THE CUTS: EP 03 Vol. 25
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
Narah -Lost
The heavy piano melody on the opening seconds of ‘Lost’ prepares you for what is to unfold. ‘Lost’ is a soulful ballad about a lost love. Narah paints a picture of a relationship in dire straits; with her doing her best while quizzing how the relationship got to this breaking point. ‘You run again, I come looking for you/ Can’t see your smile, this has got me feeling blue’, she describes succinctly the state of affairs.
https://youtu.be/is4HVANVSt0
Aside the strong vocal display, Narah’s songwriting is also worth talking about. She’s able to capture moments in simple words: Do goodbyes come so easy for you? Do you not think of me as the only girl you knew?’ and ‘Play with me, frustrate me, turn my pain into mockery/You lead me always astray’. Sounding like someone whose very existence hinges on the love from her guy, she pleads to ‘take all the risks, Let me fall, let me fall, Dissolve into your mist’. Narah courted attention online after releasing a video of her performing a cover of ‘Wo Da 3nda’, a soothing highlife tune by the late Dasebre Dwamena. ‘Lost’ is Narah’s first single and clearly, she has something to add to the current state of music in Ghana.
Juls feat Akan & Kwesi Arthur – Saa Ara
The call for Akan and Kwesi Arthur to be on one song has been answered, thanks to Juls. The latest single, ‘Saa Ara’ from the DJ/Producer features the two talented artists. ‘Saa Ara’ (which translate as The Way It Is) carries Juls’ signature sound- chopped up palmwine highlife beat infused with hip hop elements. Kwesi Arthur, on verse one raps about his unique qualities from the pack (‘I hope you understand we not the same…don’t deceive the people cos you no go fit crown the game’) and how he won’t allow himself to get played.
Akan extends this narrative with a short verse. But it’s the chorus that best situate the song’s theme: ‘This is how we do it/ our game is loved so watch us move’. The palmwine highlife vibe of ‘Saa Ara’ sounds like a piece of music Ebo Taylor would make.
https://itunes.apple.com/gh/album/saa-ara-feat-kwesi-arthur-akan-single/1425496299
Darkovibes feat Stonebwoy – Stay Woke
Darkovibes abandons the hard trap beats or the highlife sound found on his previous songs for an afro-dancehall feel on ”Stay Woke”. Featuring dancehall ace Stonebwoy, the two take turns to sing about love and how, together with his lover, will be ‘living till the day they fall off’. This assurance comes after exalting her sensual attributes.
Stonebwoy praises the elegance of his lover: you’re me joy and laughter and you know say you are the diamond in my life’. The JumpOFF produced record carries a mid-tempo, danceable vibe with the aura to attract many to the dancefloor. ‘Stay Woke’ shows the extent of Darkovibes’ musical range. He’s indeed foking up the place.
Mau’Miller –Alive
Mau Miller’s latest song ‘Alive’ is a deviation from the afropop trope of today’s music. ‘Alive’ is a fusion of electro-pop as well as house and afrobeat elements. Over its strong synths and brass kick and snares, Mau Miller reminds all of the need to rise above the challenges of life. The lyrics conveys a sentiment of hope and inspiration: ‘out of breathe but me can’t never rest’. The song is driven by the old adage of what doesn’t kill you make you stronger.
A man of many hats- he is a singer, fashion designer- Mau Miller’s attempt to sing with different vocal styles chipped a bit from the song. Granted he wants to show off his dynamics of his singing, the sometimes inaudibility of his words chipped a bit from his very decent output.
