THE CUTS
The Cut bring to readers each week music or albums that the writer deem worth listening or having in your playlist. The music is not genre and/or regionally specific. Once it is good, it will be covered here.
DAVIDO feat MEEK MILL – FANS MI
A crisp, eye-catching and rich video by Nigerian afro pop artiste Davido for his song Fans Mi has received over 371,701 in two days on YouTube. One can assume safely that Fans Mi which features Maybach Music poster boy Meek Mill is a graduation gift (Davido graduated from University few days before release of video).
The video, shot in the US sees the Aye hit maker in a La Vida Loca state of life, singing about making it big, winning fans and being the topic of conversation. And if you find the white powder on the tables and sizzling in the kitchen is ‘coke’ you can be pardon. It’s pounded yam-which we see him eating at the end of the video (best part of the video in my opinion).
Davido is not the first Nigerian to have an American act on a song. D’banj had Snoop and Kanye, Ice Prince and French Montana, Don Jazzy and Wale, P-Square and Rick Ross and 2Face and T-Pain immediately come to mind.
What Davido has done with Fans Mi is to up the scales; pointing out that having an international act is not enough. An equally dope video to match the song is the new order #NewRules.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/3E6pwUO1b7s]
PAT THOMAS & KWASHIBU AREA BAND – ME HO ASEM
Highlife and Brass Band Music have had a very interesting and inseparable relationship. And the relationship blossomed beautifully in the late 60s to late 70s. The birth of burger highlife and later computer softwares in music production killed this relationship. But, one man is out to bring back the brass band feel into music again.
Pat Thomas teams up with the Kwashibu Area Band on an album to be released on June 16, 2015. The first single, Me Ho Asem is out. The album sees ‘The Golden Voice of Africa’ collaborating with legendary music arranger and highlife ace Ebo Taylor and Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen.
Me Ho Asem (The Talk About Me) typifies the popular 70s highlife sounds- heavy bass line, horn riffs, deep grooves blended grandly with the smooth voice and effortless delivery of Pat Thomas. Oh, that solo trumpet delivery is a golden trip.
SIMPOL TINZ feat WANLOV – CORAPTION
It’s not corruption to corrupt a word to describe an act or behavior that is wrong. And that is what Simpol Tinz, one half of the duo Sankwas Bois has done with his new single CoRaption.
Enlisting Wanlov, the two are heard likening their rap skills to the corruptible deeds associated with people in power and authority in a style like. The politicians, police, judges, lawyers, public officials are pointed out on this Kwam1 produced song.
Sounding like they are scared of their words running away from before they say it, the rap is fast and intense, matching the horn and percussion rhythms found on the beats. Indeed, the two ‘corapted’ corruption.
TWI TEACHER – I GAVE YOU DUMSOR
The title of the song betrays the message behind the song. It’s about the major predicament afflicting Ghanaians –the energy crisis.
Borrowing Nas and DJ Premier’s classic ‘I Gave You Power’ concept and instrumentation, Twi Teacher uses dumsor as a metaphor to paint a picture of the difficulties he is proudly handing Ghanaians whiles bringing forth the joys of having 24 hour supply of electricity.
‘Won’t let you watch Ghana World Cup matches/ Un-ironed shirt is what I will have you wear/You’ll spend on batteries/All your money will be thrown at me’, he raps in Twi.
With Akon’s Lighting Africa Project kicking off, the hope is he can give us all power.
TREASURE FEAT EFYA – NWTR
I saw the link to this song on my twitter timeline and immediately linked on it largely because I saw EFYA’s name associated with it. I’m an Efya groupie, let me point out and also one who is anxiously waiting for her debut Janesis (that album has taken forever to be released).
But, it wasn’t a new EFYA single. Rather she was featured by rapper Treasure. The 9 month old NWTR (No Where To Run), produced by Gefacci has a lovers rock flavor where the subject is love’s blissfulness.
Treasure, who I’m hearing for the first time was good but EFYA gave the song the required glow obviously. NWTR is a song that grows on you after a couple of listens.
