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This deejay, producer, and Opera House label owner infuses his melodies and chorus lines with famous opera arias, but it's no mere shtick, à la Sean Combs's pop "pufferies." Buccaneer's tracks testify to an elastic and bold musical imagination, and his boombastic chesty resonance and perfectly pitched, stretched-out notes are not that far off from, say, those of the baritone's understudy in a community theater production of La Bohème. All that, plus an inner metronome to guide Buccaneer's rhythmically intricate flow and the well-sharpened sense of humor that birthed this musical blend, put the patwah Pavarotti way ahead of the pack. Not that this album is all about dancehall meets opera; traces of rock, ska, and whatever else bounces are part of one of the best reggae albums of '98. Buccaneer's "big 'bout" Jamaica, but he's clearly no one-hit wonder or deejay of a season. While everyone's got their money on Beenie Man as reggae's top contender for the international pop music sweepstakes, this singular artist is another pretty safe bet. --Elena Oumano