Do You Wanna Live? by Vin Yard

The song is smooth and melodic over excellent instrumentals, which includes some addictive playing of the flute. The lyrics speaks of not only the hurt that infidelities and irresponsibility in a relationship can cause, but also how it can have a negative affect on ones progressive growth in life. The artist sings of his love for the queens of the earth and the instant gratification in whoring, but then in a self realization tone, the artist chants I cant sex away my dreams. Lyrics like these are also heard in the title track Do You Want to Live? On this track Vineyard is asking the question, while a female singer answers in the background Yes I Want to live. He then offers words of encouragement to the young lady, although in a scolding manner, Hey careless rose, inside you is a queen and she need to live, we are intelligent beings, stop bringing our Nation down with your careless living. The great thing about this song is that most of us know such a girl of which the song speaks. Hardcore reggae fans will also notice that the beat on this song is very similar to the beat on the classic Tenor Saws song Breaking up is hard to do.

Every parent should want their children to listen and take heed to the track You dont have to be like them. This track warns of the dangers of succumbing to peer pressure. It also takes a pseudo Dr. Martin Luther Kings approach to violence. In this one Vineyards remedy for defeating the enemies is to Kill them with meekness, murder them with sweetness. For all the Bob Marley fans out there, Stolen Legacy will surely remind you of Bobs Old Pirates. This song contains poignant lyrics over beautiful acoustics. The lyrics take direct aim at imperialism when Vineyard chants:

Missionaries claim the came in peace

But the pagans only came to kill and thief

To colonize and loot and preach their beliefs

African youths, dont you be deceived

While the song suggests that a lot of the ills in todays society are actually rooted in imperialism, it also suggest that if the truth is revealed a lot of old wounds can be healed; the way to peace is love, the way to love is truth. While most of the songs have excellent beats by producers from Jamaica, New York and Miami; the CD also contains the beautiful acappella Thank You Jah. This song is a true story about the artists time in Florida after leaving New York on what was supposed to be a short tour in Tampa and St. Petersburg. The artist opens up and allows his fans to live his downfall with him. The song tells of not only the artists material lost but also the regret he felt of leaving his family behind in New York City. The song also talks of the injustices in everyday life; lawless people making laws. As in all the songs though, Vineyard always have a solution to the problem of which the song speaks. He is determined to make it back to the top regardless of the challenges, and as far as the system which is always one of the major roadblocks; we go over and around but never under them.

Well party people, dont think you are left out on this CD. There are also some hot party tracks on this one, especially Sak Passe which features Lil Haiti and D. Blake from the Track Set crew out of Florida. This one is already enjoying tremendous club play in Florida and even got some very influential DJs saying this one will be the hit of the summer.

Do You Wanna Live should definitely be in your music collection, especially if you love inspirational music. It is like a great book, but this great story is told with great rhythms. This one is definitely food for the soul and comfort for the mind. The CD is available for purchase at www.cdbaby.com/vineyard and on Amazon. You can also listen to songs from the album for free at www.myspace.com/tcooo and www.myspace.com/tlvineyard.

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