#NGNGv2 - The Home Coming Review
(As with Syn City, conflict of intrest made it impossible for me to do an objective review without the screams of bias. So I asked MC Chita to write up a proper review! Read On! BSun!!)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Sorry. But FUCK! I was supposed to be on this album! I was even in studio for one of the tracks. It was… Ummm… Okay that time of the year was a bit of a blur, but yeah I was supposed to be there somewhere. Anyway moving on, after two back to back listens, I feel I am now in the perfect position to give an honest, non biased opinion about this Mixtape.
You can tell that Karizma, aka Its Karizma, aka The Real Karizma, aka Yolo, has been planning this moment for a while. He placed himself in a position of influence and recognition in the Zim Hip-Hop industry by affiliating himself with a winning team. He had two five star verses on two of Zimbabwe’ largest releases in 2012 (#S.O.T.G.3 and Syn City). And when the streets were starving for something new, #NGNGV.2 landed.
The guest list and catering (that’s feature and producers) add to the hype of the album. The usual suspects (Tehn, Synik, Jnr Brown, Begotten, Five, etc) bring their A’ game to the table… in most cases. A couple surprise guests brought an added twist to the album, which I feel is what really makes this album worth the wait. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
The Cover
(by @RufaroD)
The cover was pretty dang slick. It’s simple, original, and it tells a story. You’d have to be pretty slow not to get it. It’s not groundbreaking or jaw dropping amazing, but it makes sense. Plus it goes with the theme of the album. It makes a bit of a statement though. Especially if you think of these things from a political point of view. I’m just saying.
Intro
(Prod Crunka Cris)
Crunka Cris sets the tone with cinematic chords which get your attention immediately. You hear Karizma explain the definition of #NGNG. Then he gets into it. Unfortunately, I see people skipping this track. The 64 bar verse stretches a bit far and can go over a lot of people’ heads. A 64 bar verse is no easy feat, and there are points where Karizma struggles with it. Shame, because I feel he could’ve done better on this track. There are some parts where his genius shines through, ¨bad luck something, like Satans on me…¨, but unfortunately they few and far between. Too many a-b-c bars in this one.
Swag Yakawandisa
(Prod. PhatPhat)
Now this that… bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce. YEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!! Hahahaha, big tune. Phat-Phat on the beat. You can tell this guy has spent most his life in bars watching chicks bounce that, you know what I’m talking about. I can already see the chicks doing it like they do it for TV. Here Karizzy (that’s his other-other-other aka) is in his element. Two-stepping with the beat, he mixes a bit of the real, with what he knows best, SWAG. For real the tune got swag YAKAWANDISA. It spills out them speakers.
Drink in My Cup
(Prod. by @YagiDojo)
Word up. Swag on a hundred, thousand, trillion. I can hear this track in the club being mixed with that Loverance joint feat 50 cent. This is going to be a hit for a while. Yagi Dojo on the beat, it’s relevant to todays market, still it has a very mature feel. This is definitely one for my playlist. The hook is classic. Catchy and gangster. Combined with his storytelling flows ¨kush got it lookin like mist in the air/ me and my mans, three chicks in the rear/ headin to the spot, my clicks up in there, top teams in the city they be listin us, yeah…¨, make this one of my favorite cuts on the album.
Havazi Kuita feat TehnDiamon, Jnr Brown and Synik
(Prod. @ThatDutch)
Best Collaboration Nomination, now please. Too soon? Okay, we’ll see what the rest of the year has in store, but this is quite a bar which has been set. That Dutch on the beat, it definitely is an anthem for this year. It’s round about here that I realize that one of Karizmas’ strong suit is his hooks. Then he managed to get Tehn (Mr ¨arrive in a fitted and leave in a suit and tie¨), Jnr Brown and Synik on the same joint. #ThisReallyAintFair. Anyway I don’t think I can really think of anything to say anything against this tune. And trust me, I’ve tried. ¨Im with The Real Karizma, WHAT THE F*** U TALKIN BOUT¨
My Team Winning feat Juan Take
(Prod. by @YagiDojo)
¨I don’t know how to lose… I missed them lessons¨ It’s that ignorant shit you love. Yagi Dojo back behind the boards, and he brought his evil monkey with him. So far we are five tracks into the tape, and so far, besides the intro has been nothing but hits, no misses. Same goes for this track. ¨I got the whole game, waiting on my next inning/ and few niggas girls, trynna hop up in my linens…¨ But as much as Karizma bullied the beat, the man who stole this show on this joint was Juan Take. Last time we heard this kid was on #S.O.T.G.3, and since then he been working on his game ¨and your boy talk fly, like a parrot on the roof¨. Need I say more.
Tsvarakadenga feat Kazz and T.K. Paradza
(Prod. by @ftrftrftr)
So this one is for the grown and sexy. Ftr on the beat, it is very reminiscent of the tracks which made artists like ExQ and Stunner the house hold names which they are today. In fact there might be some who feel that Karizma may have even jacked their style on this one. Kazz and T.K’s presence on this track are really what make it the hit it is. However, Karizma does come through hard, definitely something for the ladies to go GaGa over. As for me, I’m going to stick to that gangster shit. But good tune, still.
Bushman
(Prod. @Gobbla)
Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! ¨they say I smoke beats like a Benson…¨ Hahahaha. I love these U.K garage type joints. Gobbla on the beat, it is in the perfect position on the tape especially after the double dose of cheesecake I just went through. Karizzy brings back that gangster flow, adding a bit that tongue twister flow. That combined with a few lyrical gymnastics ¨I’m doin fine, peep the ascention/ turn that potential, into momentum/ when I drop tracks, you can peep from the mentions, they say I smoke beats like a Benson…¨
Moving
(Prod. by @YagiDojo)
Karizzy and Yagi got a good connection going on between them. Beats which I wouldn’t choose for my projects, Karizzy seems to shine hard on them. Here is a typical example of which. I was close to skipping until I heard the opening bars, ¨certified no examination, rap surgeon never been a patient/ the team is made of hip-hop made men, touch more souls than the pavement, amen…¨ Yeah, they work well together. That’s maybe because I’m a sucker for that old school gangster shit. I don’t know if this song will be everybodies cup of tea, but if you like your hip-hop hardcore and with punchlines, then this one’s for you. ¨Put the smash on these records, like Usain Bolt.¨
Ma Passport feat Jnr Brown
(Prod. by @ftrftrftr)
And we’re back, or should I say H-towns most wanted, Jnr Brown is back. But where you’d think Karizma would just kick back and let Jnr Brown carry the track (hook master at work), Karizma does the opposite. The punch lines just keep coming relentlessly on this track ¨passport pimpin, catch flights not feelins/ keta tato ndindira, international business…¨, or we could refer to ¨one stamp, two stamps, three stamps, four/ ma page ye passport tapera, I need more/ cause I fly up and down like a see-saw, touch new places and tell you wat we saw…¨. It’s a wild tune, definitely one to look forward to live. FTR brings the heat with the beat, however the song is very reminiscent of some of Stunner and Doctor Clarances earlier hits.
Ndombonzani feat Begotten Sun and mUnetsi
(Prod. by @ftrftrftr)
This is another one of my favorites. Don’t get me wrong, as much as I feel tunes like Ma Passport, Swag Yakawandisa etc, it is the out of the box music which really keeps this tape alive. Begotten rips the track apart with his unorthodox Shona flow, ¨ndombonzani ko, begotten sun in law/ mukwasha whe, hukasha, ano busta madiro…¨. But the icing on the cake is the awakening of the sleeping giant, the Mighty mU. What he say again? ¨I’m too strong for you, YOU AS WEAK AS YOUR PASSWORD!!!¨ Nerds.
Dreams So Big feat TehnDiamond
(Prod. by PhatPhat)
Mmmmmmph. I don’t know about this joint. Tight concept, but it seems a bit too experimental. Phat Phat gets it right on the snares but loses it on the kicks. Compared to other tracks on the tape the mix seems a bit rushed. When you finally hear what TehnDiamond is singing on the hook, it makes more sense, but before you do, it just sounds… weird. Karizma goes hard on the track, wearing his heart on his sleeve as he takes his listeners through his dreams, ambitions and fears. Unfortunately, looks like most people will skip this one.
Love and War feat Davina
(Prod. by @rymez)
You can hear this can be a big hit as soon as the track starts. Rymez on the beat, and though this is the first piece of work I’ve heard from him, his reputation precedes him and is well deserved. The track got that old school bounce to it, think Murder Inc 01’ or Cassidy and that other chick, you know Swizz Beat’ ex. Davina adds a nice touch to the tune, but nothing amazing. Karizma reverts back to his storytelling jitsu, you know the story, guy meets girl, girl with someone else, still they hook up, yeah-yeah we heard this before. Safe song, but there are better ones on the tape.
Heartless
(Prod. Emkay)
Hmmm. I like this one. It’s real, it’s original, it’s soul baring. Hear Karizma examines his relationship with Hip-Hop, and asks several questions which anyone chasing a dream would ask themselves, especially when things don’t work out so much as planned. ¨you never told me it would be this hard, when you sold me those dreams of the cd charts/ and even though you said we’d be this far, you didn’t tell me it would change me can you see these scars…¨ Emkay delivers on the beat, which even without the lyrics forces one to do some soul searching. Not for the weak at heart.
Summer O Twelve
(Prod. @BegottenSun)
Okay first of all who the hell made this beat, and can I get one for myself. Wow… Signature Begotten Sun here! This is what made Syn City a hit album, and I can see this being the trend of Zim Hip-Hop for a long time to come. The outro of the mixtape, and yeah this is another one of my favorites. Karizma goes Karizzy with the bars addressing the haters, ¨they think that it was sudden how I popped up, I hear about em a couple bloggers are not chuffed/ they be like ‘why he think he hot stuff’, see me at the shows like, ‘how’s he on the rosta’…¨ and pretty much enjoying his position in the game. ¨musical excursions to the hills, biggest show in town, guess who’s on the bill...¨. A great way to close the album ¨Its an intro not an outro…¨ this is one of the tracks that really shine one the mixtape.
Conclusion
Besides from a shaky track one, this mixtape is quite impressive. It has a strong supporting cast but still Karizma does not get overshadowed by it. This will definitely silence some of his old critics, though it will expose him to a host of new ones. There will be a lot of comparisons between him and several other big names in the industry. Yet this project was a massive effort and it shows. Very few artists in this genre will be able to match the quality of this album. Definitely a great standard to set for 2013. Good looking out for the shout out. 4/5.
Bless.
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