As soon as Ms Dynamite emerged, she was out of sight again. With her debut album A Little Deeper and the single It Takes More ('02) she won the prestigious Mercury Prize and an overall breakthrough seemed like a matter of time. But Niomi, as her real name is, soon became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy son before returning to making music. Judgment Days comes out three years after her debut
… and in the genre where Ms Dynamite is active (rap / r & b) it is a long time. Judgment Days sounds a lot less fresh than her debut. Her fierce direct lyrics have remained, for example in Father, in which her father is verbally beaten in no uncertain terms. Of course there is also a song dedicated to her newborn offspring, the shamelessly sentimental Shavaar. But the playful beats of her debut have been exchanged for a solid but boring hit sound and there is little speed in the songs. Positive exceptions are the reggae tune Fall In Love Again and the catchy Not Today. (MS)more
