| Lyrical Gangsta | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Ini Kamoze |
| Cover: | Lyrical Gangsta.jpg |
| Released: | 1995 |
| Genre: | Dancehall |
| Label: | East West[1] |
| Producer: | Philip Burrell |
| Prev Title: | Here Comes the Hotstepper |
| Prev Year: | 1995 |
| Next Title: | Debut |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
Lyrical Gangsta is an album by the Jamaican musician Ini Kamoze, released in 1995.[2] [3] "Listen Me Tic" was the first single.[4]
The album peaked at No. 6 on Billboards Reggae Albums chart.[5] A compilation album, Here Comes the Hotstepper, was released right before Lyrical Gangsta, to the consternation of Kamoze and his label.[6] [4]
The album was produced by Philip Burrell.[7] It was influenced by American hip hop, although Kamoze continued to release purely dancehall singles in Jamaica during the same time. Guru guested on "Who Goes There"; Nine also appears on Lyrical Gangsta.[8]
The Toronto Sun dismissed the album as "a blatantly commercial brand of dancehall."[9] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution determined that "the second half of the album is a lesson in dance-hall crooning... The Hotstepper wafts his mellifluous tenor over hip swaying reggae beats sounding more natural and carrying more of an impact."
Entertainment Weekly wrote that, "with his sweet, singsong tenor offsetting abrasive dancehall reggae backbeats, Ini Kamoze manages to straddle two worlds." The Toronto Star considered the album "more American hip-hop than Jamaican reggae."[10] The Tampa Tribune concluded that "the beauty of his run-of-the-mill vocals is that he doesn't compete with the music, a product of great studio work."
AllMusic wrote that the "duet performance with Guru (of Gang Starr fame) is a great juxtaposition of two very different rapping styles, and 'King Selassie' is a surprisingly sincere and sweetly melodic example of rootswise dancehall."