99 Ways
After single-handedly freeing reggae from patriarchal possession in the early 1990s, reggae rapper-singer Lady Saw (a.k.a. Marion Hall) became a Jamaican heroine on the order of the mythical maroon warrior Nanny, alleged to have caught Brit bullets, then fired them right back. For Saw's album99 Ways, the dance-hall Nanny exercises her right to be as rude as any dance-hall don--in fact, ruder. Tongue firmly planted in cheek, she neatly lampoons boyish demands in lead track "Straight Work," which calls for parity in oral sex favors, and in "Woman Sneaking," a hilarious lover's quarrel with deejay Red Rat. Saw gets away with it, in part because she's so funny, astute, and charming--Moms Mabley and Lucille Ball rolled into one shapely package. But the main reason she gets a lot of respect is her combination of wicked mic skills and a great voice. Her country-inflected laments rival those of any Nashville diva, and when she alternates between singing and deejaying--as on the steamy "Ride of Your Life" with gifted Jamaican American Pancho Kryztal--Saw is downright awesome.--Elena Oumano