THE CUTS: EP 02 VOL 10
THE CUTS is your weekly round-up of songs and videos that has caught our attention and think you must hear or see. The music featured aren’t genre specific. THE CUTS is delivered every FRIDAY.
Akan – aBUSUAPanyini
Akan continues to prove why he’s one of the most valuable rappers around. A gifted lyricist with a grip on the twi language, he has overtime grown a fanbase who get mesmerized by his talent. With news of a full debut album on the way, Akan has embarked on a string of releases or freestyles where he not only excites his fans, but win new fans. His new single is ‘aBusuaPanyin’ (Clan Head), he lays down his credentials as a rapper, jabs and threaten competitors in a tone that reeks of respect than contempt. ‘aBusuaPanyin’ is a two part track with similar running theme. The first part samples Rapsody’s ‘2AM’ (produced by 9th Wonder). The second part is from Elli Sostres’ ‘New Perilo’. The dusty sounding, 808 slapping 9th Wonder beat perfectly brings out the ‘evil’ in Akan with bars like ‘your favourite rapper wants a verse/ no problem/ hope he’s saved enough for his funeral’. Since his emergence on the scene, Akan has earned comparison with some hiplife legends.
https://soundcloud.com/akanmusic/abusuapanyinifreestyle
Here, he speaks of being the embodiment of Obrafour (for his mastery of language and depth), Komfo Kwadei (for his creativity) and Lord Kenya (for his skills and energy). Despite the expression of love by fans on social media, he has kept a low profile. His reason is captured in this bar: ‘I’m always indoors/No attention/No likes/Hand them to social media rappers’. ‘The the beat ended. Not his lyrics’, the skit before the “New Perilo’ beat drop sums up Akan. ‘I’m more popular in Kumasi than your favourite Kumasi rapper’, cold blooded boast.
AYO!9:TRO – Coltears
Soulful hip hop beat, good flow and storyline is what is heard on ‘Coltears’, a song by AYO!9:TR. ‘Coltears’ is the first song by dZZZdope, a collective consisting of AYo!9:TRo and T3rrific and O.N.E, off their soon to be released “The BLVCK SOLE Collection’ project, which they describe as ‘observations made as being Ghanaians, on our journey to appreciating our roots, longevity and future of music, feminine abstractions, our dreams as young, regular Ghanaians as well as marriage.
The EP received production works from WebieJustDidIt and OdeeOne (North Bridge Studios, T3rrific, Nixie (Will Nation/White Wolf), WvD and Fantom. They released their first project ”The Classic Nights’ in 2015. Below is the link to the EP
Elsa – Before I Say
https://soundcloud.com/user-795583563/before-i-say-yes
I got to know if I’m ready for this journey/ if it’s right for me’. The ‘journey’ referred to in the lyrics is one of commitment to love. Loving someone is easy. The difficult bit is deciding if the person is the right one. That is Elsa’s dilemma as expressed on ‘Before I Say’, a love ballad which has her weighing the various nuances of love before committing to it, including going ‘down on my knees to the Lord in prayers to ask for directions’. ‘Before I Say’ is a series of contemplations over love even when you love the person. Produced by Kuvie and HK, ‘Before I Say’ has Elsa burrowing through the heavy piano chords that drives the song. The infusion of those bird chirps gives it that ‘outpour of thoughts at dawn’ feel. Elsa is a singer, a stylist and a designer. Her love for music began early although she decided to hone her talent after Senior High School. Despite her exhibition of talent, ‘Before I Say’ has few technical flaws. She struggles singing in falsetto, she loses breath and her voice is piercing. The mastering isn’t all smooth. With the quote ‘Your potentials are potent enough to propel you into prosperity’ as a guiding principle, Elsa should polish the few black spots on her vocals and she’ll be great.
