THE CUTS: EP 02 Vol. 6
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
————————————————————————-
Black Coffee feat Shekhinah – Your Eyes
The eyes tells no lie. The thoughts of a man can be gleaned through the eyes, goes a popular saying. And in love relationships does this saying get affirmed, sometimes.
Award winning South African house music producer/DJ Black Coffee’s song “Your Eyes” plays on this notion. Brimming with a mellow house sound, he enlist singer Shekinnah who pours her scintillating vocals over his beat. ‘Your eyes, they sparkle in the light/But, in the dark, I see the true colours of your heart‘, she sings.
The video reflect the tone of the song: the visual grading is calmer just like the song. It follows the story of a beautiful couple -happy, outgoing, indulging- yet the guy confirmed the ‘men are trash’ trope. Her discovery of his infidelity is confirmed in these words: “Your Eyes change colour when you lie/I can see it, I’m not blind” by Shekhinah. The shot of the flying eagle wasn’t just for aesthetic value (read about the eye of the eagle).
Black Coffee’s music has crossed beyond his homeland of South Africa partly because of Drake who featured his music on “Get It On” (on More Life). On “Your Eyes”, Black Coffee, with help from his actress wife, Mbila paints crying eyes to bring closure to the this simple, tasteful and poignant video.
KaySo – Your Type No Dey
Last time we heard anything from producer/singer KaySo was on “Lovely”, a highlife tune with Papa Chie. He’s marking his return after a break from production duties with his lastest single “Your Type No Dey”. An afro-EDM sound that celebrates African women both on the continent or diaspora who love him (a guy) despite his ordinariness. The song carries simple lyrics and synth heavy rhythms. An easy sing-along chorus and enough room to dance is the magic of the song.
Knii Lante feat Feli Nuna – You
Exactly last week, Knii Lante and Feli Nuna were on YFMs morning show to talk about their new collaborative effort. Surprisingly, Knii Lante couldn’t answer a question whose answer has something to do with him during the tick tock segment- they scored 9/10 though. “You” was the song. A mellow afropop song with such a warm opening beat that ultimately consumes you by the time Knii Lante’s soft vocals drop. His perfect delivery isn’t much of a surprise (he has won the VGMA best vocalist award for 3 straight years). It was Feli Nuna’s showing that caught my attention. Her vocals carried such grace. Singing mostly in English, with a few Twi, Ga and Ewe phrases infused into the lyrics. ”You” is about sticking with that ‘special one’ through both dark and good times. It sells Feli Nuna more than Knii Lante and it’s not hard to note why: Feli Nuna has more to prove. And she did.
Ntelabi ft BigBen – Glory
Since his name change a few weeks ago, Ntelabi (which means ‘My Father Lives’ in Konkomba) has, on his latest release “Glory”, a trap influenced song featuring BigBen (of Harmony). The baritone voiced Ntelabi makes know his intentions on the hook of his single “Glory Glory, men, I’m coming back to life/ I know I’ve been away but I’m coming back home/ Imma do it/ surely, it’s my time to shine/ Everyone will know my name”. “Glory” is the first single off the four songs to be released by Ntelabi before the release of his album “Setting” in August.
Denzel Roberts – Ice Cream Love feat Taps
“Give Way” was the first single off his EP “Halo”. The success of that project has warranted his latest ‘Ice Cream Love’. The song rides on afropop beats and upon first listen, sounds like a love tune. But, it’s a gospel song in which Denzel is heard thanking God and fans for the grace and love shown him following the released of ”Halo” respectively. The singing is good except that, the rap wasn’t necessary. It could have been done away with. Denzel may not possess the best vocals out there but knows how to use it. Just that, it’s not always that you show you can rap.
