THE CUTS; EP 03 VOL. 22
THE CUTS review songs, videos or albums we think you need to hear or see. The music covered are not genre and/or region specific. Once it is good, it would be reviewed here. THE CUTS is available each FRIDAY
Mr. Eazi – Property
When it comes to mellow, one-two step, minimal styled afrobeat tunes with very sing-along lyrics, nobody does it better than Mr. Eazi. His videos, just like his songs, are also simple and catchy. His new video, ”Property” is a clear attestation. Mr. Eazi is seen sitting on a couch placed on an empty street, reading a comic book. He’s joined by a group of dancers after moving off the couch. He meets up with his lover, and together, cruise around in a classic Ford Mustang.
The video is both creatively and artistically conceived. All the action takes place at one spot: a street. The addition of comic-styled or animation design adds to its visual appeal. ”Property” features South African trumpeter, Mo-T (of Mi Casa), who makes an appearance in the video, along with a choir to sing ‘your body be koko o’. Mr. Eazi knows how to make catchy tunes with very interesting phrases. Don’t be surprised if this phrase ‘’all of my property, I give you authority’’ becomes a thing.
R2Bees – We De Vibe
After releasing their beautifully created video for ”Could This be Love?”; a mellow, dancehall influenced single, R2Bees return with another entertaining visual for their new song ”We Dey Vibe”. With the video and song dropping the same day, ‘’We De Vibe’’ has R2Bees and friends- guys and ladies, having a ball. The Justin Campos directed video stitches together pool side thrills, a canoe cruise, and ‘’boys-on-the-block’’ scenes into one visually appealing video for the award winning duo.
‘’We De Vibe’’ carries a heavy, thumping drum pattern- the bounce is hard- with both Mugeez and Pae Dae talking about success. ‘No be rush, if you got it, you dey do what you want’; Mugeez makes clear before the chorus comes in. Pae Dae, on the other hands touches on love, infidelity and success in his verse. The drum pattern reminds me of Jay Dee’s ‘Alanpan’. The video features the likes of King Promise and the LaMeme Gang collective. With ”Could This Be Love/” and ”We De Vibe” serving as the first two singles, one hopes the announced third studio album, ‘Site 15’-named after their home city in Tema- would be their magnum opus.
Darkovibes – Banger
”Banger” is definitely a banger. The song has enormous energy behind it. It’s the type of trap song that, Will Ferrell’s ‘provocative; it gets the crowd going’ comment fits. So, when the video for the song was announced, I was very expectant. However, this dope song churned out a very underwhelming video. Shot by Abstrakte, the video opens with a flag waving guy running through a ghetto- a LaMeme Gang flag. Next, Darkovibes pops up singing about how he made it despite the obstacles; something the video attempted to capture. The best scene of the video occurs on the 2:06 secs mark: the transition from trotro ‘jamboree’ set to a golf course.
Obviously, Darkovibes doesn’t have the budge to shoot glossy videos. But, that shouldn’t have hindered his ability to drop a cool low-budget video. After all, we’ve seen Kuvie’s ‘Sheen’ and Amaarae’s ‘Fluid’; all low-budget videos that look great. Again, what’s it about this lo-fi videos? Video directors better do it better.
Kobby Sarr – Hypnotize feat Bryan The Mensah
Kobby Sarr’s ‘Hypnotize’ is a track I chanced upon on my timeline a day ago. And it’s a dope record about love. ”Hypnotize” bask in true contemporary RnB sentiments. Kobby’s soothing voice glazes against the soulful beat. He describes the love he feels as ‘a crazy melody yearning for ya’. I’m just gonna sing when I hear you laugh’, in a flawless falsetto voice.
”Hypnotize” begins with a rising haunting vibe, and the title feels apt, considering hypnotism is a frightening thing. Featuring Bryan The Mensah, whose verse emphasizes the reason for loving, Kobby Sarr appears to be a guy trapped in a sunken place when he sings: ”I’ll be your one only fool, show me illusion and imam see it as the truth’’. ‘Hypnotize’ is a perfect title for a good record; off his ‘‘Real Me” mixtape released in 2017.
Abigail Coleman – Tumi and Mekra
Abigail Coleman is a Ghanaian gospel artiste based in Canada, who recently released two singles and videos to celebrate the goodness of God. ‘’Tumi’’ (Power) and ‘’Mekra’’ (My Soul) can be described as two sides of a coin: “Tumi” enchants with its soulful, worship tone whiles ‘Mekra’ is a mid-tempo praise song. Both accomplish the same thing: glorify God for his grace.
The accompanying video for ”Tumi” shares a storyline about survival: Ms. Coleman’s ‘daughter’ is rushed to the hospital after an accident, where doctors save her life. ”Mekra”, on the other hand, has her glorifying God. The two songs and videos seem to be cut from the same cloth; as the mantra goes.
ZANGBA – I’m Good For You (Workelius Remix).
There’s nothing more difficult than telling a woman how much you are into her, and that, everything you are doing is for her. That’s exactly what ZANGBA, an award-winning author and rapper is doing on ‘I’m Good For You’, a sleek hip hop song with soulful tone courtesy vocals from RnB artist, Maskerade.
The Workelius Remix of “I’m Good For You- Workelius is a Swedish producer- carries a luxurious baseline that swirls between thumping hip hop drums. The soundscape consist of synths and electropop elements. ZANGBA raps about his flirtatious past while detailing why his new lover is the one. ‘’Never mean mugging you, I rather put a bug in you /To hear ya heart beating into, words I be speaking true’’, he declares. The original song is found on his 2016 mixtape ‘’Hip Hop, Soul and R&B’’, which truly defines his musical influences; something evident on ‘’I’m Good For You’’.
