Some four years and two hit albums after the world first partied like crazy over the irresistible grooves of the runaway global smash “Who Let The Dogs Out,” the Baha Men—deemed The Bahamas” greatest musical ambassadors by their home government—are still woofing it up, or rather, on their latest S-Curve release, showing us how to Holla!

“Let them know that you”re hypnotized by this beat,” they sing on the mantra-like opening track, “Handle It,” setting the festive tone (and commanding more body shaking) for yet another soulful and exotic party disc celebrating all that”s great about the islands and their indigenous, super percussive Junkanoo sound. True to the band”s growing renown in the soundtrack world—their 2002 collection Greatest Movie Hits included songs featured in blockbusters Men In Black II, Shrek, Scooby Doo, Crocodile Hunter and Like Mike—Holla!”s first single and title track will be featured in this summer”s Garfield movie.

The loose, feel-good approach to the 11 tracks of Holla! follows in the tradition of the band”s 20+ year career, from 1992”s Junkanoo through 2002”s Dogs follow-up, Move It Like This. Their music is designed to inspire fans to simply soak up the rays, sway in the heat, turn up the volume, dance to the Junkanoo rhythms of the goat-skin drums, horns, whistles and bells, and, above all else, have a good time. “When people hear the new album, no matter where they are, we want them to imagine that they”re down on the beach, laying out in the sun, having a party in the Bahamas,” says group leader, bassist and vocalist Isaiah Taylor, who co-founded the Baha Men (originally known as High Voltage) in the early 80s with guitarist Herschel Small and keyboardist Jeffrey Chea.

“As we sing on the title cut, the idea is to get away from the rat race, get up on our feet and holla and have a ball,” he adds. “We want to convey the atmosphere of the islands to the world. The foundation of all the music is the Junkanoo beat, which drives the party music of the Bahamian street festival of that name. On December 26 and January 1, we celebrate the holidays and a legendary 19th century slave revolt with African dance, music and costumes. The key to our success worldwide is the way we combine our traditional sounds with the pop sounds and rhythms everyone can relate to. We always lay the rhythms down first. We're here to make music and remind people to feel good about life.”

Those infectious beats all but dare the listener not to tap some toes, get on the dance floor and sing along till the world listens and joins in. The lighthearted, danceable tropicality of “Handle It” and the rock-guitar edged title track invitation to party are followed by the Latin-tinged energies of “Hold Your Head” (which blends an urge to “shake it up” with snappy flamenco guitar lines), the mid-tempo hip-hop and reggae influenced romance “Big Love” and the easy swaying funk of “Tempted,” which features the band”s great vocal harmonies. The playful, acoustic guitar driven “Jump” is a humorous reflection of what happens when a magical girl casts a spell on a boy, while the wistful “Music,” featuring organic percussion, steel pans and brass flavors, reminds us of the way soulful sounds can overcome fear and suspicion among neighbors. “Lemmeworkit” is another anthem-like ode to the emotional power of music, complete with a “Dogs”-like sing-along rap. The mystical soul grooves of “*69” provide an ironic romantic counterpoint to the humorous lyrics about an annoying stalker. Rounding out Holla! are a set modern funk/pop songs with heavy thumpin” rock-hip-hop grooves in “Summertime Girls” and “Put'm Up.”

Although the Baha Men were longtime legends in their home country, had scored five platinum albums in Japan and heard their song “Back To The Island” in tourism ads for The Bahamas, they were virtual unknowns in the U.S. before the July, 2000 release of the single and album Who Let The Dogs Out? The revamped lineup that appeared on the recording included three new singers (and second generation Baha members), including Rick Carey (son of guitarist Pat Carey). S-Curve Records head Steve Greenberg suggested that the band do a more pop-oriented version of the soca song he first heard on a visit to Europe. The former A&R man for Mercury and Atlantic Records had championed Baha Men”s career for years, and started S-Curve where he could finally release the song that would propel them to superstardom.

Baha Men slowed down the original song, made it funkier, added a rap, and the rest is world music, dance club, sports stadium, Macy”s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Grammy Awards history (winner for Best Dance Recording, 2000). The album dominated the U.S. Top Ten for the rest of 2000, reaching triple platinum sales in only four months while also going Top Ten in no less than twelve countries, certified gold or platinum in ten. The group also received a Billboard Award for World Music Album of the Year as well as a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for “Favorite Song.” The novelty hit turned anthem of anthems made the band ubiquitous on radio and TV. The band performed before the opening pitch of the World Series and they were the first band to ever play live on ESPN. Famed baseball hero Alex Rodriguez made it his theme song every time he stepped up to bat, and the San Francisco Giants played it at the end of every home win. Not surprisingly, “Who Let The Dogs Out” was named the #1 Sports Anthem of all time by MTV.

The title became an integral part of American pop-culture vernacular, incorporated into comedy monologues, newscasts and newspaper headlines. Time Magazine was pleased to announce that “the song and the group have stoked thoughts of an island-music resurgence to match the influence of Harry Belafonte in the 1950s and Bob Marley in the 70s.” The Baha Men ended 2000 opening for NSYNC on a series of sold-out U.S. concert dates.

Despite the newfound global phenomenon, Isaiah Taylor was proud to announce in 2002 that, “We are still living the same simple lives we always lived and feel the same we always felt.” The platinum selling success of Baha Men”s 2002 follow up album, Move It Like This, (featuring a top 10 radio hit), dispelled any fears that the band might be a one hit wonder. Also helping towards that end was Baha Men”s incredible talent for scoring hits on major film soundtracks, including Shrek (“Best Years of Our Lives”), Wild Thornberrys (“Accident”), Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (“Crocodile Rock”) and Scooby Doo (“Scooby D,” co-written with Mike D of the Beastie Boys.) These songs, along with “Dogs” (from Rugrats in Paris and Men in Black II) and “Move It Like This” (Big Fat Liar), are the highlights of a 2002 compilation entitled Greatest Movie Hits.

In conjunction with the release of Holla!, look for Baha Men--who do upwards of 200 live concerts a year--to launch a new U.S. summer tour beginning in May. “The best part of all of our success is being on the road,” says Taylor. “We just love having fun, going from city to city and playing for our fans. There”s no greater thrill than performing live for people who love our music. They don”t have to say anything for us to know when we”re connecting with them. They start dancing, and their bodies say it all.”