The cover of 'Motherland' is somewhat misleading, because it should read Jah Pearl & Bouddha Sticks instead of the other way around. Pearl, real name David Lucas, was born in a French Martinican family and grew up in Paris. David didn't exactly have an easy youth and was even homeless for a while (something he sings about in 'Homeless'). Eventually, he found his redemption in reggae music. Pearl collaborated with the Dutch Runn Records label, but when they had to shut up shop it was back to square one. A 2007 meeting with the members of Bouddha Sticks finally put his career into high gear and eventually resulted in this debut album. Pearl stands his ground in English, but his lyrics in that language are somewhat simplistic and therefore it are the two French-spoken songs on the album ('C'est Pour Ceux' and 'La Route Pour Zion') that really hit the mark (which of course calls into question why he hasn't recorded the whole album in French). Respect for the "hard road" Pearl has travelled, but unfortunately this debut effort doesn't really linger.