THE CUTS:
THE CUTS brings you a short, unbiased review of music and videos from Ghanaian and other African artistes each week. Once it is dope, it will be featured here
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YINKA BERNIE – 19 & OVER
Upcoming Nigerian producer and artiste, Yinka Bernie has announced, that his much anticipated Extended Playlist (EP) 19 & Over is set to drop in a couple of weeks. ‘19 & Over’ is a 5-Track self-produced EP.
In a chat with Yinka, he describes himself as ‘a producer and artiste and I have a single titled You Need prod. By Magic available on a couple of blogs. I have worked with artists such as Bankyondbeatz, Jable, Bawa, Isah, Tim Lyre, Isah’.
According to Yinka, ‘the EP was inspired by life experience and I needed to create something greater and bigger than myself; that would outlast me and leave a lastly impression in the ears and hearts of listeners. My ultimate goal, as an artiste, is to keep on breaking boundaries and pushing the limit of my creativity. I promise it is going to be a very lovely project. All should look out for it’.
Check out his music here
KWAME: HEY, MR. DREAMER EP
One advantage artists of today have is the freedom to create the kind of music they wish, devoid of pressure(s) from label bosses to follow a certain trend. With the explosion in technologies, artists are able to experiment with different musical styles and genres. One artist doing just that is Kwame.
Kwame is an alternative electro artist whose sound is a cut between the minimalistic sounds of James Blake and Flying Lotus. And on Mr. Dreamer, this style- piano chords, guitar strings, 808s, synths- is heavily reflected on all the tracks. Another potent tool in Kwame’s musical toolkit is his voice, which he uses to perfection. His voice- light not weak; ghostly not haunting- is James Blake-esque in nature. Mr. Dreamer is a display of production ingenuity than vocal and melodic skills. Songs such as Hey (Wake up), Mr. Dreamer, One Foot Forward and my favourite, Don’t Seem To Know will get you sold on Kwame.
https://youtu.be/MtWJ67quom4
ODARTEYE – SAY YOU LOVE ME
Singer/rapper Odarteye may not be a known name or voice within the music scene but hearing his single Say You Love Me, one can quickly mark him down as a future prospect. The mid-tempo tune, produced by Kuvie, has a matching melody and lyrics that are easy to recite. Odarteye is heard singing about his love experiences with his girl, whom, despite her short-comings, ask her to stay. He confesses ‘very ashamed my heart can’t take all the pain that you caused’ before asking her to ‘say you love me’ over piano chords and drum kicks and 808s.
Odarteye’s Say You Love Me is the kind of track that grows on you and get you humming along after a couple of listens. My only reservation has to do with the rap, which I think could have be done away with. It took a bit of vibe from the tune.
