Nasty Trixx - Vapamhe (2008)

Trust Dojiwe better known in the music circles as Nasty Trixx is back with a new album and Maskiri's so called sound alike has his chance to prove that he has what it takes to stay on top. I am sure many of you out there remember the smash hit 'ChiDanger (Chimoko)' from his 2004 debut Kupinda Newe. I can confirm every song on that album was a certified hit and it put this young man on the map.

A song from the new offering that made rave reviews in 2006 is DDF (which was also on the Bhodho Size One compilation by Tony G). The song is produced by Tony G and is a comical piece about a girl who wished for Nasty Trixx to become her lover. Apparently in the song, Nasty Trixx overhears the girl at church praying for divine intervention in her quest for love. On the other hand, Nasty confirms that the young lady is so beautiful he is already in love with her after having met her on the bus the previous day. The concept just makes me laugh! Great stuff! It is also the only Tony G production there as the two parted ways over unspecified differences. This new album also contains the hit song Kukakika which made an impressive position on the 2008 Power FM charts. The title is a descriptive word about how beautiful a woman is and the song is a testimony of how clever Nasty Trixx can be. When it comes to women, it seems like that is his area of choice lyrically.

Unfortunately the 2 songs mentioned above are as good as this album gets and the other tracks are a complete waste of time. I hate to say it like that but if you compare Nasty Trixx on his tracks produced by Tony G and the ones by the producer he is working with now, you can tell that there is no contest. The music is horrible and amateurish to say the least. I reckon my 15 year old brother can do better on productions. My colleague upon hearing this album asked me, "Is this a demo album by Nasty Trixx from 10 years ago?" That is simply how bad it is. I would have written about the tracks in detail as i usually do but this time i do not see the point. The only other song i could mention is Ndopisa Musoro in which he blasts former friends Tony G and Madiz who had a major part in his first album. He claims Tony G shortchanged him from his album royalties and when he left Baseline Studios, Tony G was stranded and other artists left. The same producer he is dissing so happens to have, by far, the best track on this album. On the same page, comparing with Kupinda Newe, this new album has not as much as a good chorus which Madiz was mostly responsible for first time around. Sadly, truth be told, Tony G and Madiz are having the last laugh on this one enjoying enough success in the past 2 years.

Enough said, this ranks as one of the most disappointing sophomore albums i have heard in a long time. By this showing, i think Nasty Trixx will be a nobody in the industry within the next 2 years unless he rejoins Tony G's camp or finds a producer who is just as good or better. Kukakika just so happens to be the single that is a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dwindling career. Nasty you can do much better!

Music - 2/10
Technical Sound - 1/10
'I Like Factor' - 2/10

Tapinda Tapinda Tapinda(2006) - Maskiri

Possibly the most controversial artist in Urban Grooves maybe even Zimbabwean history, Maskiri is back after a 2 year hiatus from the mic. As usual the album has been much anticipated with most wondering what else does Maskiri have to say which he hasn't done so? More controversy maybe? I have always been a fan regardless.

Tapinda Tapinda Tapinda is the 3rd offering from Alishias Musimbe a.k.a Maskiri and is produced by Sipho 'TBA' Mkhuhlane of Chigutiro fame. As usual the album is plastered with comical skits where Maskiri makes a mockery of the media's stories about his life. Such light hearted gimmicks have made Maskiri a household name and in the intro he declares himself a changed man now doing all things holy hence the album Tapinda Tapinda Tapinda to stress his entry into a new life. The album opens with one of the most anticipated Urban Grooves collabos since the genre became popular on Ngaakoreswe between Maskiri and Nasty Trixx. For those who don't know the 2 have been compared since Nasty Trixx came on the scene 3 years ago. Many have claimed that there is beef between the 2 and this song cancels all the speculation. It is a song about praising God in a cool way that appeals to the youth using slang words. Madiz and Diana also feature on the song.

Just when i thought i had heard it all, the song Ivy Kombo simply made me laugh where the man professes love for gospel diva and controversial singer Ivy Kombo-Moyo-Kasi. Maskiri expresses jealousy over her concerts with the likes of Vuyo Mokoena. I strongly doubt she will consider his proposal but as a listener i was in stitches. I greatly enjoyed Ndakafa where he talks about being at a concert in South Africa then dying and going to heaven meeting the likes of the late Princess Diana and smoking the leaf with the late Brenda Fassie. The instrumental isn't quite great but the lyrics made me forget that quickly. It's all about the lyrics when it comes to Maskiri and only he knows what inspires him to even think of singing such things.

It's evident that the Maskiri of old is very much alive and has plenty of interesting things to say. Other songs that left me breathless were Wheelchair featuring songstress Tererai Mugwadi and Leo Mapfumo and Miscarriage featuring Nesu. The overall production was not very good and despite changing the production team from the not so great sophomore album Blue Movie, it seems Maskiri has a long way to go before actually improving on the quality of his music. It doesn't help that he raps about nothing really, though very entertaining. If you are a serious person who likes depth in their music you might not enjoy this, it needs someone to be totally care free about whatever to get to enjoy the music. For old Maskiri fans i am sure you will love it and he wont disappoint you at all. He is simply a love or hate type of musician.

Cover Art - 5/10 (i love the font but...)
Music - 6/10
Mixing and Mastering - 6/10
I Like Factor - 7/10

Kukuda/Loving You(2006) - Cindy Raw

This year has seen more and more artists releasing albums far more than I have seen on the Urban Grooves circuit. From my recent trip to Zim I made it a sure point to stack on CDs. I bought this album based on the advice of my friend Akili and I surely want to thank him right now. Having never heard of Cindy Rufaro Munyavi ever before, I was a bit skeptical about her abilities. That feeling did not last, rest assured. She is a good singer and I found it hard to believe that she hadn’t topped charts yet. Some people just need a chance. Call it Urban Grooves sure but this lovely lady is straight Zim R’n’B. Some really hot R’n’B at that! The main concept about the album is love. She handles so many issues through her music one might end up being convinced she really went through this stuff!

Ruva is a gem I tell you. It features one of the genres most refined artist, Alexio Kawara. Their collaboration is just beautiful and they both sung very well. It might not quite compete with Tinodanana by Alexio & Teererai but it will leave you with goose bumps! The production throught the album was generally good and not monotonous and I managed to listen to every track. I appreciate it when artists acknowledge their religion and Praise You does justice. It has a bouncy beat and talks about praising God because he is the one who makes everything happen. My song of the album is Dhindindi and the title says it all. No Zimbabwean party can be complete without this tune. Take 5ive really produced a quality tune to rip through the speakers. Wreckless totally murdered his verse; he did himself a favour by switching from Hip Hop to Ragga. Other songs to watch out for are Handidi and All That I Am.

The album has the potential to do very well, some good songs and lovely singing. The let down comes in the production. Some of the instruments were not very clear and the vocals were not properly mixed and/or mastered. You can tell that some songs were recorded, mixed and mastered at different studios by different people. I think quality should be emphasized in her next project.

Kukuda/Loving You is a good album and many fans will enjoy it. I think it is worth a buy. This lady is going places and I give her 1 year tops to become Urban Grooves hottest female artist.

Cover Art – 6/10
Music – 7/10
Mixing & Mastering – 5/10
‘I Like Factor’ – 7.5/10

Spice It Up(2006) - Tia

Now this album was so vigorously marketed before release it must have hit platinum by that alone. I was really looking forward to this project especially after the success of ‘Boy U Got To Know’, after all it seemed like everyone was talking about it.

As I expected Spice It Up is full of RnB flavour and is mostly produced by Sipho 'TBA The Playboy' (ex-Chamhembe, current Chigutiro producer). The man sure knows his stuff and having said that I still believe his combination with Take 5ive of Chamhembe was a cut above the rest which saw Chamhembe become Zimbabwe’s default Urban Grooves crew. After they parted ways I don't think one of them could really rediscover that touch that once made them so popular but don't let that be an excuse to underestimate them because vanogonesesa.

The title track is bouncy and I liked the instrumental which was very well done with great instrumental clarity. Unfortunately Tia’s voice leaves a lot to be desired. The first thing my other half said when she heard the song was ‘Uri kunzwa discord iro?’ and I had a good laugh. I still like the song though! ‘Come A Lil Closer’ has a very colourful video (available on Youtube), the song is ok and not really outstanding. I reckon it will be a great song for high school disco slow jam sessions. The lyrics wouldn’t really appeal to the 21+ age group, they are just shallow. This applies to just about the whole album, there is no real maturity to the content. Lyric rake harina punch.

I was not really surprised by the inclusion of ‘Boy U Got To Know’ since it has been doing rounds on Channel O and has become somewhat popular in Southern Africa. Props to W.O.Fman Fortune Mparutsa for the production on the song, very well done. What’s with artists and putting original versions, remixes and remixes of remixes on one project? If it’s a 12 track album with 5 versions of one song I just find that a rip off. The song has 4 versions. Munodarireiko nhai as’kana? I won’t even mention the luke warm attempt at doing a Shona version. Most of Tia’s vocals on the songs had the autotune/vocoder effect that T-Pain has popularized and for me it sounded more of an attempt to disguise the sometimes dodgy vocals when she ‘attemped’ high notes. This is proof that making it in the music industry is not directly proportional to talent. She tries though.

All in all, this album is all hype with no action. It will sit in my library ,sure, but probably won’t see my media player for a few months. You will probably like this if you are into the likes of Cassie and so on without being bothered by vocal ability. Good attempt for someone who probably lacks the natural talent compared to other females in the industry.

Cover Art - 7/10 (very nice!)
Music – 5/10
Mixing & Mastering – 6/10
‘I Like Factor’ – 4/10

Come A Lil Closer

In The Beginning(2005) - B-Kay n Kazz

My first experience with these guys from Masvingo was on Channel O & MTVBaseAfrica where their video was on the charts being played at least once a day. Definitely it was quite an achievement because that kind of exposure around Africa is priceless and will go a very long way. This prompted me to search high and low for their album which I found in one of the local record stores. It’s good to see new names coming up in the music industry, we the listeners NEED it.

I can describe the music on the album, In the Beginning, as Zimbabwean commercial dancehall (a subset of Urban Grooves if you wish). For this album they seem to have taken a chunk from Richie Stevens especially on the song That Lady. It is a catchy tune where B-Kay & Kazz sang well and I’m sure many people will fall in love with it. The song everyone has been talking about is Ndikati Hello featuring Decibel. It’s a song about the joys of meeting the most beautiful people at parties and the chorus is such an easy sing along. This song is most likely what has made this album sell like hot cakes. The song has graced many Zimbabwean charts across the globe and is set to be one of the songs of the year. The great thing about the music is that the guys sing very well and back each other with such ease.

The album features the likes of H.D and Blue Jeans of the Masvingo Riddim fame who also helps produce the piece. Most of the songs are love songs which has become the main criticism of most Urban Grooves acts. Come Together is a song about AIDS and I hope it will educate many because we have all lost someone through this disease. I respect the effort in trying to raise awareness through music. After about 6 tracks or so I was rather over the hype. Ndikati Hello is really the stand out track and somewhat overshadows the rest, not even saying the other songs are bad because they are all ok. The beats just became a bit monotonous for me. Generally the album is still listenable and if you like ragga music with some smooth vocals then this one is definitely for you. I think with more exposure these guys will be a force to reckon with and I look forward to hearing more from them.

Cover Art – 3/10
Music – 6/10
Mixing & Mastering – 7/10
‘I Like Factor’ – 5/10

Ndikati Hello ft Decibel