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The BREAKDOWN:
"Why" is a song that question the state of the world we live in. "My Coutry" is a statement against those responsible for the bad situation in Haiti. Followed by the track "Make My Day" where Elylrac displays his passion for a woman. Then comes the kompa-techno groove "Enjoy Ya". The title track is probably the only pure hip-hop sound of the album. "The hit "Kecy" is basically a follow-up to the track "Manmzel" on "Match La Red". After that we have "Miss Alice" which is a very funny story if you can understand the words. In "Sida Pourquoi", the artists are trying to wake the minds of the youth to the reality of AIDS. Meanwhile "Wale" is dedicated to the late Master Dji and "You Are My Everything" is a remix of "Make My Day". Then we discover Elylrac's macho style on "Zup Tup Tup" before Supa Denot preaches no violence on "Da Best Way". The album ends with the 1996 hit "Tonton Nwel" and their 1999 carnival song titled "N'ap Janm Konsa".
Our 2 CENTS:
6 years after having been discovered on "Match La Red", three of Master Dji's protégés release "Maximum Respect" under the name Haiti Rap'n Ragga. This album has been years in the making; promised to be released in 1995, with a line-up of 6 MCs, it went through a lot of changes to come down to the trio Supa Denot, Elylrac and Frantzy Jamaican.
The high point of this album is the lyrics which are very good. The MCs are on a mission to not only entertain but also teach the public. Another plus note is that Supa Denot and Elylrac stay very true to Master Dji's legacy: you can feel the whole haitian atmosphere throughout the album. However something is missing that prevent the album to live up to its expectations.
For one, the initial group of 6 became a duo of Supa Denot and Elylrac (with Frantzy featured on 1 or 2 tracks). Also there's not really one song that stands out of the pack; except for "Tonton Nwel" which was previously released in 1996 and the Konpa-influenced "Kecy" which Konpa lovers will dig, you really can't pinpoint a potential hit on this album. There's one more disapointment as far as I'm concern: these guys worked with most rap artists in the business, so I expected them to feature some other MCs on the album which they didn't.