Ras Shiloh Coming Home, an Article by Diane “Livonn” Adam
“Ras Shiloh’s voice remains piercing yet amazingly gentle. He displays a different range on Coming Home than previously heard. Clearly, this young Rasta’s voice is maturing in a direction that still places him as one of the highest order of Jah’s angels —- a Seraphim for the new millennium and beyond.” – Diane “Livonn” Adam
Ras Shiloh has been a truly missed live performance artist in Northern California. So it’s with much anticipation that this Brooklyn-born artist is back to the business of delivering the sweet sound of reggae in his own unique way with his superb new 2007 CD release, Coming Home (VP Records) produced by the legendary Bobby “Digital” Dixon.
Coming Home is truly a work of art and a labor of love by Ras Shiloh and producer Bobby Digital. A winning combination considering the Garnet Silk-like vocals of Ras Shiloh and Digital’s many accomplishments including his production work on Sizzla’s Da Real Thing and Black Woman & Child. From start to finish Coming Home is roots and culture at its highest and easily one of the best reggae releases this year. No doubt, this one will keep rotating in your music players day and night! Opening the album is the soul-stirring, “We Need Love” refraining that, We need more / Our nation is crying out / We need more love (love is what we’re searching for) in this world today / Promise us a better way / We need more joy (joy is what we need today) / a place for the children to play / Where is the sunny day…” Coming Home’s success can also be attributed to some brilliant musicianship from Squidley Cole on drums, Donald “Danny Bassie” Dennis on bass, Dalton Browne on guitars, Paul “Right Move” Crossdale, Sidney Mills, Mikey Spice and Benjy Myaz on keyboards and the great Dean Fraser on sax.
For many of us the introduction in 1998 of Ras Shiloh came by way of his 1998 CD release, Babylon You Doom which subsequently took him on tour to California to perform. His distinctive a cappella vocals literally took wings throughout the San Francisco Bay Area as he performed from Maritime Hall to Reggae In The Park and seemed to take root as a young artist who was destined to make it to the top. Personal issues may have played a part in his departure from the music scene in the Bay Area but it has not stopped this young Rasta from continuing what he does best, releasing a comeback album in 2002 with From Rasta To You (VP Records).
Accolades for Coming Home are many since every track on this CD is pure gold. Songs I find particularly impressive are “Give A Little Love”, the spiritually felt, “What You Have Done” and “Come Down Jah Jah”, “The New Rising Day” featuring Bascone X and “It Will Be Over” featuring Natural Black. The album also features Morgan Heritage on the song “Let The People Voice Be Heard”.
Ras Shiloh’s voice remains piercing yet amazingly gentle. He displays a different range on Coming Home than previously heard. Clearly, this young Rasta’s voice is maturing in a direction that still places him as one of the highest order of Jah’s angels —- a Seraphim for the new millennium and beyond.
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VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfDsHihdXNk
