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Good 2 Go
12/12/2003 8:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy
If you were laying odds on the next Jamaican star to follow Sean Paul and Wayne Wonder into the American heartland, you'd probably pick their labelmate Elephant Man. The blond-dreadlocked "Energy God" has all the intangibles, most significantly a persona and raucous flow to match his nickname. Which makes it all the more surprising that his coming-out party takes such a seemingly indifferent attitude to the U.S. market. Good 2 Go does boast a couple of commercial ice-breakers, and they're good ones, too: "Pain" is a memorable island flip of the often-referenced Oran "Juice" Jones hit "The Rain," and "Jook Gyal" expertly fuses the fist-waving electricity of the dancehall and the Dirty South with help from--who else?--crunkmaster Lil' Jon . But most of the album is much closer to the authentic reggae stylee; "Pon De River, Pon De Bank," its melody straight out of the nursery, epitomizes the sweet, rootsy side of Jamaican music, while "Bun Down," its synthetic bassline writhing from within like a viral worm, is the rude bwoy half unleashed. If Elephant Man succeeds on these refreshingly raw terms, you'll know the mainstream's infatuation with dancehall is no passing phase.
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