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Thursday 4 December 2014

Terry Lynn – Kingston Logic 2.0



After enjoying Terry’s Kingston Logic track on the Rough Trade compilation I was curious to discover whether she had more little gems up her sleeve on the album of the same name. The answer is a resounding yes, but in unusual and interesting ways. The album veers away from the hardcore dance of the title track and instantly strays into MIA territory but with a distinctly spicy Jamaican flavour. It’s political, passionate and there’s lots of gunshot samples.


If the album was a film it would certainly be a gritty film. Terry covers a range of topics from poverty, the system, street life, violence and the International Monetary Fund to name but a few, so this is not one for the feint hearted. But if the social comment, hard hitting lyrics and pounding rhythms are the meat and two veg, then the gravy is definitely Terry’s fantastic accent. She refreshingly makes no attempt to hide her Jamaican roots and her voice adds an authenticity and realism to these tales of urban decay. If only we had a Yorkshire version of MIA.


Aside from the aforementioned title track the pick of the bunch are the soulful aspirational message of ‘Destiny’, the political economics lesson of ‘IMF’ and best of all, the guttural growl of ‘Streetlife’ which sees Terry reach world record levels of broadness in her Jamaican accent. Throw in some decent dancehall tunes like ‘Stone’ and the odd remix and you’ve got a good value package.



It’s a different, intelligent and engaging mix of songs that celebrates the culture of Jamaica. It’s like MIA, but then again that’s perhaps a lazy comparison as there is so much more to like about this album that is out of Maya’s frame of reference. Well worth a listen.  


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