Sneak Peak Album Review of Stand Tall CD by Sizzla

Sizzla is a Jamaican musician that has achieved fame not only in the United States but all across Europe and even Canada. He is by far the most famous Reggae artist that exists today and the reason for that is that he has managed to get himself into a lot of controversy and this has gotten his name in papers all over the world. This has also resulted in millions of records sold for him and it proves the old adage that controversy creates cash and in this case Sizzla has proved that the more wrong he does the more records he is able to sell.

In 2004 Sizzla was banned from entering the United Kingdom and accused of making music that promotes violence because of the fact that many of his songs are disrespectful to the gay community. The reason for this is that Sizza belongs to the Rastafarian Religion. This is the Religion that was made famous by Bob Marley in the media. Essentially the Religion does not believe in homosexuality and this is the reason for the lyrics that are said to be anti-gay. In 2007, multiple Sizzla concerts were cancelled due to protests by the gay community and this year a few of his concerts were cancelled in Germany for the very same reason. Critics say they are taking a stand against violent Reggae music but the truth is that they are only helped him sell records. Because of their protests he has sold millions according to Billboard.com and gained a large amount of fame. However, he was discovered by the same man that discovered Buju Banton who is very famous himself. He has also tour with acts like The Roots and worked with Bobby Digital.

His material is usually worth a listen at least and for this reason I decided to listen to his new CD titled "Stand Tall" via Youtube before it hits stores and see if it is worth the money. This CD includes 16 tracks, the best of which are "No Pain" and "Kick Out" but other than that there isn't much to listen to. The lyrics are conscious much like Mos Def, Common, Nas, or Talib Kweli. There are no lyrics about guns or outright violence but there is a militant feel of anger on this CD. The content is nothing you wont find on his earlier CDs and for that reason this would score a 2/5 with little replay value.I would skip this CD when it arrives in stores.