Sizzla Da Real Live Thing Rar Series Of Singles

Soul Deep was released in 2005, with both Aint Gonna See Us Fall and Waterhouse Redemption landing a year later.

Along with Buju Banton and Capleton, he helped lead dancehall back to the musical and spiritual influence of roots reggae, favoring organic productions and heavily Rastafarian subject matter.

A member of the militant Bobo Ashanti sect, he sometimes courted controversy with his strict adherence to their views, particularly his aggressive condemnations of homosexuals and white Western oppressors.

Yet overall, his music was generally positive, advocating faith and compassion for poor black youth, and respect for women.

He remained something of an enigma to the public at large, rarely granting interviews and keeping his concert appearances to a minimum.

Nonetheless, he still ranked as arguably the most popular conscious reggae artist of his time, thanks to a normally high standard of quality control -- all the more impressive given the frequency with which he recorded.

A versatile singjay-style vocalist with a gruff, gravelly tone, he was capable of both rapid-fire chatting and powerful, melodic singing, and his best backing riddims were among the strongest in contemporary dancehall.

Sizzla was born Miguel Collins on April 17, 1976 and was raised in the August Town area of Kingston of devout Rastafarian parents.

After honing his vocal skills, he landed a gig with the Caveman Hi-Fi sound system, where he first made a name for himself as a performer.

He cut his first single for the small Zagalou label in 1995, and soon moved on to Bobby Digital Dixons Digital B imprint.

However, he didnt manage a break-out success until saxophonist Dean Fraser recommended him to producer Philip Fatis Burrell.

Sizzla Da Real Live Thing Rar Series Of Singles

Sizzla released a series of singles on Burrells Xterminator label, including Judgement Morning, Lifes Road, Blaspheme, We Uh Fear, Im Not Sure, and the Shadowman duet The Gun.

His first LP, Burning Up, appeared on Xterminator later in 1995, and he toured extensively alongside Luciano and Mikey General.

Unlike kindred spirits Capleton and Buju Banton, Sizzlas early material was culturally oriented right from the start; he was able to build an audience without any of the lyrical slackness that helped establish the other two.

Widely considered one of the top conscious dancehall albums of its time, Praise Ye Jah was quickly trumped by the release of the Dixon-produced Black Woman Child that same year.

The title track was a smash hit and became something of a cultural reggae anthem.

Sizzla scored several more hits during 1997, including Like Mountain, Babylon Cowboy, Kings of the Earth, and the Luciano duet Build a Better World.

This hot streak kicked off an enormously productive recording binge that lasted over the next several years, with much of his output still done for Burrell.

Arriving in 1998, Kalonji was issued in the U.S.

Freedom Cry, and featured the successful singles Love Amongst My Brethren and Rain Shower.

The year 2000 brought three more albums: the double-CD Liberate Yourself (which featured one disc of Sizzla material and another of his protgs), Words of Truth (which featured a bonus live disc), and Bobo Ashanti, a well-received, highly spiritual set with a stronger hip-hop flavor.

Refusing to slow down, Sizzla issued four more albums in 2001 -- Black History, Taking Over, Rastafari Teach I Everything, and Blaze Up the Chalwa -- and often displayed a harder edge and a willingness to embrace digital production.

That approach changed in 2002, when he concentrated on softer, mellower, more romantic material, which dominated that years albums: Ghetto Revolution and Da Real Thing.