BKay & Kazz - Boomslang (2009)

BKay and Kazz have been on this musical journey for a while now. These 2 brothers have grown from strength to strength. I remember seeing their video for Ndikati Hello on Channel O 4 years ago without a clue who they were. Now they reign as ambassadors for Zimbabwe through their brilliant work. They released their debut album, In The Beginning, 5 years ago and it was more for the Zimbabwean and Malawian markets where their roots lie. Boomslang is their first international release and their approach is different from last time around.

Don't Stop opens up the 16 track Boomslang album with an infectious rhythm that will have you dancing. It is a dancehall track with a very commercially acceptable aspect about it such that you don't have to be a dancehall fan to enjoy it. These guys sing real music and the song relates to their will to succeed. I Wanna Get Loved is impressive. The vocal abilities that these guys have will surprise you and it is also part of what makes them so versatile. The inclusion of Ndikati Hello is one i did not expect but given that among Zimbabweans it is their most popular track and this being an international release they wanted to show that they have come a long way. Despite the track being old it by no means compromises the quality of this album and it rates highly. Decibel did his thing very well here! The same goes for Senorita concerning it being on their debut but it sounds so good i thought i was hearing it for the first time.

There are quite a few songs with videos here and i am hoping these guys come out with a DVD album as well. You Know It's Right is one of the songs with a video. This song is great, well composed, well sung and well put together. The video? Awesome! Whatever formula these guys are using it is definitely working. You Know It's Right has 2 versions here and they are both good. We played The Music Drive on our podcasts and the reception speaks for itself. The track is just massive. A definite banger and the dancehall baseline that accompanies the powerful vocals led me to have this song on repeat. It features Decibel and the man has not lost his touch at all. Of the whole album Amina Kadeya is my favourite. The way they took an old nursery school game and made it into a dance track is genius. VanaWezhira from Masvingo are talented, jealous down hama dzangu! I tip this to be one of the party regulars in 2010.

BKay & Kazz are some of the hardest working artists around and their album proves it. A lot of the songs on this offering were released as singles. Other songs to look out for include Wynd With Me, Leave Me Alone and Crazy Baby. I really liked this album from start to finish and i could change with the mood of the album without feeling robbed of any quality and so forth. There is something in there for everyone. I found very little fault to this album, it leaves you satisfied with your purchase.

Get the album here: http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/56603725-bkay-kazz (mp3 album) and iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/boomslang/id340251008

Cover Art - 8/10
Music - 8/10
Technical Sound - 7/10
'I Like Factor' - 8/10

Shumba DJs - Tambayi Funky Anthems (2009)

Zimbabwean house music hasn't quite established itself compared to the other youthful genres. Having noted that, the genre is experiencing an exciting time after the success of the Native Flash and Zim DJ albums with hits such as Jobho (Remix) and House of Stone. Shumba DJs are relatively new to the scene 'by name' but with years of experience as DJs on the local and international stage. For this debut offering they have teamed up with Beatovenz on a 5 album deal.

The album opens up with One of These Days which is a dance classic. The song adopts a sound that house lovers would instantly connect with and would light up dancefloors across the world without fail. The song maintains the same tempo throughout with some excellent use of the bongo which makes the song very catchy. Zvamauya Zvanaka is a feel good song about how our relations with friends and family mean a lot to us. It explores the euphoria of seeing loved ones after a long time and the joys of rediscovering that closeness. The song is well sung as well. Tambai made me think of the days when kwaito was still the real deal when artists like M'du, Arthur, Abashante and B.O.P were churning out hits on a regular basis. It has that 'old school' feel to it. I felt the same way listening to Happy Birthday where Primrose Gwata sang her lungs out! I am guessing these guys must have been kwaito/digong fans at some point.

Wynd For Me by BKay and Kazz is the first song from this album that came out some time back. The song is a straight banger and BKay and Kazz (anaWezhira, Masvingo Massive!) are definitely among some of Zimbabwe's best exports within the diaspora. They prove this without a doubt on this tracks singing about the beauty of a girl who is on the dancefloor who is looking lonely. These guys surely know how to hype up a track and with the Shumba DJs producing a well worked beat this is a collaboration at its best. On My Way sounded experimental and leans more to the techno side of music. It's not really my taste but the composition is still good. Mandela The Great was a very meaningful contribution highlighting that even when we have fun there are sons and daughters who have helped Africa to become what it is today. Their call for Africa to unite is one that many artists should consider. Loved the female vocals on this song.

All in all this 17 track offering is a testimony of what talent, hard work and experience can give you. Besides the songs already mentioned i greatly enjoyed the song Kumusha. Many of us outside Zimbabwe can relate to this song. I believe the number of tracks on this album could have been cut down to a good 12 - 14. That way they would have taken the very best tracks as one or two cuts are rather luke warm. For a debut these guys did well regardless and it's a worthy purchase. I believe Zimbabwean House is truly taking shape and any house music lovers this one is for you. Great work guys!

Get the album here: http://www.zimvibes.com and http://www.vangodzatunes.com

Cover Art - 5/10
Music - 7/10
Technical Sound - 6.5/10
'I Like' Factor - 7/10

Flavour P - Original Zimbo (2008)

Flavour P was relatively unknown until he took the internet by storm dropping a number of songs in 2008 that were well received by the Zimbabwean community with access to his material. The Original Zimbo album is co-produced by Jusa of ABRA fame. I hear that Flavour P has 2 albums prior to this offering which i am yet to hear and would have loved to hear them to have a bar to use as a comparison on how he has grown over the years.

The first proper single from his third album Original Zimbo, Ndirikuda Kufara which features Zimbabwe's Kora Award Nominee Jusa Dementor opens up this journey and it does not disappoint. For the first song on the CD I can definitely say it is a great opener. The man is calling upon everyone to enjoy his music because he will not be happy if the listeners arent happy as well. I am sure this song is already a party anthem and for the Zimbabwean music scene can easily become a hit song. One Family is an interesting track about togetherness and has a catchy bass with pentatonic rhythms that are popular among African music. I think this song needed a bit more vocal control on some parts to convey the emotion intended by Flavour P. Another alternative could have been to get a singer to help out to give the song that finesse it needed. It is still an inspirational piece that calls for all of us to love each other. Great message indeed.

The title track Original Zimbo is on the massively popular riddim by Jusa, Konzeresa Riddim. On this track Flavour P flexes his flow with an energetic delivery. He praises all Zimbabweans and names some of the most prominent Zimbabweans as a way of showing us all that we have successful people among ourselves. It is a good song about Zimbabwean pride and worth a listen. I also enjoyed the song Amai dedicated to the love of mothers. It is on one of the riddims by Jusa and sounds like a Jamaican production. I think of the whole album this song was the most well done from the lyrics to the production and kudos to the 2 guys for their work on this song. Would make any mother proud! Unondivhiringa is another song on this album that has a great chorus sung by one Dubblin who does a phenominal job. This is Urban grooves at its very best. For the sake of positive criticism, hoping Flavour P will get a chance to read this, you can tell his verses on this song are different from some of his songs done more recently. He has improved a lot and the verses do not do justice to the work done by Dubblin. It also sounds like the song was recorded in different places and the vocals mixed by different people because for some reason Dubblin's parts sound more 'plush' than those done by Flavour P. I really wish they can redo this song because it is a great love song and Flavour P can do much better. Another song which is a great Urban Grooves love song is Mwana Uripo. I particularly enjoyed his witty lyrics on the song Uri Razor like 'Teki teki saMahobho nehusiku, teki teki kunge bhurugwa nebhandi ... iwe uri cream ndofunga unotapira kupfuura Sun Jam, ... this is not a dream, what is your name?' If he really sits down and takes time i have no doubt he would have a hit song called Teki Teki right now. On the witty side comes Une Power which has funny lyrics.

Original Zimbo has some enjoyable tracks and Urban Grooves fans will find something they like. I think first port of call for Flavour P is to work on quality before quantity. 20 tracks is fair and fine but i would prefer 10 exceptional tracks given the preference. This is so because you can tell that there is quite a time line between the songs and quality differs throughout from vocals to the instruments. Considering that now he has moved to the States it would be great to hear if he can employ the services of a professional recording studio and sound engineer to improve on his quality because i think he has what it takes but needs to take time on his projects to give listeners the best he can. I also noticed that the man did not sound comfortable on dancehall riddims as he does on more Urban Grooves inclined instrumentals so he might want to stick to pure Urban Grooves next time. I did not like Ndinokuda because it sounded like he just took the beat from P-Squares song Temptation and added a kick and changed the tempo a little. Not a good look bro! Seriously! All in all this album is quite ok and when Flavour is up to it he does a good job. This one would be suited to fans of artists like Nasty Trixx, Stunner and Maskiri.

Get the album here: http://www.zimvibes.com/index.php?ind=reviews&op=entry_view&iden=478

Cover Art - 5/10 (Good pic but big let down on the font)
Music - 6/10 (Many highs as well as lows)
Mixing and Mastering - 3/10
'I Like Factor' - 5/10

Konzeresa riddim(2008) - Various Artists

Konzeresa Riddim, produced by Jusa, has to be one of the most anticipated albums among Zimbabweans out here in the diaspora at the moment with everybody tryna get their hands on it. It comes as no surprise after the free megamix that was flying all over the place which made people go crazy a few months back. Now that the full CD is out I had a good listen of all 22 tracks.

The song Kukonzeresa by King Labash, from which the riddim derives its name, has been a major hit in Zimbabwe and it leads the way as the opening song. I hate to even say this but the album version is so watered down and lacks the fire that the original has. It was simply a huge let down I don’t have a clue how King Labash managed to kill his own song. Luckily, there are quite a few songs that actually saved the whole album and I quickly forgot about my initial disappointment. Songs like ‘Crazy World’ by Alfire, ‘Tell Me Why’ by Cee Jay, ‘Tichatopedzerana’ by Dubbie Benzie and ‘Jah By My Side’ by MC Mighty (to mention a few) were largely enjoyable and are testimony to the maturing breed of Zimbabwe’s dancehall MCs.

The compilation also boasts of some established Zimbabwean artists like Rassie Ai and Yardsteppa who both featured on The Future way back in 2000. Yardsteppa’s Usatuke Amai NaBaba advises the youth to respect their mother and father or else bad luck will follow in everything. Talk about leading the way! Vangani is an inspirational tune for all the Zimbabwean girls performed by Jusa and will see his female fans increasing in numbers. The video is out soon and I hear it is already doing rounds in the motherland on Channel O. The downside to this compilation is that many of the tunes are truly very forgettable. It could have been a much better idea to limit the number of artists to a decent 12 or so and have some sort of a screening process to raise the bar for quality. In a quest to custom make the riddim for every artist, which was a very noble idea, I feel that the riddim ended up losing the spark that made it so catchy in the first place. Sometimes certain things are better left as they are but then again we all learn from mistakes. I hope these pointers are helpful for coming projects.

For Zimbabwe’s first riddim compilation to be released commercially it is one that will make many people very happy. Boyz remaTune kunyanya marasta will love this album which showcases some of the upcoming artists in the industry. Good work for everyone involved, keep them coming!

Get it @ http://cdbaby.com/cd/konzeresariddim

Cover Art – 8/10 (lovely artwork!)
Music – 5/10 (some songs really could have been better)
Mixing & Mastering – 5/10
‘I Like Factor’ – 6/10