Full Frequency

While his 2012 effort Tomahawk Technique recast dancehall singer Sean Paul as Jamaica's leading EDM artist, 2014's Full Frequency injects some hip-hop and Marley back into the mix, and all for the better. The Marley happens to be Bob's son "Junior Gong" Damian, a wise choice for some raw mashing it up and reclaiming reggae cred; cred which is certainly earned during their opening collaboration "Riot," a worthy "Welcome to Jamrock"-styled number with a trap music break in the middle and some infectious, streetwise spirit. Equally infectious is "Wickedest Style," where Paul offers a woozy, cloud rap-inspired follow-up to "Gimme the Light," with special guest Iggy Azalea rapping in some faux Jamaican patois ("Boy, what a gwan cuz you push pon my waist"), then there's Prince Royce winding it up with Paul on the twerpy and twerking highlight "Dangerous Ground," while dancehall singer Konshens joins for the bright, party starter "Want Dem All," an electro, "everyone in the pool!" number if ever there was one. All that said, the most miraculous winner on the album is "Entertainment 2.0," where four producers (Maejor Ali, SixOne, Yon Burgandy, and Chef Tone) plus three freaky guest stars (Juicy J, 2 Chainz, and Nicki Minaj) add up to a brilliant Black Eyed Peas for the "Harlem Shake" generation. The bad news is that these highlights are neighborhooded together with a long, somewhat lesser stretch of solo Sean tracks bringing up the rear, but when it comes to purpose and power, it's a serious step up from last time out, so just hit "shuffle" and reap the rewards. ~ David Jeffries