot hip/hop, ( as previously preached by me), as well as more slow tempo reggae music one could really vibe with, listen to at the beach or during some hot nasty fun time.
“Solider” and “Come Near Me” as great songs that accentuate Bajah’s talent as a lyricist and rapper, while “Shake”, ( go figure) is a bumping dancehall track, you could really do some bump-n-grinding to. However, they can still slow it down with the more classic reggae feeling song, “Give Me Your Number.” This versatility of sound is one of bands strongest points, keeping it nice and balanced.
Bajah has a new album meant to be dropping in late August but delayed a little -we will tell you more when we know more. And they have a free show at City Winery August 10th, 9pm.
And remember it’s ALL about Balance.