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By BRENDAN DEMYEN
Staff Writer

I can't do a better introduction than the artist himself, so here's the first bit of the liner notes from "Here Come 'Big Poppa' Stampley";

In case you need a dictionary like I did, a "griot" is a wandering musician or poet (from West Africa). Similar, in a sense, to a bard or busker. Singing songs that everyone can relate to comes off as second nature to "Big Poppa". Words of lost love and working that "daily corporate grind" overtop of smooth, acoustic guitar make the music appear as if it's in the room with you.

In terms of lyrics, the chorus of the final track, "Love and Careers", is a good representation of the sentiments expressed throughout the album; "[l]ove don't pay my bills, money don't cure my ills." The troubled waters of love, the soul-crushing corporate grind, "Big Poppa" is telling timeless stories we are all-too familiar with, and that makes the songs both relatable and amusing.

While "Here Come" is an acoustic effort (except for the upbeat reggae-tinged final track "Love and Careers" with percussion and bass guitar), there are an abundance of styles present throughout. The music is described by "Big Poppa" himself as "cariblujazzean". It's obvious that he is not content being pigeonholed into one style. There is obviously a heavy blues influence on much of the guitar playing and storytelling style of his singing. To our listening pleasure, Mark Stampley invigorates the blues, and makes it sound more at home in the Caribbean than the American South.

To get the most from Here Come "Big Poppa" Stampley, I recommend you take a sunny afternoon off (or every afternoon if you can), grab a seat on the porch with a cool beverage of your choice, and let the good times roll.