From the get go Azman established that they aren't your average quartet, but a coalition of young men who are willing to push the envelope where local music is concerned. Their debut album 'De First Wun' which dropped in 2009, is lyrically multifaceted - from the daily struggles of Barbadian youths to battling with de girls bumpa in de fete to the lackluster approach by local deejays and radio stations to Barbadian music. Azman is the collaboration of four immensely talented young men- Levitance, Dee, Doddy and Gibbzy Dan. A group who has pioneered their own genre, known as fling, there is no questioning their originality. One must agree, some of the content calls for an in-depth knowledge of Barbadian culture and slang that is readily used to spit the ciphers which require an attentive ear and a sharp mind.
From the sound of the bell in the introduction, you get the impression that a battle is about to ensue, but listening to tracks such as 'Still Livin', 'Play On' and 'Dreams', you begin to realize the challenge is present but the nemesis varies according to the situation. Regardless of a mother telling you to stop wasting time with music and get to the books, a dead end job or a radio station who lost your cds, Azman presses forward in the face of all obstacles.
The flipside of Azman however, brings the 'wufflessness' to the fore, with 'Too Wutliss', 'Wuffliness' and 'Gurl Child', you get a play by play of the social interactions in the fete, from the tease to the chase. Mesmerized but not willing to accept defeat, they stand their ground when 'de girls pooch back de bumpas'.
At varying intervals, you come across individual tracks from each member, simply entitled 'Unorthodox'. Needless to say, these solo tracks only reaffirm the potecy of each member, which meshes beautifully to create the Azman sound.
In the closing track, are snippets of spoken word from the popular poet Adrian Greene. This throws the final nails in the coffin, regarding the fickle nature of the support that local artistes who strive to produce local vocals receive. With no sugarcoating whatsoever, they lay it down to the nitty gritty, not losing the metaphorical twist which they are known for, but casting light on the grave issues which they faced on their musical journey.
Azman, the real real bajan music, with the adequate amount of dialect, metaphors and alliterations, coupled with effortless flow, in de words of Barabus in 'Represent'-"I bring you Azman, is dem I recommend! Wuh tell me where you could find men dat could better dem?"
To hear more from Azman:
'De First Wun' Download here
See Azman's Myspace here
Follow them on Twitter here
Like them on Facebook here
