HIGH TENSION 2.0 REVIEW: THERE IS MORE TO BELLA SHMURDA THAN THE WORLD KNOWS

        

Bella Shmurda reminds of American super star,Future.Both swept their respective music leagues with a style and voice no one had seen prior.The only point skeptics could effectively raise was that of staying power; whether or not they had the flexibility to wade through the times and not bore anyone after a while with a model some new cat out there was already working on modifying.

Future has since gone on to be a consistent No.1 artiste in the states and if anything,Bella has proven with the High Tension 2.0 EP also that he will be here for long.While recourse to the High Tension (1.0) EP released early last year may be made in a holistic evaluation of his artistry, fact remains Bella Shmurda  became Bella Shmurda when he dropped Cash App.With success may have come more devotion and commitment to the art so it is only fair a critical appraisal starts from that point.

Since Cash App we have seen an artiste with a gift deploy it to use on follow up tracks and features but Bella still needed to allay fears there was more to his game than 'turn up' and High Tension 2.0 does just that.If an artiste sounds natural when he delves into hitherto unvisited territories,then he isn't trying to be an all round artiste,he actually is one.Rush; a pre-released single which helped cement his status as the industry's next big thing (after the monstrous Cash App) is the only turn up song on the EP.The Party Next Door title might suggest otherwise but it is made on a mild overlay.In a nutshell, stereotype Bella started and ended on Rush as far as High Tension 2.0 is concerned.

On the opening track titled Out There (Intro),he soberly preaches courage amidst turbulent times and on the infectious World right after,he caters for upliftment as much as he does for groove.Bella waxes on a rich mid-tempo instrumental-"If I ever lie to the world,I can never lie to myself.If I ever lose to the world,I can never lose to myself.If I ever run from the world,I can never run from myself.Even I don't see nobody,I will always see myself".

Lako and Soldier Go are love songs that tell the same story but in different expressions.While on Lako we see an energetic Bella cruise deftly between pitches on an electronic string-laden instrumental,on Soldier Go; a radio friendly jam with the most potential to blow up on the EP, he adopts the subtle every day love song format to very absorbing effect.

The fact that Bella Shmurda's vocal quality is his number one asset cannot be over-stated and how he goes about his art tells you he doesn't really need much more to succeed-no fancy beats or an elaborate composition,all he does is get on the mic and every beat no matter how ordinary appears sublime.Some may call him a glorified freestylist but he is definitely one from another world.Rip away his vocals from Champion and that beat would appear good for nothing.

Everything points to the fact that Bella Shmurda is here to stay.Best believe.

REXXIE'S 'A TRUE CHAMPION' & MASTAKRAFT'S 'MASTA GROOVE': A TALE OF A PRODUCER AND A BEAT MAKER

If ever anyone would have to tell a difference between Mastakraft and Rexxie,it is that Mastakraft is a producer while Rexxie is a beat maker.The sound tells you everything to expect before you know who these talented soundsmiths are-Mastakraft, at least a decade older with a mostly agbada or suit dress code and Rexxie,much younger with colourful dreads,skinny jeans and boots.The one thing off is while Rexxie deserves more credit than anyone for the new wave street hop movement,he hasn't been as adventurous with the vigour of youth with his sounds as Mastakraft has been.Rexxie seems content with making street hop and afro-pop hits (back to back I must add) but 'Mastaa' has stretched to just about every music genre from house to kwaito.The magical sound of Funkie featuring Tamba Hali is the best testament to how far-reaching Masta's width can stretch.

Either way,both are among the finest producers in the country; top 3 perhaps and when both decided to bless music lovers with their bodies of work within the space of 4 days,it was special.

One thing was certain from the very jump-Rexxie was likelier to serve up the most hits for the younger and far more populated audience that want to dance and sing along while Mastakraft was going to make the more beautiful music.

As far as expectations go,Rexxie does serve up a mostly street hop content with quite a number of catchy tunes; the most impressive being Mofoti 2.0 feat Naira Marley and Sarkodie (if of course one takes out the pre-released Ko po Ke feat Mohbad which is one of the biggest hits in the country).Masta was always going to show off the knack for making those breath-taking instrumentals that require minimal vocal input and he does so fabulously well on the opening 2 tracks of his 7 track Masta Groove EP-Brown Skin with a spoken word flowetry and Big Man Rhythm feat Selebobo.For the pop songs,you can almost feel with your skin Rexxie's desire to speak to versatility when he opens A True Champion with 2 pop songs back to back-Frenemies feat Oxlade and Boi Boi feat Teni.But it is on 2 low tempo songs that we see how well he can do out of his comfort zone- All; a mesmerizing love song feat Davido and For You feat Lyta and Emo Grae.

No disrespect to the phenomenal talent of Rexxie but Mastakraft is a more versatile producer; the 'real' producer school which places much emphasis on all facets of the sound.Uluuluu feat Mr Talkbox and Abeykehh feat Diamond Platnumz and Flavour best attest to that.The beat doesn't have to be catchy,neither does the lyrics,everything just needs to come together to form a magnificent whole.Masta Groove sounds more like a producer's body of work than Rexxie's A True Champion.It doesn't show off beats or an intimidating guest list,it above everything else,shows off production skills.