10 FT. GANJA PLANT Bass Chalice (ROIR) cd 15.98

ABYSSINIANS Satta Dub (Taboo) cd 15.98

ABYSSINIANS Satta Massagana (Heartbeat) cd 16.98

AFRICAN HEAD CHARGE Drastic Season (On-U Sound) cd 16.98
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AFRICAN HEAD CHARGE Environmental Studies (On-U Sound) cd 16.98
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One of the best albums by Adrian Sherwood's African Head Charge, now re-issued on cd with a bonus CD-Rom track.

AFRICAN HEAD CHARGE My Life In A Hole In The Ground (On-U Sound) cd 16.98
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AFRICAN HEAD CHARGE Off The Beaten Track (On-U Sound) cd 16.98
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Probably one of the more experimental albums in Adrian Sherwood's African Head Charge dub releases. Lots of off kilter sampling from Albert Einstein to Frank Zappa blended in with straight up dub. Somehow it works. Comes with CD-Rom bonus track.

AGGROLITES, THE Dirty Reggae (Axe Records) cd 16.98
Adapting their name from their heroes The Aggrovators and the Crystalites, the Aggrolites are a California reggae band with a truly amazing knack for replicating the sounds of late sixties, early seventies Jamaican reggae. They're so good at reproducing a classic reggae sound that they were chosen as Prince Buster's backing band when Mr. Dread played at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in 2003. How they do it, we know not, but they can pull off a pre-Black Ark Lee Perry sound like no one else. Listen to "Burning Bush" and you have to wonder where that keyboard came from. Thankfully the Aggrolites aren't all about creating a convincing replica and while the guitar, bass, drums and organ all fit the bill, the vocals don't aim to imitate any Jamaican singer. Instead singer Jesse Wagner manages a scratchy, punk-rock-cum-blues vocal style more reminiscent of Los Lobos than anything else. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Hot Stop"
MPEG Stream: "Burning Bush"

AGGROLITES, THE Reggae Hit L.A. (Hellcat) cd 13.98
Although they look like an old Fat Wreckords or Epitaph dude punk band, The Aggrolites aren't what they appear to be. In fact, they're a band (yes from L.A.) whose heart pounds to a solid reggae beat. However, unlike the reggae influenced bands who've come before them (The Clash, Rancid, etc), The Aggrolites have immersed themselves completely in the genre, doing a remarkable job of recreating the classic early Jamaican reggae sounds. Along the way you can hear deep reverent bows to the likes of The Ethiopians, The Skatallites, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Alton Ellis, Toots & The Maytals among others. Adding more proof to the pudding, the quintet have performed as backing band for many greats such as Phyllis Dillon, Derrick Morgan, and Prince Buster as well as Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Madness. There's nothing aggro about this here album. Nope, all you get are breezy good times!
MPEG Stream: "Work It"
MPEG Stream: "Rhythm & Light"

AGGROVATORS MEETS THE REVOLUTIONARIES At Channel One: Instrumental (Striker Lee) cd 14.98
This isn't a new re-issue, it's been out for a while now, but we just picked it up. This is one of the best dub records I've heard in a long time. Very simple dub with patient and simple solo lines. In fact, this whole record is quite stripped down and compact -- maximum effect with minimum means. There is no recording date here, but it sounds as though it was recorded in the early seventies, evidenced by a complete lack of synth presence -- instead, good old organ and even way out of tune piano still fill the key spot. The melodic phrases are broken up nicely, sprinkled with spring reverb, tape delay and filled in with solo lines that avoid upstaging and never stray far from the austere fabric of the tunes. With the cast here it should probably not come as a surprize that this should be such a great record: Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook, Roland Alfonso, Skullie and more. Recorded at Channel One and at King Tubby's of course and produce by Bunny Lee. On the cover art tip, there's a nice drawing of three dred-locked rastas wielding machine guns and firing away in every direction.
RealAudio clip: "The Conqueror"
RealAudio clip: "Bionic Man"
RealAudio clip: "Special Brew"

AGGROVATORS MEETS THE REVOLUTIONARIES At Channel One: Instrumental (Striker Lee) lp 11.98
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We just got vinyl in of this album that got reviewed in the last list, so I thought I'd post it again. Also, I thought I'd mention that the title had been misprinted in the last list, if that makes any difference, as "Aggrovatorsbionic" -- we honestly don't know how that happened. I think it has something to do with what looks like tea leaves that are stuck in between the keys on our iBook. This is one of the best dub records I've heard in a long time. Very simple dub with patient and simple solo lines. In fact, this whole record is quite stripped down and compact -- maximum effect with minimum means. There is no recording date here, but it sounds as though it was recorded in the early seventies, evidenced by a complete lack of synth presence -- instead, good old organ and even way out of tune piano still fill the key spot. The melodic phrases are broken up nicely, sprinkled with spring reverb, tape delay and filled in with solo lines that avoid upstaging and never stray far from the austere fabric of the tunes. With the cast here it should probably not come as a surprize that this should be such a great record: Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook, Roland Alfonso, Skullie and more. Recorded at Channel One and at King Tubby's of course and produce by Bunny Lee. The LP cover art here is a bit different, painted in full color, but this one still depicts another group of machine gun weilding rastas battling it out with some unknown enemy. On Jamaican vinyl, but we haven't had any complaints of warping or defects yet.

AGGROVATORS, THE Dubbing It Studio 1 Style (Jamaican) cd 14.98
It's now getting to the point where, not only can I pick out a new disc from the Jamaican Recordings label from 15 feet by their distinctive layouts, but I almost have a Pavlovian response when I see a new one. Because Jamaican recordings continues to prove that they're a label to be reckoned with. Not only do they consistenly pick out excellent and often rare tracks, but the recordings themselves are always of top notch fidelity. This collection of dubs by producer Bunny "Striker" Lee's session / super group The Aggrovators is no exception to the reputation that Jamaican is earning here at AQ. The tracks on this collection were originally recorded at Randy's Studio 17, Channel 1 and Dynamic Sounds and are all dubs of tracks that were Jamaican versions of American and U.K. soul and R&B. Being three times removed from the original song you'd be hard pressed to know what cover is being dubbed unless you pick out a clue from the periodic fade ins of the vocal tracks laden with reverb and delay.
RealAudio clip: "Not Just Another Dub"
RealAudio clip: "Live & Learn Dub"

ANDY, HORACE Dance Hall Style (Wackies) cd 17.98
Six extended dancehall mixes of Horace Andy from 1982. This is an excellent collection of recordings and is highly recommendable to those who picked up -- and enjoyed -- the "Nice Up The Dance" comp we listed a little while back. Though the cuts aren't quite as lengthy as those on "Nice Up The Dance", most clocking in around 7 minutes, each has a good long dub bridge in the middle with lots of spring reverb drenched snare hits and delay drenched guitar & vocal bursts.
RealAudio clip: "Money Money"

ANDY, HORACE Dance Hall Style (Wackies) lp 14.98
Six extended dancehall mixes of Horace Andy from 1982. This is an excellent collection of recordings and is highly recommendable to those who picked up -- and enjoyed -- the "Nice Up The Dance" comp we listed a little while back. Though the cuts aren't quite as lengthy as those on "Nice Up The Dance", most clocking in around 7 minutes, each has a good long dub bridge in the middle with lots of spring reverb drenched snare hits and delay drenched guitar & vocal bursts.

ANDY, HORACE Dub Box: Rare Dubs 1973 - 1976 (Jamaican Recordings) cd 14.98
Another excellent, albeit quite possibly not entirely authentic, collection of dubs from Jamaican Recordings (please see description of King Tubby's "Lost Treasures" also reviewed on this list for more on this.) Featuring Bunny Lee's house band the Aggrovators (in this case Sly & Robbie on drums and bass, Earl Smith on guitar, Winston Wright on organ, Augustus Pablo on keyboards, Tommy McCook on saxophone and Bobby Ellis on trumpet) the backing tracks on this album were recorded at Randy's, Channel 1, King Tubby's, and Harry J's between 197 and 1976. There are some excellent dubs of some great Horace Andy tracks including Skylarking, My Guiding Star (a Heptones original), Just Say Who, Love of A Woman, Money Money and more. Like all Jamaican Recordings releases the CD version includes bonus tracks not available on the vinyl.
RealAudio clip: "Zion Dub"
RealAudio clip: "Use This Dub"

ANDY, HORACE Dub Box: Rare Dubs 1973 - 1976 (Jamaican Recordings) lp 14.98
Another excellent, albeit quite possibly not entirely authentic, collection of dubs from Jamaican Recordings (please see description of King Tubby's "Lost Treasures" also reviewed on this list for more on this.) Featuring Bunny Lee's house band the Aggrovators (in this case Sly & Robbie on drums and bass, Earl Smith on guitar, Winston Wright on organ, Augustus Pablo on keyboards, Tommy McCook on saxophone and Bobby Ellis on trumpet) the backing tracks on this album were recorded at Randy's, Channel 1, King Tubby's, and Harry J's between 197 and 1976. There are some excellent dubs of some great Horace Andy tracks including Skylarking, My Guiding Star (a Heptones original), Just Say Who, Love of A Woman, Money Money and more. Like all Jamaican Recordings releases the CD version includes bonus tracks not available on the vinyl.

ANDY, HORACE Dub Larking / Dub Ah Fulfil (Jamaican) 10" 9.98
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Plain white sleeve 10" from Jamaican Recordings' forthcoming full length collection of Horace Andy dubs. Dub Larking obviously is a dub of Skylarking, Dub Ah Fulfil is a rare dub of "Serious Thing" (and will only be available on the CD version of the full length when it's released in the near future.)

ANDY, HORACE In the Light + In the Light Dub (Blood & Fire) cd 16.98

ANDY, HORACE Living In The Flood (Melankolic) cd 15.98
After Massive Attack revived Horace Andy's career with his beautiful cameos on "Mezzanine," Horace Andy presents his first solo recordings in quite a long time (a decade or two?). Recorded with Clive Hunt at Tuff Gong in Kingston, Jamaica, "Living In The Flood" has a rather dry modern reggae sound, probably to emphasize Horace Andy's warbly, delicate voice which is a beautiful thing, but the music (often with sappy 80s anglo-jazz overtones) tends to detract from his overall ability.

ANDY, HORACE Roots and Classics (Recall) 2cd 16.98
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Low priced double disc anthology of vocalist Horace Andy, apparently a part of a series of anthologies of Jamaican artists being released by Recall. Each collection comes with a fair amount of biographical notes on the artist and generally make good starting points if you don't have anything already. The one problem with the collection here of Horace Andy is that all the tracks, including his classics such as Skylarking, See A Man's Face and Love Is A Treasure are not the original versions. Instead they're really crappy late eighties or early nineties productions with shitty drum machines and MIDI instrumentation. I would advise against purchasing this collection and instead just pick up Andy's Skylarking or Dance Hall Style.
RealAudio clip: "Love Is A Treasure"

ANDY, HORACE Skylarking (Studio One) cd 15.98
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Not to be confused with the 1997 release of the same name on Massive Attack's Melankolic label (basically a best of that included some Massive Attack tracks.) Skylarking was Andy's first album, produced by Coxsone Dodd and released in 1972. Along with the popular title track "Skylarking", Andy sings numerous covers including Ken Boothe's very R&B-esque "Don't Cry Little Girl" (titled "Don't Go" on the disc here), Cat Stevens' "Where Do The Children Play?" and the Roger Whittaker favorite "Mammy Blue". Each song gets Horace Andy's beautiful tremolo-laden tenor croon and, backed by the Sound Dimension, there's really not a dud on the album. Though they kind of butchered the original artwork of this cd reissue by cropping the hell out of the original photo that graced the lp and making it so the album's title takes up 25% of the cover art, they make up for it I suppose by adding a couple bonus tracks not originally available on the lp: "Oh Youth Man" and "Night Owl". Another thing worth mentioning in case you pick this up, you'll notice that the bio of Horace Andy in the liner notes state him as being born in 1971. Though he was pretty young when he recorded these tracks, that would be an amazing feat at one year old. No, he was actually born in 1951 and recorded these cuts at 21.
RealAudio clip: "Where Do The Children Play?"
RealAudio clip: "Skylarking"
RealAudio clip: "Don't Cry Little Girl"

ANDY, HORACE / SOLID C., BOBBY D. & KOOL DROP Musical Episode / Wack Rap (Wackies / Dis-Joint) 12" 8.98
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A couple of excellent, albeit *completely* different, tracks extracted from the archives of Bronx's now legendary Wackies label & recording studio. The A-Side is a super sweet discomix of Horace Andy's "Musical Episode" from 1982. Clocking in at 6 minutes it's one of the nicest cuts I've heard come out of Wackies, replete with pounding kumina drumming even; so it's all the nicer that it's extra long. The B-Side is equally great, but such a polar opposite that it's amazing they grace the same slab. Legend has it, that this 1979 track was Lloyd Barnes' (a.k.a. Bullwackie) only attempt at breaking into hip hop. On it three kids, apparently young Jamaican emigrees to the U.S., give their all in true Sugarhill Gang form, doing their best to imitate the New York patois with their stream of consciousness lyrics which go on endlessly. What's better is that the version offered here was the B-Side to the original single, so about half way through it gets totally fucking dubbed out, with drums and bass dropping in and out, echo bounced off the vocals -- which sounds totally strange on frenetic hip hop delivery, as opposed to a slow reggae track -- and kooky electronic sounds. The total length of the track is almost 11 minutes, putting it up there as one of the longest hip hop tracks ever. For those without access to a turntable, fear not, these two tracks are a preview to a full length compilation being released by Dis-Joint.
RealAudio clip: HORACE ANDY "Musical Episode"
RealAudio clip: SOLID C. ET AL "Wack Rap"

ANTHONY B Love Triangle (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "I'm A Thug" (Trick Daddy).

AQUARIUS BUTTONS 2 x 1" buttons 1.00
Spread the word! Show the world your true aQ colors! COOL COOL COOL aQ buttons, in 5 different colors. TWO FOR $1!!! Colors are random, but buy enough and you'll be guaranteed to get 'em all! All 5 feature our spiffy James Gang style logo!!

AQUARIUS DUB (Uranus Music) lp 13.98

ASSASIN Achieve (RMC) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix.

ASSASIN / EINSTEIN How Fi Get It / Something (Killa) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix.

BANTON, BUJU The Early Years (90-95) (Penthouse) cd 16.98

BANTON, BUJU & TENOR SAW Ring the Alarm Quick b/w Version (Techniques) 7" 2.98
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We picked up some copies of our favorite Dancehall track by Buju Banton. This is the same track that was featured on the 400% Dynamite compilation. The B-Side contains the dub version of the same track. We've ordered several, but we don't know how many more we can continue to get, so if you want one you should order sooner rather than later.

BASQUE DUB FOUNDATION Meets Loud & Lone (Two Bascos / Brixton Records) cd 14.98

BEENIE MAN Live Or Die (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "Midwest Swing" (St. Lunatics).

BEENIE MAN Model Mi Gal (RMC) 7" 2.98
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Another cool dance hall single from Jamaica, this time around the rhtyhm is "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott). B-side, though supposedly containing a "Remix" of the aforementioned rhythm, has a version that is completely unrelated.

BEENIE MAN More Prayer (Club Remix) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "What It Is" (Busta Rhymes).

BEENIE MAN Trend Setter (RMC) 7" 2.98
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Like a few of the newer hip hop dancehall remixes, this one utilizes a few different rhythms crossfaded in and out. The b-side says "version" on it, but -- surprize, surprize -- actually has the Elephant Man theme (using the melody to "Spiderman" of course.) Nice printing bonus on this single is a classic misspelling of Beenie Man as "Bennie Man".

BIG YOUTH Natty Universal Dread: 1973-1979 (Blood & Fire) 3cd 21.00

BLACK ARK OAKEN SAW Welcome To The Washboard Jungle (Hydra Head) cd 13.98
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It was only a matter of time. There's been rap metal, and there's been funk metal, but as far as we know, nobody has combined black metal and dub, at least in a way that was at all palatable (we're definitely not counting the Bill Laswell produced Cradle Of Filth remix record or that abominable Tolkien-dub Prince Far Isengard record from a few years back). But now we've got the brilliantly monickered Black Ark Oaken Saw, a grim troupe of ganja smoking, washboard stroking, corpse painted Dandys in tight trousers. Huge swaths of murky buzzsaw guitars, howled demonic David Lee Roth-like vocals, wrapped in loads of reverb and delay, but instead of blast beats, or precise triggered drums, the dark abyss is framed by spare super blissed out, dubbed out echoplexed dub rhythms, snares crack and then repeat endlessly into the blackened void, while shrieks are snipped mid phrase and then recycled into haunting otherworldy echoes of blackened dub. Weird weird weird, it seems like this sort of thing wouldn't work at all, but surprisingly it's an absolutely perfect fit. Imagine Emperor with Sly and Robbie occupying the rhythm section or Lee Perry fronting Lugubrum. And we can't forget the un-named frontman who indeed plays the amplified washboard, but it too is run through a bank of effects and emerges a totally dubbed out barely recognizable version of itself. Hopefully, Hydra Head's interest in the fringes of black metal will continue to unearth more unholy treasures like the mighty Black Ark Oaken Saw!
MPEG Stream: "Haunting Halls of Hellfury (In Dub)"
MPEG Stream: "Christpunching (In Dub)"

BLING DAWG Make Hits (RMC) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott).

BLING DAWG Massacra (Killa) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott).

BOOTHE, KEN Everything I Own (Trojan / Sanctuary) cd 14.98

BOUNTY KILLA Bulls of Chicago (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott).

BOUNTY KILLER Bun A Fire (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott).

BOUNTY KILLER Entourage (Killa) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott) b/w "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (Eve) rhythm and mystery vocals.

BOUNTY KILLER Ghetto Crown King (Killa) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (Eve).

BOUNTY KILLER Ghetto Dictionary: The Art Of War (VP) cd 16.98
Oy vey! What ever happened to releasing albums one at a time? I guess maybe there's more fiduciary sense in splitting up a double disc as two separate albums (it seems to have done indie rockers Appleseed Cast well.) Or maybe it's that Mr. Killer is hoping to continue riding his recent world fame acquired thrugh his association with duder rock band No Doubt. With 20 tracks on each one though, you've got to wonder if maybe a little culling may have been in order. Still, rough and tough gangster dancehall man Bounty Killer makes the attempt. The thing that makes Bounty Killer more successful than most of his dancehall contemporaries might be in attempting this feat (in our humble opinion) is that, with Ghetto Dictionary, he avoids the slow jam ballads *almost* entirely. But then again you've probably come to realise that the style of dancehall vocals most appreciated by us AQ folk are ones that are spoken, not sung and preferably by someone who's voice is not entirely suited to sing vocals even when attempted. Of the myriad dancehall vocalists out there today Bounty Killer is on the short list of people who fit this job description. With an almost asthmatic, wheezing voice, Bounty Killer has a way of forcing all his words through his chest that's like a voice instructor's textbook scenario for how not to sing. And that's the way we like it. One of the things that keeps these two discs from becoming stale throughout their extremely long run time is the varied production in the rhythm department. On both albums there's a decent mix of reggae, dancehall and hip hop rhythm tracks here which breaks up what often makes many dancehall albums monotonous.
With its hip hop album intro beginning, one would think that 'Art of War' was going to be either more of a hip hop influenced album, or at least harder than 'Mystery', but actually this is not the case. Weighing the two albums 'Art of War' is perhaps more firmly ensconced in the dancehall tradition. And although it possibly lacks quite as many 'hits' as its companion, it also has nary a single crappy ballad, of which 'Mystery' has three or four.
RealAudio clip: "Man Ah Bad Man The Sequel"
RealAudio clip: "Just Dead"
RealAudio clip: "W.A.R.R."

BOUNTY KILLER Ghetto Dictionary: The Mystery (VP) cd 16.98
Oy vey! What ever happened to releasing albums one at a time? I guess maybe there's more fiduciary sense in splitting up a double disc as two separate albums (it seems to have done indie rockers Appleseed Cast well.) Or maybe it's that Mr. Killer is hoping to continue riding his recent world fame acquired thrugh his association with duder rock band No Doubt. With 20 tracks on each one though, you've got to wonder if maybe a little culling may have been in order. Still, rough and tough gangster dancehall man Bounty Killer makes the attempt. The thing that makes Bounty Killer more successful than most of his dancehall contemporaries might be in attempting this feat (in our humble opinion) is that, with Ghetto Dictionary, he avoids the slow jam ballads *almost* entirely. But then again you've probably come to realise that the style of dancehall vocals most appreciated by us AQ folk are ones that are spoken, not sung and preferably by someone who's voice is not entirely suited to sing vocals even when attempted. Of the myriad dancehall vocalists out there today Bounty Killer is on the short list of people who fit this job description. With an almost asthmatic, wheezing voice, Bounty Killer has a way of forcing all his words through his chest that's like a voice instructor's textbook scenario for how not to sing. And that's the way we like it. One of the things that keeps these two discs from becoming stale throughout their extremely long run time is the varied production in the rhythm department. On both albums there's a decent mix of reggae, dancehall and hip hop rhythm tracks here which breaks up what often makes many dancehall albums monotonous.
On 'Mystery' one particular highlight is a toast over Morgan Heritage's excellent classic "Gunz In the Ghetto" smack dab in the middle of the album and whose production style makes it stick out as though someone has suddenly changed the disc in the player. By the time things slow down on 'Mystery', you've pretty much got your album's worth already. One of the more amusing bad numbers "Evil's of the Mind" is worth going through once at least for kicks. The track features Curly Loxx 2 Loxx who sounds like a cross between fitness guru Richard Simmons and white rapper Eminem. You gotta wonder where Bounty Killer found this guy.
RealAudio clip: "Bakardi Slang Refix"
RealAudio clip: "100 Rounds"
RealAudio clip: "Gunz In The Ghetto"

BOUNTY KILLER Mark Death (Killa) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "Wait A Minute" (Ray J).

BOUNTY KILLER Next Millennium (TVT) cd 17.98
Released in 1998 by TVT records, Next Millennium is yet another record that is part of that new breed of dancehall which has almost more in common with hip hop than reggae. The production is filled with breakbeats and scratching and if that isn't enough it features cameos from Noreaga, Mob Deep and Killa Priest.
RealAudio clip: "Next Millennium"

BOUNTY KILLER Roy (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "Fiesta" (R. Kelly).

BOUNTY KILLER Stush War (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "What It Is" (Busta Rhymes).