DIWALI STILL RUNS NEW MEXICO

Even though we have a new numero uno, a new top-a-top, Steve 'Lenky' Marsden's DIWALI riddim still runs New Mexico. Buju Banton's "Tra La La" has conquered the pole position from Elephant Man this month, as one partying anthem supplants another. The Gargamel sings: " I love it when di woman dem surround me, a pure hot gal dem a crown me, tra la la, tra la la, tra la la." Other new entries on the DIWALI, (the name being derived from the East Indian Diwali or festival of lights, or array of lamps; the light signifying goodness; the lamps indicating the victory of light over darkness and of good over evil) include Rene Castle's hip-hoppy "Feel It Now", Wayne Wonder's mellow "No Letting Go", and another gal anthem from Anthony B entitled "Girl's Bus". Four other tunes on the DIWALI from TOK, Bounty, Assassin and Hawkeye bring the total up to record-breaking 9 entries on the riddim. One of the most favorable qualities of this work is its versatilty, as the artists' themes range from conscious (Bounty's "Sufferer") over party-anthems (Anthony B, TOK,Elephant,etc.) to lover's (W.Wonder,Crissy D) ; as well as from female-power (Cecile"s "Respect Your Wife" and Tanya Stephen's "Touch Me No More") over bad-manism (Beenie Man, Spragga) to the history of certain dj's ("Zumjay is my name,. I come from Garden and Matches Lane.."). So big up yuhself Lenky: yuh a real top-a-top !

As if that weren't enough, Mr.Marsden is also responsible for the second hottest riddim on the streets of New Mexico, the PARTYTIME. The energy god Elephant Man just barely missed the peak again, as other selections from Desperado, Sizzla, Anthony B and Mr. Vegas continue to hold tight. At # 3 we have a contribution from Sean Paul on 2001's BUZZ riddim. We usually do not like to feature material from last year on a 2002 chart, but as the BUZZ did not get much recognition here up to now, and the Sean Paul tune has hit heavy rotation on a number of commercial radio stations in New Mexico (HOT 97 KISS FM, WILD 106.3 FM, THE BOMB) we decided to include it. If you get in your car and turn on the radio, there is no hiding from this fine ganja tune. The BUZZ riddim is so refreshingly hardcore, as opposed to many of the more r&b/pop-oriented crossover tracks that ever DO hit the big-time (Tanto & Devonte's "Give It To Her" and Bounty & No Doubts "Hey Baby" come readily to mind), that the mainstream is finally getting a good taste of some REAL dancehall. So big up Black Shadow !!!

On the cultural front, Lion Paw has released its follow-up to the massive ZION GATES beat, the TRIBAL WAR. Louie Culture and George Nooks team up to re-work this classic, whereas Warrior King rides the riddim, utilizing a theme of the late-great Hugh Mundell : Africa Shall Be Free. The Calibud crew has reconstructed another reggae classic (from the Heptones) entitled ROCK ME, which we feature in the form of Terry Linen's cover of R.Kelly's "The World's Greatest" at # 16. Rounding out this chart is a wicked ganja tune from Tony Curtis called "High Grade", as well as a scorcher from St.Mary's prophet Capleton on the Mr.Landlord/Hypocrites riddim, produced by the infamous John John team.

Bubbling under is an enormous amount of new music. Red-hot, new hardcore riddims include CJ's ENGINE, Rattler's DIESEL, Awful Music's G-STRING and Shocking Vibes' GOLDEN BATHTUB. On the conscious tip my bredrin Shocking Murray's "Woman A Yuh Mi Want" (a beautiful love song) on Germany's Bazooka label is shaping up quite well, as are tunes from Capleton & Uplifter,Anthony B and Terry Ganzie on B.I.G. record's new rendition of the HEATHEN. ROCK ME as well as TRIBAL WAR both contain a number of contenders, as does Kickin Music's re-creation of perhaps THE most popular reggae riddim of ALL time: the REAL ROCK. Until next time, see ya ina di dance : Don Martin