Artiste: Ky-mani Marley

Album: Radio

Rating: ★★★★✩

Ky-Mani Marley's Radio presses all the right buttons and inspires the listener to keep tuned in. Smooth vocals, acoustic type beats and an array of lyrics proves another masterful combination from the Marley family.

'Radio' is an impressive collection of songs that mixes the genres of R&B, a touch of Spanish music and reggae. Chronicling everything from Ky-Mani's life to love and conscious issues, the album begins with the artiste fiercely announcing I'm Back. I'm Back features American hip hop star Young Buck and Louie Rankin, as Ky-Mani addresses his haters, letting them know he's back to stay.

In The March which is soldier themed, Ky-Mani sings about life in the ghetto and how hard it is to get respect in the ghetto. Ky-Mani closes the song with a reverent prayer to the Lord for the soldiers fighting for survival as they are welcomed "to the belly of the beast".

The duets, such as Slow Roll with Gail Gotti and the soulful Conversation featuring Tessanne Chynn, are worth a constant replay. A sweet love story, Tessanne smoothly provides a nice foil for Ky-Mani's rougher voice as she proclaims her love. Another stand out is Jezebel which tells the story of a man in love with a woman "who is too busy loving every one else".

Lyrically speaking, Marley focuses a lot on issues of love, life on the street and living in the ghetto. With a rap/chanting style, Marley sings and deejays with equal ease. Spiritualism is another prominent theme throughout the album as seen in the song I Pray and others. Ky-Mani obviously tries to show more of himself and his personality in this album.

Radio is a relaxing listen with various instruments distinctively featuring mini solos throughout the album. The only area the album falls back on is that many of the tracks are similar in beat, rather than each song having a distinctive feel, however that is not distracting enough not to warrant getting continuos airplay on any listener's list.

Track Listing:

1) I'm Back featuring Young Buck and Louie Rankin

2) The March

3) Slow Roll featuring Gail Gotti

4) One Time

5) Hustler

6) The Conversation featuring Tessanne Chynn

7) Royal Vibes

8) I Got You featuring Mya

9) Jezebel

10) So Hot

11) Ghetto Soldier featuring Louie Rankin and Maintain

12) Breakdown

13) I Pray

14) The March (Bonus Track- Vox Spanish Remix)

K.H.

Reggae