At the turn of the century Jahmali was still hailed as one of the big promises in the new roots scene. With 'El Shaddai' (Penthouse Records, 1998) and 'Treasure Box' (Brick Wall, 2000) the singer from Clarendon released two excellent albums, but then things turned eerily quiet; about that period he comments: "What was considered by most to be an inconsistent & fatal hiatus, was in reality more a journey, although laced with many trials and tribulations, culminating in bringing forward a more balanced individual with a more cohesive message." Our friends at Reggaeland Records in Barcelona managed to convince him to head into the studio again however resulting in the great 'We I Open'. For the album no well-known Reggaeland riddim was overlooked (Cultura, High On Love, The Change, Damage Control, Dem Talking, Reggae Reasoning) and combined with Jahmali's superb voice that of course equals fireworks. 'We I Open' doesn't actually contain any bad tracks, but content-wise 'Selecta Man', a song in which Jahmali reprimands sound system selectors feeling the need to utter anti-gay statements or slackness, is most surprising. In the past yours truly often had trouble digesting the remixes traditionally found at the end of a Reggaeland album, but the two included on 'We I Open' seem an exception to the rule (the remix of 'Worst Criminal' is actually more infectious than the original over the High On Love riddim). We already guarantee 'We I Open' a high ranking in our top ten for 2014. Welcome back Jahmali!