Popcaan: Where We Come From Vinyl 2LP

Best dancehall album of 2014. Vybz Kartel’s Portmore Empire housed the young Popcaan amongst many other notable Dancehall artists. While many of his peers boasted of being bad dudes, Popcaan had a knack for the softer side of tings. Where We Come From is spearheaded by Mixpak head honcho Dre Skull as well as colleague Dubbel Dutch. Though the roots of dancehall are firmly embraced, the production is much more futuristic in the spectrum giving the album a wider range for the non dancehall listening community a chance for a glimpse into something truly great. One of those albums that works well for the core fans and then NPR or someone will be like ‘Tell us all about this new genre… what exactly is Dancehall?’ Front to back, solid listen for fans of Gyptian, Kelela, and Major Lazer.

• music label: Mixpak 2014

reviewed by Boohoo Banton 12/2015