Justuss

Justuss
A man wearing shades and a white jacket hangs from a barbed-wire fence in broad daylight with mist behind him.
Studio album by Snow
Released January 14, 1997
Recorded 1996
Genre Reggae fusion, hip-hop
Length 50:93
Label East West
Producer Dave Kelly, Microwave, Tony Kelly, Marcus Kane, Laurie Bogin, and others.
Snow chronology

Murder Love
(1995)		 Justuss
(1997)		 Cooler Conditions
(1999)

Justuss is Canadian reggae musician Snow's third album. Like his second album Murder Love, Justuss is primarily a reggae album performed in Jamaican Patois and featured fellow reggae stars such as Yami Bolo, Nadine Sutherland, Buju Banton, Beenie Man, and Terror Fabulous. Because of his criminal record, Snow was unable to obtain a visa to promote Justuss in the United States. Despite being banned from Japan as well in 1996, the single “Boom Boom Boogie” reached number 29 in Japan.[1]

Production

For Justuss, Snow worked with producer Marcus Kane in Canada and with Tony Kelly and Laurie Bogin for three-and-a-half-months in Jamaica. Snow told Billboard magazine in 1996, “The second (Murder Love) was pressure. [Producers] Tony Kelly and Laurie brought out more of my creativity and different styles.”[2]

Marketing

According to Elektra Marketing Director Michelle Murray, Murder Love “did well worldwide. So, we have to reconnect Snow with his fans from the Informer days and reestablish his credibility. We think this album is different because Snow has created a musical journey from his life-long experience. This album has really strong songs and a good thematic balance. Justuss has powerful underlying meanings.” The marketing strategy for Justuss consisted of releasing limited edition LPs to underground markets and worldwide stations. For the United States and Canada, Elektra planned to market "If This World Were Mine" to various clubs, DJs, and “college and mix shows.” Elektra also planned to "iron out" Snow's visa issues but apparently, were unable to do as he did not tour the United States or Japan to promote the album.[2]


alt=Alt text
Promotional singles, such as "Steedly Woa," were used in Elektra's marketing campaign for "Justuss."

Singles

“Boom Boom Boogie” achieved Gold status in Japan and "If This World Were Mine" was released as a twelve inch single in the United States and Canada. However, the music videos for "If This World Were Mine" regularly appeared on The Box and “Boom Boom Boogie” played "five to six spins a day" on MTV Japan.[2][3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [4]
Entertainment Weekly B[5]

Despite the fact that Justuss is Snow's lowest selling album,[6] it received mostly positive reviews. Elena Oumano of Billboard declared, “His nimble tongued rude bwoy DJ persona remains as persuasive as ever in appealing dance tracks like opener "Steadly Woa" and “Mash Up Da Nation.” But for his third album, Snow tips the album toward the sweetly intense he unveiled in only a track or two on his debut set. DJ stardom only spans only a brief season or two and Snow's plush, Afro-Erotic crooning—a sure route to career longevity—surpasses even his mic rocking.”[2]

Writing for Vibe magazine, She added, “Justuss covers a wider musical range—fragments of reggae and funk treasures, contemporary hip-hop and soul—opening up dancehalls borders without sacrificing the fundamental hardcore vibe. Snow unfurls nimble-tongued stutters and a heretofore unrevealed gift for intimacy—a mike cuddling singing style with subtlety and chops to match any of today's soul brothers.”[7]

Dmitri Ehlrich of Entertainment Weekly gave Justuss a "B" grade and wrote, “Perhaps the most surprising thing about this album of pop- and rap-tinged dancehall is how credible it is. While one is tempted to dismiss the Toronto MC as the Vanilla Ice of dancehall, Snow, in fact, has considerable skills: an easygoing flow, a mastery of Jamaican patois, and enough ideas to keep his songs interesting.”[5]

Even longtime Snow critic Rick Anderson, who gave Murder Love a negative review, observed, “Snow's third album finds him slowly emerging from the sophomore slump of his underwhelming Murder Love, but still not delivering any hit singles to rival the success of "Informer," from his debut. By now it's clear that he is more than just a novelty act, but he is still struggling to define a sound for himself that is something more than a hybrid of his influences.”[4]

In reviewing the track “Boom Boom Boogie,” Larry Flick opined, “for the past few years, Snow has been working hard to strengthen his skills and credibility as a reggae toaster. He reveals a high degree of progress on this single which boldly blends pure Jamaican rhythms with dance/funk keyboards. His vocal style is now a hybrid of soul crooning and raunchy chatting, ripping through the baseline with palpable confidence.”[8]

Track listing

  1. "Steedly Woa"
  2. "Freedom"
  3. "Mash Up da Nation"
  4. "If This World Were Mine"
  5. "Check Out the Way It's Going Down"
  6. "Day and Nite (Freakin' da Body)"
  7. "Anything for You [All Star Cast Remix]"
  8. "Boom Boom Boogie"
  9. "Hey Mr. D.J."
  10. "Sugacaine"
  11. "It's Alright"
  12. "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"

"I Want You" appears as a Bonus track on international copies of Justuss. "Me and Joey," a collaboration with Thai rapper Joey Boy, appears as a single on Justuss albums sold in Thailand.

Trivia

References

  1. ↑ Singles Charts available at: http://www.j-wave.co.jp/original/tokiohot100/cgi-bin/top100.cgi
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Elena Omanu, "Snow Displays Versatility, Growth on Justuss," Billboard, 14 December 1996, 9.
  3. ↑ For "If This World Were Mine" on The Box, see: “Video Monitor,” Billboard, May 17, 1997, 73.Elektra released the track "Steedly Woa" as a promotional single.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Anderson, Rick. "Justuss – Snow". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Dmitri Ehrlich (January 17, 1997). "Justuss Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on November 24, 2010.
  6. ↑ according to Billboard, Murder Love only sold 57,000 units in the United States and Justuss only 13,000. See: Larry LeBlanc, “Snow looks for Warmer Reception,” Billboard, May 22, 1999, 49 and 52.
  7. ↑ Elena Oumanu, Review of Justuss in Vibe (February 1997): 106.
  8. ↑ see Larry Flick, “Boom Boom Boogie,” Billboard, January 11, 1997, 85.

External links