Rastaboyz.com - The Voice of Reggae Dancehall (Vancouver, Canada)

September 2010

Toussaint "Black Gold" Album Review

Toussaint, a new recording artist for I Grade Records, is not new to the music business. In fact while preparing to write this article I realized that I own an earlier album of his, No Place Like Soul, a Soulive record where Toussaint wrote and sang original songs for the veteran jazz-funk threesome - and it's a great listen. Unsurprisingly that album was released by Stax Records. But for I Grade to release Toussaint's latest album, Black Gold, does seem surprising. The St. Croix label primarily deals with roots reggae, and is best known for artists such as Midnite, Pressure, and Niyorah. But Black Gold is definitely not a soul album in the classic sense. Toussaint calls his style 'soul roots', and the reggae vibes on it are unmistakable and infectious. Produced by the Zion I Kings production team, including Laurent "Tippy" I Alfred, and even featuring some live strings, Black Gold is a beautiful hybrid of sounds and styles. Hailing from the continental US, Boston by way of Indiana, Toussaint is blessed with a rich tenor voice that perfectly compliments soul, gospel, and yes reggae.

Not many would consider soul music to be a natural bedfellow for roots reggae, and truly it isn't attempted very often. Toussaint's Black Gold proves that the musical forms can be blended with excellent results. Although the uplifting and positive "Be You" was Black Gold's first single, and video, the album opens with "Nobody Knows". "Nobody Knows" is a soulful track that gives praises to the Most High. It's one of Black Gold's strongest songs, and it lays down for the uninitiated what a 'soul roots' album is going to sound like. "This Song", which follows, is gospel-inflected and it allows Toussaint's powerful and raspy voice to really shine. By then the listener should get the 'soul roots' phenomenon. "Rise and Fall" is the only track featuring a guest vocalist, the excellent chanter from Guyana Jahdan Blakkamore, and it is also a stand-out.

My favorite song on the album is "Roots in a Modern Time". Aside from just being a pleasure to listen to, and the reggae-est (if that's a word) track on the album, it really sets the tone and theme of the album. Toussaint wants to return to his roots, and tune out all the modern distractions: the materialism, divisiveness, racism and commercialization that make us feel that we can never win, or aren't good enough. The album is spiritual and political. Toussaint sings about the Diaspora returning to Africa, the ever-widening gulf between the rich and poor, and the unrealistic expectations put on Obama, but in essence the album is deeply personal. Whether TVs are getting tossed out the window because of the constant propaganda, or an addiction to cocaine is being overcome, the album is about change and returning to what is pure and good. It is a triumph. My only complaint would be that the album loses a bit of momentum at the end with the longer "Rain Again" following the low-key "Changes". But all in all Black Gold is a pleasure to listen to. Much credit should be given to Toussaint and the Zion I production team for juxtaposing the shared musical foundations of soul and roots reggae with such skill.