Album Review: Imperial Blaze - Sean Paul

First off, I am a casual dancehall reggae fan. As a bar/club dj, I’ve spun it, but am in no way an expert. 90% of the time I have no idea what these dancehall rappers are saying. And strangely enough, I think that makes me qualified to be objective.

So with that, I’ll say it’s rare that a pop album keeps the energy level high without feeling tedious. Imperial Blaze gets it done, which makes it a fun album.

About 70% of this album is tight, which I’d say is pretty high. The beats are a good fusion of stuff you’ve heard from Sean Paul before (a couple are a little too familiar) and today’s better hiphop tracks. Majority of them are club-worthy. You also have some slower, old school love song type grooves, but they’re a little too syrupy for me.

Besides the lead single So Fine, these are the other standouts (click on the link for the mp3 sample and download):

Press It Up (could’ve called this So Fine, Pt. II)

She Wanna Be Down

Is Sean Paul a legend? No. But there’s a reason he’s got undeniable crossover appeal. A tight flow over infectious beats is like peanut butter on whole wheat - we’ve eaten it up for the last decade, we want more, and he’s given it to us yet again.

I give Imperial Blaze a 4 out of 5. If you like the genre or pop-dance music in general, download it.

Download this album: Imperial Blaze