THE CUTS: EP 06 VOL.11
THE CUTS is a weekly review of newly released songs and videos. The songs and videos covered are not genre or region-specific. Once we find it dope, we’ll share our thoughts on it here.
Super JazzClub – For All the Good Times
Patience. Persistence. Self-belief. Improvisation. The Super JazzClub embodies all these virtues. For years, they have worked tirelessly towards perfecting their sound while growing their talents as a music Collective. Singles have been released over the course of time. Performances have been held. Members of the group have released solo projects (singles) to gauge their own progress. Finally, the Collective have released their long-awaited album, “For All the Good Times”. (Click to stream)
Consisting of 8 songs (3 are time-stamped voice notes or interludes), Super JazzClub, the Ghanaian alte Collective stitched their songs along the lines of RnB (on “Games” performed by Obed who laments the ‘games’ a lover is playing on him). “Cellular”, released earlier as a single dabbles in the hip hop- reggae enclave; “Till the Morning”, the most bubbly track on “For All the Good Times” is draped in afro-fusion halo. Whereas Ansah Live requests them to ‘pour a lil somfin in my cup/bad girl wanna roll it up”, Seyyoh is asks for a ”refill” on this “get wasted at this party” record. Seyyoh pops up again on the trap-soul joint “Wide Awake” to draw the line between her and any form of bullshit in under 2 mins. Her voice emits an indiscernible tone – both threatening and ‘vibely’.
“For All the Good Times” is an album that fans of Super JazzClub can finally consume in a sitting. The music is great, the production is excellent – it compensates for the years their fans had to wait on them for a body of work. If the artwork for the album is signify anything, it is that the Collective is about success and staying fruitful.
J. Derobie – Ginger Me
When J Derobie released his “Nungua Diaries” tape, one of the songs I picked as a favourite was “Ginger Me”. J.Derobie is a noted dancehall act but he sometimes dabble within the afropop space, which he has so far nailed. A couple of days ago, he released the video for “Ginger”. Directed by Babs, it follows the simple story of a guy who is consumed by the beauty of a lady in a club. In the end, we see him set free from the “bewitchment”.
Babs Direction brought his visual skills to bear- from the settings, the costuming to the acting and choreography. The leading lady in the video’s performance is very striking. The club scene is very 90s in outlook like its plucked out of a 1990 Ghanaian movie or TV theatre scene.
Jane Handcock – FYE
“FYE”, the Mani Drapper featurs song is a taken from Jane Handcock’s album “Fa Real”. Across the 8 songs that make up the R&B filled album, Jane teams up with soul-singer Chazz on the ballad ” Home Alone”. The Oakland, California artist shows her depth on “How You Feel”; “Love With You”; and the assuring tune ” When We Fall”, singing “when we fall/ We’ll always catch each other’.
Jane Handcock has earned endorsements from some household names in the music scene like Raphael Saadiq for her talent. Her music has been featured on Insecure, the HBO’s hit TV series. Her talent has also seen her work on records for RnB heavyweight Kelly Rowland and rapper, Rick Ross. With “Fa Real”, Jane Handcock is poised to making an impression on the RnB music scene.
Boyd – Private Show
On “Private Show”, Boyd affirms his love to his partner while seeking affirmation of requited love. Crooning in a falsetto voice over a R&B/Soul beat produced by NiiQuaye, Boyd employs Ga and English to pour out his feeling. The mellow, spacey beat with a sombre mood offers Boyd the perfect cloak for him to be vulnerable. ” Private Show” is taken from his collaborative tape with NiiQuaye which he titles “B.W.B.H” (Boys With Broken Heart). Like the title reveals, the 5 songs that make the tape explores the highs and lows of love; a tale every listener would identify with in one song or more.
Yung Pabi – Guy No
The artistic prowess of Yung Pabi is not restricted to the stage when performing. It’s very visible in his videos including the latest “Guy No”, a theatre styled video that is layered with meaning and which describes his daily routine. The simplicity aside, the nostalgic inferences that the video pricks are of the essence. Unless you have never seen the video beforehand, “Guy No” strikes semblance with Daasebre Dwamena’s (RIP) 1999 hit single “Kokooko”
Yaw Lucaz – Expensive Rapper
“Expensive Rapper/I don’t have any friends”. So goes the hook on “Expensive Rapper” by Yaw Lucaz. Over a minimal beat – a thumping percussion – produced by Wanlov, the rapper from Takoradi shows off his numerous rap cadences; delivery each bar with intensity and hunger. The video for the song- also shot by Wanlov under his Wanlov Cini imprint- is a close shot of his face. The dark chromed video plus the close shot format it is delivered makes it engrossing (he’s in your face literally). If this is Yaw Lucaz’ debut visual introduction to people, then he’d have the attention of anybody who watches the video.
The Black Esper & Slug G – Jeje Laye
Nigerian rapper, The Black Esper teams up with Slug G, a hip hop act from the UK on “Jeje Laye”, a hip hop record produced by American producer AE Beats bears. The laid back beat carries an old school hip hop feel and has the two rappers indicating their intent to take over the hip hop scene with their creativity. In an era where trap beats and drill is influencing hip hop, hearing Black Esper & Slug G along with AE Beats evoking the old feel of hip hop is quiet interesting.
