PICKING THE CROWN APART

August has always been the month of greatness, it is literally the birth month of all the awesome people you’ve ever met -me inclusive- seriously, you pause and check, I’ll wait.

How apt is it that #LAMBAugust begins with the Crown? The road to the redemption of Nigerian hip hop kicks off with M.I Abaga on the wheels. If the hype is anything to go by, this month is deemed to be the watershed of hip hop, a steep slope. Bold assertion by Chocolate Music City, but do they have enough arsenal to back up such lofty claims? Jude Abaga has always been burdened with a messiah complex, Crown touches down easy on the ears and keeps to the beauty in brevity that Mr Ye and the GOOD MUSIC projects gifted us a few months ago. Short and sweet. [hums the Sauti Sol banger in my head]

You can read my first/one listen review on twitter here:

Please note that after several listens while writing this review, my position on several aspects of the album might have shifted but one thing is constant; this album is awesome! The production is the stuff of dreams, the deliveries are on point, and the beats are fire! After playing this tape, I am very optimistic about the revival of Nigerian hip hop. The Calvary has come to town and they come waving the Choc city flag. I stan!

AQ and Loose Kaynon enlist Debbie Romeo, Show Dem Camp, ChiGurl, Yoye Hayba and Blaqbonez as guests on album that promises so much. We all have alot riding on this project in the wake of albums from AKA, Nasty C, here is to hoping the M.I August magic can get us back on top of the food chain.

[insert album art & tracklist]

OUT OF THIS WORLD (ft Debbie Romeo)

I love the theme of this album, Royalty, the song kicks off with a voice, soft as silk, fluid and soothing, assuring me that I have just copped royalty. I feel proud of myself. I feel nice. I could listen to this woman speak all day. The samples are pure genius, M is that you? There is so much going on, oops! AQ voice fits in like a glass slippers and I am having a ball. This is too nice. Loose baba! It is really amazing how each act balances out, they held their own without doing too much. This song is so calm and reassuring, yes, she is singing again. She says she is off to save the world and she will be right back, guess who is going to be sitting his ass down and counting stars till she returns. Debbie Romeo is absolutely awesome, her voice should have faded this track out. Sighs. [4/5]

REGRETS (ft Debbie Romeo)

Wow, she is back already. She sounds sober, broken and melancholic. What is going on? I am running through the rhetoric in my head when Loose snatches the beat. This song is chilling, this is not a happy place, why did you all doubt him? He underlines the threats easy as can be. AQ is less dour, snapping hard. I feel like I should apologize for second guessing you guys. I like the eerie feeling that this songs gives off, AQ and Loose went hard, the road to redemption is rife with rocks and bumps. We are ready. [3.5/5]

GANG GANG

I tweeted about the eccentricity of this intro, the hook is flames! It’s been long coming but we must give accolades to Nigga Raw, Ill Bliss and Phyno for the euphonious feel of the Igbo language in Nigerian hip hop. I love this hook too much for someone that cannot understand a single word of it. Loose is in his feels, bragging with reckless abandon, his confidence is in peak levels. Nice, AQ is stunting too. Ugh, I want a bad chic too! The beat is scanty though, feels like it could have been more. The hook more than makes up for it but the songs feels like it is lacking something. I can’t place it. [3/5]

BEST RAPPER ALIVE

Err, you already know how I feel about this rude interruption to my listening process. [1/5]

CROWN (ft Show Dem Camp)

Adding Reinhard to this mix should be called out for what it is: cheating. This song is not for those with milk teeth. Throw your MCM in this mix and he is not walking out to tell, dead men tell no tales! How very Ghost of Jon Snow’s dire wolf to reference the greatest show ever, sway! Warn the White Walkers folks, Ghost is dragging them by their wigs! AQ is tiptoeing on this beat, happy feet. I love this flow. Is that an SA rap reference? Neat! Loose picks the baton, straight sprint! Tec comes through with more relatable bars, as is customary. This is what a rap song should sound like! The lyrical depth on this song is a breath of fresh air, we have been starved too long. Flames! [4.5/5]

BY YOUR SIDE (ft Yoye Hayba)

Loose or Rozay, I cannot tell anymore. The keys on this song is ethereal. This is a love song, finely crafted, a work of art. This is for Friday night drives in Port Harcourt with the lover, dodging SARS, wind in her hair, soot in your lungs. This is for the lover’s boulevard. This is for Saturday morning cuddles, playing with her waist beads and anklet. This is for the lovelorn, nursing a glass of scotch in Sky Bar. This is for video calls and lover’s far away. The chorus is deliciously reassuring. AQ is getting carried away and you can tell. I am just going to stop now. [4.5/5]

NO TIME

M sets the tone just right for this song! Loose did that girl dirty! Arrogant somebody! He snatches the beat with some more of that confidence, he is not here for games, the beat is a cruise, and I can say authoritatively that this is his hardest verse on this album yet! AQ punches with a packed verse too, damn. How did I miss these double entendre on first listen? Amazing! [4/5]

OFF BLACK (ft BlaqBonez)

This song is too lit, too lit! What is this awesomeness? The samples are epic! The beat, epic! Production tight! The hook, flames!! Blaq showed up for this one. AQ is not to be messed with mates, he easily bags this one. He takes it home. Loose will struggle to keep up and he does, or does he? I can’t get over this chorus! This jam is a banger, there is so much going on in the background. My ears are tingling. I absolutely love this song! [4.5/5]

HUSTLERS PRAYER (ft ChiGurl)

Those keys, that voice, and the humming. M is mining Kudi and I am loving it. Eerie. AQ and Loose can sit this one out and this project will still slap! This woman can sing, wow! I wasn’t ready for this touch. AQ, reflective, softly builds on the beat, his voice is picking up, and his breath shudders on that being the best bit. More humming. I like this theme. It is sober, reminiscent of dark nights in the confessional. Loose wants to vent, let him. Let me please. This song is everything. [4.5/5]

GOD WANTS US TO BE TOO LIT (ft Big Daddy Jayy)

I might have been too hasty to dismiss this particular song on first listen. The hook is catchy, I like it. I don’t care much for the repetition though, ugh, Trap! Ugh. AQ does his best to make the experience bearable, Loose too. I am still of the opinion that this song is not weighty enough to see out an album of this magnitude. The Hustlers Prayer would have been the perfect cliff-hanger to see us into the next phase of #LAMBAugust.

That being said, the album in my opinion easily scores a [4/5]

I am very excited about the next project that M has lined up for us and mostly optimistic about the future of Nigerian hip hop. 2018 has and is likely to continue being a good year for Nigeria music!

By Efe Ogufure for Urban Central. Tweets @theaventurine

Remember you can also follow us on Twitter @TheUrbanCentral

If you enjoyed this story, please click the 👏 button and share to help others find it! Feel free to leave a comment below.

Related posts:

This development came in response to a proposal, submitted by Chicago-based derivatives exchange CBOE, to list and trade shares of SolidX Bitcoin Shares, which itself has been issued by the VanEck…

Universal Pictures has revealed the Night Swim release date for the upcoming horror thriller movie from director Bryce McGuire. Night Swim‘s release date has been moved up to Friday, January 5, 2024…

Have you ever been walking around in a game, listening to the music and then your character suddenly asks, “Where’s that music coming from?” Oh shit, my character is self-aware and he’s breaking the…