Kardinal Offishall - Not 4 Sale

Rating:

* * *

As corny as it is to cover 1967 reggae song

The Tide Is High

, by John Holt and the Paragons, it works as a stunning centrepiece to Kardinal Offishall's fourth album. With its surging, slinky beat and Rihanna's cute vocal it's irresistible.

Kardi, a Canadian born to Jamaican immigrant parents, is his country's self-proclaimed hip-hop ambassador and released his first album in 1997 but never quite broke out. Now, with

Not 4 Sale

and the help of a few guests like Rihanna and Estelle, he has the tunes to make an impression. And it's a diverse record, rooted in hip-hop but taking great influence from reggae and dancehall.

The first big hitter is

Set It Off

, with sonic bass, menacing beats, and hardcore rhythms courtesy of Bronx-based duo The Clipse, then at the other extreme is cheesy first single

Dangerous

, with svelte Senegalese singer Akon.

But it's when his Jamaican heritage comes to the fore that he's at his best, like on the rude boy rap-meets-ragga posturing of Burnt and the beautiful

Nina

, which wouldn't sound out of place on a Kingston sound system in the early 60s.

While there's a few silly spoken-word interludes, there's less bravado than in much of US hip-hop, making a refreshing change.

Scott Kara