Twitch 4EVA Now Has Our Attention
The compelling quality on Twitch 4EVA’s latest EP is Twitch 4EVA.
When Twitch 4Eva (formerly Twitch) released “Baby”, the precursor single to his debut EP, the chink in his talent was apparent. Any follower of his career over the years would not miss it. On the mid-tempo, love centric song, Twitch 4Eva came across like a man who stood in the mirror, noticed his rough edges and decided to work on them rather than leave it to chance.
Among the many things that he did to spruce up his personality and musical direction included a name change – from Twitch to Twitch 4EVA. He decided to make himself more noticeable by consistently releasing short videos of himself in the studio performing unreleased songs; a move reminiscent of what his label, Ground Up Chale did with fellow mate Kwesi Arthur.
Twitch 4EVA appears to have found his niche. He sounds like an artist ready to take a leap into the next phase of his career.
This ploy revealed who Twitch 4EVA is: a talented artist who does not need to be in the shadows of his well-known contemporaries – Kwesi Arthur, Kofi Mole and Quamina MP. For a while, my criticism of Twitch 4EVA leaned towards the need for him to assert himself more and not be an afterthought when one is listing the artists on the Ground Up Chale roster.
“LOST” seems to be the perfect outdoor for this new, braids wearing artist. With no features on the EP, Twitch 4EVA had the full stage to himself, offering the listener the opportunity to appreciate his talent. Across five songs, Twitch 4EVA manifested his qualities – melodic sensibilities, vocal range and sticking within the confines of his strength, artistically. Love served as the crux of “LOST”. Twitch 4EVA explored some of its shards.
On “Distance”, he touched on long-distance relationship and how that won’t affect the love he holds for his partner. His voice, crisp and confident, burrowed into the mid-tempo, melody heavy afropop joint. The downside of the record was the obvious Nigerian influence in respect to the lyrics. Twitch 4EVA sounded like Adekunle Gold in both tone and cadences.
“Baby”, the first single from the EP is where Twitch 4EVA made a statement as one to be watched. The Yung D3mz produced, guitar-driven, melodically infectious record with its mid-tempo pop feel is a celebration of love. He laid out his lover’s qualities- those that get him smitten. “Chaskele”, another standout from “LOST’ is more of a plea to his girl to not betray his love. “And I wonder if I’ll ever be enough/Cos it’s fucked up if this is what is love/So, quit playing games with my heart”, he sings with conviction, each lyric brimming with honesty. On this particular record, he employed his cadences to good use- he knew when to keep his voice high or low to convey the emotions he wanted.
Closing the EP is “Daada”, a horn dominating bop heavily influenced by Nigerian version of afropop. Those unfamiliar with Twitch 4EVA would be right to assume he is a Nigerian artist who, in his quest to appeal to a Ghanaian audience, ferried some Ghanaian lexicons into the song. “Daada”, is about steering life’s coarse course towards a successful destination. “Daada” also drifted from the overall theme.
“LOST” is an excellently helmed project filled with not only feel good, catchy songs but also centres Twitch 4EVA’s musical range and abilities. Choosing to sing over afropop formatted beats rather than rap over hip hop beats would endear him to larger constituents. Again, the producers who worked on the EP – Yung D3mz, RayF and Boye “The Genius” crafted beats that perfectly suited his style. Twitch 4EVA appears to have found his niche. He sounds like an artist ready to take that leap into the next phase of his career. “LOST” is the bark. Now, we await the real roar.
