Album of the year

Let’s start of this column with a prayer as per our 1 week old tradition.

“Lord, Meta Shoko means well. I may not agree with him, but I have to respect his opinion because he's right too often to be ignored. Amen 🙏🏾”

Now, let's talk about Album of the Year... in August 🥲

We have five contenders, each with their own merits and demerits. But by the end of this I’ll give an irresponsible but definitive position. 

First off, Holyten's "Risky Life 2" had some incredible highs (Banga, Ndotokuda) but also some cringe-worthy lows (Mureza, wtf was that?!). Holyten will always be a victim of his range in hip hop conversations and I wish I could just tell him to focus but I’m not in the business of telling people that are obviously successful what they should be doing (most times). 

Next up, Ekasi's project was a lyrical masterpiece. Malcom brought his A-game, and those boom bap beats were the perfect complement. However, commercial success (or lack thereof) might hurt his chances, and let's be real, winning last year's award might work against him – no one wants a repeat winner, right? Malcom would need to do something CRAZY to get consideration and I guess there’s still a chance with Ekwedu 2 and Ekasi 2 

RayKaz's "Main Oan Pack" has to be in the conversation to. Productivity alone should earn Kazzy best male this year, but the quality of his songs puts him in a league of his own. Main oan pack is some of the best rapping we’ve ever experienced in this country. If "Those Around Me Tape" (TAMT) lives up to the hype, we might have a new frontrunner. But again feels weird to compare it to albums that have the commercial success that Voltz and gang have unlocked 

Now, "Storytellers of the Culture 2" (SOTC2) is a compilation album that's hard to argue against. It's a beautifully curated collection of songs that showcases the best of ZimHipHop. Numbers (How much do they matter as a percentage anyway?) might not be on its side, but if we're talking about Enjoyment (Shout out thelastletter for no reason) on an album, SOTC2 takes the it. You have EVERYTHING on there. From the most rappity rapping to incredible (shout out thalastletter again). The middle third of the album is a bit of a downer but noones done more to bring Shonas and Ndebeles together since the unity accord. Build Mukudzei a statue 😂

Then we have NOP Makoni. I need to be mindful of recency bias, given that the album is only a day old. In fact, it's arguably premature to be discussing it, but here we are. There just aren't that many objectively bad songs on the album. Personally, "Ine basa rei" and "Kutidzorera kumashure" are my least favorite tracks, so I was surprised - and somewhat horrified - when Controlla revealed that "Ine basa rei" is his favorite song in the group chat. The album makes a conscious effort to craft hit songs, with a decent success rate."

So, who's my winner? Well who I would go with truly depends on who’s asking, SOTC2 will probably end up with the most streams on my phone. But if I had to choose a representative for HipHop at the NAMAs, I'd go with "Risky Life 2". 

But if we are discussing the ZimHipHop awards? NOP Makoni ends up with the best balance. Sensational effort in putting the album together and rolling it out. 

There you have it – my premature, possibly irresponsible, but entirely passionate take on the album of the year. Let the debate begin!

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