By Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Cordell 'Scatta' Burrell - File

Some albums tell a story, some have a wicked rhythm, others should not even have been produced.

Making an album may seem like an easy job: Write a song or two, create a beat and that's it, right? Wrong. Making a good album is a time-consuming task that takes a lot of work.

You ever notice that some U.S. acts sometimes take years to release an album, spending time and effort as well as life voyages to do so? No Doubt travelled all over the world taking bits and pieces of every musical culture to make rock steady.

Dancehall acts don't have to travel across the globe to make a good album, living in a vibes country is good enough. For some dancehall artistes, making an album takes time but also the right mix of creative juices. Voicemail's Craig, who recently released their album Hey, states that for the group an album depends on having the right vibe for them to lyme together and create. He says "it depends on how good a song is - the vibe. Some songs take like half an hour, others longer. It's not that we sit and think about it, we are just into the music."

Different forms

Lyrical master Vybz Kartel, says that for him, making a good album is just about loving the music. When you feel the right beat, the words flow sometimes faster than the rhythm. "Mi mek albums fast. People seh mi write songs the fastest. Sometimes I even write the song before the riddim done play. Mi just love music," Kartel said.

While the artiste may not think of a concept, but just run with the vibe, producer Cordel 'Scatta' Burell has to make the right beat. According to him, the beat comes first and then a concept. "The beat is important. If a beat is good, you mek it. Concepts come in different forms for example Ghetto Story is a concept We Get The Tings Dem is a street reality transferred to a song," he says.

However, an artiste can opt for a more contemporary sound, according to Scatta. Something with a nice hook that a crowd can sing along to usually works, as it crosses all boundaries. Indeed, maybe, local artistes need to put more thought into the audience aspect of the process to produce more hit songs.