THE CUTS: EP 01 Vol. 7
THE CUTS is your weekly round-up of songs and videos-and anything that has caught our attention and think you must hear or see. The music featured here aren’t genre specific. THE CUTS is here every FRIDAY.
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LADY JAY – Who Do U Luv
Who Do You Love, the latest offering from singer Lady Jay has everything to love. The mid-tempo and bouncy afro-trap and highlife grooves, the amazing vocals and of course the lyrics all blend perfectly to hand the song its banging prestige. Written and produced by Dex Kwasi (Wossup?!), Lady Jay, with a touch of tenderness and pleading in her voice demands assurance from her love by posing a burning questions: if I’m falling, would you hold me up? /babe, you for tell me who do you love? If you ever catch me one-on-one, would you tell me who do you love?’ This is prior to her promising to be a listening ear and a pillar of support. Who Do U Luv is the first single since releasing the infectious afro-trap ‘Venus’ about a year ago. The talent that Lady Jay is, is unquestionable. However, her often ‘drop- a- song- and- vanish’ act leaves many unsure of what her real intentions are per her musical career. With words as ‘when you no dey feel your best/ you for come relieve your stress’, whoever that lover is must be gloating, knowing there’s someone who cares.
TONERO – Missed Call
Euphonic Music is among the few labels who are helping push the African sound to the rest of the world. Through the medium of sound fusions- pop, EDM, trap influences with afrobeat, the artistes on the label are creating some incredible and experimental music that appeals to the ears and tickles the body. That kind of sound or music is what is heard on Missed Call, the new single by Tonero. Missed Call affords the listener an insight into the musical beginnings of the Tonero: the rejections (it was back in ’14 twenty-first century, a nigga had a dream and nobody believed in him ); the mission (gotta inspire the kids to open up their minds and be better than their fathers) as well as the loneliness that come with steering an ‘unfavourable’ path (feeling like I’m alone, I got nobody to call my own/ I see no missed calls on my phone). That line captures the essence of the single. Missed Call carries a lot of sounds- synths, rising piano chords, guitar riffs and harmonies by a choir (like LED lights across a room), all bouncing over a gentle percussion beat emitted from an African drum. Tonero, who sing-rap on this song employs the four tap element that has served as the bedrock of African rhythms on this song. If there’s one thing that I found overly done, it is the many sounds employed. It was more of a distraction than as it was intended. This notwithstanding, the Wave God has indeed hit the mark and it would be shown through Missed Call. Tonero had added another wavy tune to his musical resume.
ZED AY KAY feat KUMI GUITAR – Two Guitars
I don’t know what informed the choice of the song title. But, the song, Two Guitars is actually good, both in lyrical terms and theme tackled: oneness and the freedom to love any person one desires. In a world where racism and ethnic disagreements is being exploited to divide us, it is great hearing Zed Ay_Kay and Kumi Guitar celebrate the union between Africans (blacks) and Caucasians despite the reservations of others. As Zed aptly captures in the line: ‘we for show them say this black and white be the best two’, whiles acknowledging the difference in taste: ‘I no go vex if you listen your Phil Collins cos all of me loves all of you like John legend’. Kumi Guitar, who also played those beautiful highlife guitar grooves (along with guitarist Ackah Blay and Noah Thompson of Roman Street Band) sums it up perfectly: ‘two different worlds coming together’. I found the video on my twitter timeline courtesy @kofihayford233 and reading the video was directed by wanlov(Wanlov Cini) enticed me to watch. A simple yet impressive video with fantastic shots (watch from 1:10sec -1:14 sec & 1:21 -25) captures the love and the cultural differences between these lovers- the scooter jolly rides through the city and the inappropriateness of public kissing (watch from 1:41 sec- 1:42 sec). Did Noah bite the fingers of his ‘lover’ when she attempted feeding him? (watch from 2:20-2:24). In the end, all the parties end up at a party to celebrate their love, the unity and the beautiful of life.
DENZEL ROBERTS – Give Away
Denzel Roberts’ name might not register on your musical radar at least for now. But, he might thanks to his single Give Way, off his now released 13 track LP Crown Me A Halo. Denzel is ‘a hip-hop artiste with an honest story to tell’ and has been on the ‘scene for three years’. His music also strides into gospel and Christian rap. One his first single, Give Way, Denzel is heard assuring a girl of his unflinching love over an uptempo afro-pop and trap beat. His high-pitched voice notwithstanding when he is rapping, he knows how to use his voice effectively- his crooning on the hook sounds good. ‘I don’t wanna miss another chance with you’, he croons on the interlude. He describes his debut Crown Me A Halo in these terms: This album is paradoxical statement between my humility as a good kid coming from a Christian home and the sudden hubris I gained becoming a rapper. It is a personal story of the struggles I’ve had in life all the way to my current victory which happens to be parallel to the same hustle I’ve been through the music industry and to be finally able to release my debut project which is doing well in the charts. Currently, Crown Me A Halo is number 3 in the Hip-Hop chart in the GH iTunes store and the hottest overall album next to Joe Mettle. Get the album here and the download link
