It has cost him blood, sweat and tears, but Omar Perry has finally managed to get his debut album in stores. 'Man Free' is distributed by Nocturne in France, so Omar's Belgian fans will still have to be patient or order it on the internet. For the production of the album, Omar got the help of Guillaume Briard. If that name doesn't immediately ring a bell, Briard aka Stepper is the saxophonist of the French Homegrown Band, and, the past few years, has shared the stage and studio with just about every reggae legend you can name. Of course, the million-dollar question remains: "Was it worth the wait?" and the answer can only be a resounding: "Yes man!", because 'Man Free' is an album with international ambitions. Vocally Perry sounds somewhat like Jr. Kelly and musically the album offers just about anything the average reggae fan can ask for: from new roots ('Redder Than Red'), over dancehall (although yours truly is no dancehall fan, 'Fire Way' kicks serious ass) and ska ('Ska-Ta-Fright') to even a hint of calypso (the Harry Belafonte cover 'Cocoanut Woman'). Of course the album also contains Omar's "hits" 'Rasta Meditation' and 'Ghetto Life'! If you insert the CD into your pc you'll discover that it also contains a nice bonus in the form of a short documentary/video clip.