Nearly a decade after the fall of roots reggae to dancehall in the early '80s, the tradition of nyahbinghi drumming flourished in the songs of singer/percussionist Ras Michael. Though his music contains strains of rock and funk as well as reggae, the rhythms were inevitably grounded in the deeply religious music. Forming the traditional nyahbinghi ensemble of bass, funde, and repeater drums on Know Now are Jah Trevor, William Banks, and Michael himself. The trio's vibrant interplay is reinforced by the superlative keyboard skills of Kebade and Alex Walker throughout the album. Set opener "Jah Giveth Life" announces itself with sparkling, rock-style guitar leads and synth strings, but the keyboard skank-bubbling bellow points to the music's root and Michael turns out one of his finest vocals. On "Rastaman Give Thanks and Praise" musicians continually drop out, dub style, to reveal the churning rhythmic base. The album begins to falter, however, with the overly sentimental "Sister Lilac," Michael delivering his lyrics from a cloud of keyboard washes and light drumming. Though "Born in the Ghetto" and the jaunty "He Is Risen" only offer a partial recovery, they do little to dilute the power of the preceding material. The work of Scott MacMinn (engineer) and Randall Grass (mixing) is spotless without stifling the arrangements of Michael and Banks, and the two manage to iron out the sonic inconsistencies of Know Now's self-produced predecessor, Rally Round. ~ Nathan Bush