Since capturing mainstream discover in 2004 together with his good debut album Aso, the artist’s penmanship has charted ardour and ache, usually unfurling by way of a calmly vocal aptitude that expedites love. His social takes additionally summon soul looking, cementing his utility as a prolific and limitless composer whose periodic inventive revival has ensured his residence within the hearts of listeners in his residence nation and past.
At present, with many years of great essential success beneath his belt, he additionally boasts a novel perspective on the nexus of two musical generations – the 70s constituency that impressed him, and a up to date cohort that continues to feed African pop.
His sixth studio album Fa Me Saa, a follow-up to 2017’s Ahyesi, is powered by rigorous experimentation that entails retooling and updating inherited compositions and recycling a few of the most beloved moments throughout Ghanaian and Western pop.
A dynamic 14-tracker, the gathering begins out by submitting to archetypal sounds earlier than increasing to include on-trend pulses similar to Afrobeats and amapiano, in addition to growth bap rap and R&B. The LP’s standouts, specifically, ‘Kwadede’, ‘Fingers’, ‘Afraid to Lose You’, ‘Sweetie’, and the Shatta Wale-assisted ‘Kokonsa’ trundle a potpourri of sonic persuasions achieved by masterful unpacking of advanced historic melodic traditions to orchestrating unlikely style fusions to show their intertextuality.
These improvements stick with it into the remainder of the mission and, usually facilitated by folksy guitar jangling, resonant horns and thumping drums, present a bedrock for distilling a carousel of themes and feelings. The album’s title monitor, as an example, is a private essay on self-assurance, religion and resolve. Just like the Twi phrase it derives its title from, it in the end finds its creator entreating listeners to “take me as I’m”. Co-conspired by producer and longtime collaborator Kwame Yeboah, the track additionally whirls between rhythms, making certain an fascinating and rewarding aural tour.
Songs like ‘Sweetie’, ‘Awero’, ‘Regina’, ‘50/ 50’ and ‘Journey Or Die’ (which samples the late highlife nice Alhaji Okay. Frimpong’s traditional ‘Kyenkyen Bi Adi Mawu’) allude to like; whether or not their creator is cooing over a romantic curiosity or stressing his devoutness to chivalry, whereas choices like ‘Focus’ carry life’s most necessary views into sharp focus.
“When gratitude turns into important in our lives, blessings go comply with us all over the place”, a line from that final track goes. Elsewhere on the tune, Kwabena Kwabena sermonises: “If you happen to deal with the damage, you’ll proceed to undergo. If you happen to deal with the lesson, you proceed to develop.”
‘Kokonsa’ addresses detractors, whereas the nostalgia-inducing ‘Yempie’, which interprets as “let’s exit”, soundtracks nightlife within the capital.
Kwabena Kwabena is a polyglot, therefore, the album flows throughout a number of tongues; however his linguistic genius finds its finest expression in his native Twi, which sees him trend out innuendos that intrigue even probably the most conservative ears. This impish poetic approach has additionally change into his signature, for which motive even the lewdest strains, similar to are heard on ‘Minpina’, ‘Fa Me Saa’ and ‘Fingers’, drive social gathering pleasures.
Fa Me Saa additionally arrives as his most collaborative effort thus far, embracing a vibrant assortment of an older inventory and new-generation voices from Shatta Wale, D-Black and Trigmatic, to KiDi, Sefa, Adina, Yaw Tog, Quamina MP and Tulenkey. That is all tied collectively by modern manufacturing that ensures its proneness to the replay button.
Its exploratory intentions apart, Fa Me Saa highlights Kwabena Kwabena’s cultural relevance and beautiful expertise for understanding the junction between Ghana’s previous and current sounds, gleaning profound musical capsules that blur time and area.
Artist: Kwabena Kwabena
Album: Fa Me Saa
Label: KBKB Muzic
Yr: 2022
