Jamaican dub poets like Mutabaruka, Yasus Afari, Jean Binta Breeze or Oku Onuora no longer need any introduction. Slightly lesser known to the international public is D.Y.C.R. (real name Delroy Chandler). In his own country, he earned himself the nickname "Jamaica's loudest mouthpiece" because of his energetic and sometimes screamy style (see for example 'Peg Vampire' or 'Chicka Bow'). If you know that D.Y.C.R.'s debut album 'Fire' was released as early as 1996 and this 'Dub, Stories and Poetry' is only his third album to date, you can't really call that an extensive discography, but D.Y.C.R. likes to keep his fans hungry, making them all the more anxious for a new album release.
D.Y.C.R. states the best way to start something is to thank The Most High, and in that spirit 'Dub, Stories and Poetry' opens with the spiritual nyahbinghi influenced 'Jah', an ode to The Most High (of a similar order is 'Prayer'). D.Y.C.R. is not afraid to explore sensitive subjects, and in 'Bleach And Tattoo' he criticizes what he sees as self-harm giving "trendsetter" Vybz Kartel a good dressing-down. In a similar vein is the dance hall-flavored 'Rings & Knobs', a critique of excessive jewelry and piercings. And dreading up is something D.Y.C.R. dares to question, as in 'Under Lox' he rightly asks what dreadlocks, once a symbol of resistance and Rastafari, still symbolize today, now that they've become a global fashion statement.
But at the same time D.Y.C.R. is a 'Poet Of Love', in 'Nyrie' asking his boo to marry him and proving himself a red-blooded male with an eye for feminine beauty in 'Chica Bow', a nod to veteran deejay U Roy, who's been using the term for decades. Even more X-rated is 'Jackylin', over the classic Stalag riddim. 'Peg Vampire' is another track with a quick nod to a reggae veteran, this time Max Romeo, in the form of a short excerpt from his 'I Chase The Devil'.
D.Y.C.R. also created a mama tune with a twist for 'Dub, Stories and Poetry', as in 'Mothers Love', he poignantly chants about the difficult relationship with his mother, concluding he still loves her none the less. We get a nice ganja tune with 'Bother Di Pope', in which D.Y.C.R. harasses the pope with the fumes of his chalice and spliffs. In 'Farmer', D.Y.C.R. incorporated the story of a farmer who suspects his wife is deceiving him with another man, his growing paranoia slowly driving him as far as to start doubting whether his third child is his own. The truth, however, is much worse, as at the end of the song, when the poor man eventually dies, his wife confesses to a girlfriend that their third child was in fact his, but the first two weren't!
For a portion of Jamaican proverbs and fables you need to check 'Pull Me Mek Mi Tie Yu'. The title is a saying meaning that in helping another person you can sometimes cut into your own flesh. Just before he concludes as he started with the aforementioned 'Prayer', D.Y.C.R. still goes eighties dancehall with 'He Don't Love You', a combination tune with Little John and Terry Ganzie.
Extremely enjoyable album from a dub poet deserving more international attention!