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EP Review: K4mo – 4Ever EP

I love hearing upcoming Nigerian artists so it was a pleasure to hear this project. The new EP is by Nigerian born British artist K4mo. This EP is a follow up from his 2020 project ‘Spider‘.

You may recognise his voice from the hit song by Mr Eazi and Major Lazer which also featured Nicki Minaj! The song ‘Oh My Gawd‘ feature K4mo’s vocals on the intro and the hook.

The EP starts off with the vibrant track “2 Slugs“. One thing you can always guarantee with afrobeat inspired projects is that the production and beats will always be top tier! You can usually feel the energy trying to be conveyed via the song and this EP is living proof of this argument.

One of my favourite tracks from the EP would be “Lamba” featuring SK. I love the fusion of K4mo’s different tones on the song. SK also adds a bit of spice with his input . This is the perfect track to zone out to.

Another solid track that stood out for me would have to be “Diana“. The song has a Carribean/Dancehall feel to it with a steel pan kind of mood.

Chain Reaction‘ is also a stand out track on the EP. With this song we are able to hear K4mo’s rapping ability. His flow on this song is very impressive while still maintaining his melodic sound.

The EP is a great glimpse of the talent of K4mo and possibly a hint at even more to come!

Check out the EP below which is out now.

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#MusicMondays – Blxst – No Love Lost EP.

Happy Monday everyone and belated happy new month! I hope you all had a great weekend! I pray this month is a month of blessings for us all!

Today’s Music Monday isn’t really that new in terms of release but it’s new for me! I recently stumbled upon the artist Blxst and really enjoyed his music. I discovered he had released this EP ‘No Love Lost‘ a few months ago (September 4th – my birthday coincidentally!!!). My favourite songs from the project were: “Overrated”, “Wrong or Right” and “Be Alone”.

Fun Fact: The song “Overrated” uses a sample from one of my favourite singers Donell Jones’ song “This Luv“. Check out my previous post on him below:

It’s very rare that an artists can flip an already class song like Donell’s and still make it sound like their own. Blxst did a really great job!

Have a listen to the EP below!

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#MusicMondays – Tems: For Broken Ears EP

Happy Monday Everyone! Another new week and the last few days of September already! Today’s Music Monday entry is from new Nigerian sensation Tems!. Tems, a Nigerian singer, who may be known already for her song “Try Me” or her recent hit single ‘Damages’ follows up with a debut EP entitled “For Broken Ears“.

As a description and explanation of the projects Tems wrote;

My favourite tracks from this EP will have to be ‘Damages’ and ‘Free Mind’. For me, Tems has a very unique voice that I feel touches on so many kind of genres; Afrobeats, Alternative R&B, Soul… it would be hard to box her into only 1. She reminds me of an African version of Koffee. Hopefully this is the beginning of more to come and it will be such a pleasure seeing her grow and shine.

Check out the video for Damages below and check out her EP which is out now.

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#NewMusicFriday Kintsugi EP by Lexi Tréble!

#NewMusicFriday is here and todays post is dedicated to the debut EP from Lexi Tréble!!

I had the privilege of hearing the EP a few days ago and honestly, hand on heart I have been playing it ever since. Having spoken to Lexi, it is clear her musical influences definitely come from artists such as Solange Knowles, IAMDDB, Lauryn Hill and many more soul/jazz/r&b artists. The EP title “Kintsugi” is Japanese and is the art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. According to Lexi this is relevant as for her she believes it relates to life and the idea of growing and healing with situations in life. The Japanese theme is also reflected within the artwork and visuals she has released. From this I knew this EP was going to be a meaningful piece of art.

The first track “Crash and Burn” is a brilliant opening track. I always talk about the importance of intro tracks on projects as it’s the first chance for the artist to show us who they are. As soon as the track starts and Lexi sings, I can tell this is going to be an interesting track. The juxtapositioning of the anticipation provided by the background music and the title of the track for me is perfect. She is singing about crashing and burning which indicates it is the end of something, but the music makes it feel like more is to come. I feel this song will be perfect in a movie or tv show where there is something about to happen, maybe a chase scene. A great intro track as it leaves you wanting more and wondering what other sound can be produced!

The next track “Go” starts off with a slower pace but picks up throughout. It’s funny because I feel Lexi’s voice is quite unique which is rare nowadays. This song is the kind that would sound even more amazing with a live band! The vocal ranges she exhibits in this song is the standout moment for me. I get the impression that she is telling the romantic interest that he should leave because of his actions and she is realising all she has is herself. The content reminds me of Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself and I” with the idea that you can only really rely on yourself. The uncertainty continues into the track “Distant Memories” as she sings “I find myself questioning love
you called me your muse but now I’m just your fool”. This is one of my favourite tracks from the EP as I feel the combination of the beats and Lexi’s voice have the best combination. The uncertainty continues into the track “Distant Memories” as she sings “I find myself questioning love
you called me your muse but now I’m just your fool”. This is one of my favourite tracks from the EP as I feel the combination of the beats and Lexi’s voice have the best combination.

The 4th track from the EP “Superficial” is my absolute favourite. The content/message, sound, compositing is just perfect. Again, this is another song that would be perfect live with an audience singing back. This song is the kind of song I would play for my little cousins in order for them to take the messages being put across. This is an important song in a society where most people are superficial and distracted by unmeaningful things. Lexi sings “Don’t be so superficial, there’s more to life
when you go outside live life to your fullest, don’t need no designer to feel alright”. Lexi reminds us that life is about the simple things and not the artificial moments. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the idea of maintaining an image or impressing others but we have to remember life is for living. There is more to life than designer labels, Instagram likes or chasing boys or girls. This will be the first single released from the tape too so I look forward to seeing the video for this!

Love Me Right” is a powerful self-loving anthem. Lexi sings “I’ve got to love me right” meaning that love starts from within before anything else. Going with the theme of the EP, the end of EP focusses on the regeneration of Lexi. In the song she sings “I know that real love has got to start with me”;

We have seen how she was broken in the beginning and how through the journey of healing she is realising what is important and is putting herself back together. The final track “Look At Me Now” is the perfect ending to the EP as Lexi reflects at how far she has come “Look at me now, I’m not the same little child
oh how I’ve changed”. A self-reflecting therapeutic song where we see how much Lexi has grown and how she now sees the bad moments as lessons.

As the first realised EP from Lexi, this is pretty impressive. The EP stuck to theme and took us listeners on a journey through every song. Every song had its own meaning and back story while still keeping a unique sound to each. I have personally added every song to my ‘Vibes’ Spotify playlist and I hope this is the beginning of more music from Lexi.

Check out her music below as well as her socials;

https://www.instagram.com/lexitreble/

hyperurl.co/d9frh5