Monday, July 17, 2006  

Baby Cham

Washington Post, Monday, July 17, 2006; Page C05

[DIRECTOR'S CUT]

Two things were learned Saturday night at Crossroads. One, no matter how good your dandruff shampoo is, never wear a dark T-shirt to a black-light party. Two, there are a million ways to refer to a woman's private parts.

It wasn't just headliner Baby Cham who referred repeatedly to women's cha-chas. Spice, an attractive female deejay from Jamaica, as well three local opening acts dropped enough "p" bombs to make you think an X-rated sex-ed class had broken out in the middle of a dancehall reggae show.

Sex and violence are common themes in modern Jamaican music, and an energetic Cham referenced both repeatedly in a 75-minute set that began at 2:45 a.m. on Sunday. But the man who may be the next Sean Paul -- a dancehall artist who crosses over to the U.S. hip-hop market - has such a charming personality that even his filthiest material sounds like a playful boast rather than a bad-man pledge.

A one-time protege of Bounty Killer, Baby Cham shares the same sort of guttural growl when he's rapping. But Cham also has a decent singing voice, and while he didn't use it all that often, the times he did showed a deep gospel influence. Cham even belted a verse from Bad English's 1989 power ballad "When I See You Smile," a big hit in Jamaica in 1992 when it was remade by Singing Sweet.

"Heading to the Top" was hip-hop with a Jamaican accent, while "Vitamin S," "Many Many" and "Ghetto Pledge" were straight dancehall bangers. But it's the raw "Ghetto Story" that has given the 29-year-old Cham the next-big-thing buzz. The extended version he performed live wasn't very focused, but it was still a thrill whenever the shouted "Rah rah rah!" chorus rang out with the roaring help of the club-wide choir, many of whom glowed eerily under the black lights. --Christopher Porter

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