The Caribbean

Rodney Anonymous vs. the World

by Rodney Anonymous

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Artists: Various

Area of Origin: The Caribbean

Last week, an e-mail was circulated among some white evangelical Christian groups falsely claiming that Sen. Barack Obama is the illegitimate offspring of the late Bob Marley and a Haitian Voodoo priestess, and that, if elected president, Obama would use the power of his new office along with his "rapacious tropical lust" to "repeatedly and shamelessly violet every decent Christian white woman in America." Within hours of the e-mail's appearance, Obama's approval rating among white Evangelical women had soared upward by 1,100 percent. Mrs. Mike Huckabee was seen trying to force her way onto Obama's campaign bus.

To fully grasp the concept of "rapacious tropical lust," let us turn our gaze toward the Caribbean: land of weed, dreadlocks, more weed, missing college kids and Soca music. Soca (a concatenation of "Soul of Calypso") can be described as calypso music layered overtop electronic beats and peppered with suggestive lyrics. So, based on genre alone, Soca Gold 2007 (VP Music Group) should be a slam dunk, and with the exception of one or two tracks (there are 17 songs on the CD and it contains a bonus DVD), it is. Massive applause for Edwin Yearwood, whose "Agua" is a sly little dance hall masterpiece, and Rikki Jai, whose "Last Band" is four minutes of adrenalin (among other substances)-fueled insanity.

People, if you're looking for insightful feminist protest songs, look elsewhere. Soca Gold 2007 simply delivers what it promises, and what it promises are infectious, danceable rhythms and lyrics about doing your girl doggy-style on the beach before high tide comes in. Is there anything wrong with that? Isn't rock 'n' roll, in its purest form, a simple beat and a story about someone desperately trying to get laid?

Verdict:

There are times within each of our lives (weddings, block parties, Ronald Reagan's funeral) when we are called upon to wildly shake our asses. When that time comes around, reach for Soca Gold.

(r_anonymous@citypaper.net)