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LateReview: 'TSEU TSEU' Album by Ex-Q simply a Masterclass!
May 01, 2018Panashe Gomendo |
| EX-Q |
Tamuka,
another Gweru born beat-smith has his touch on this latest gem, basking in the
glory of working with some of the country’s most capable musicians, this time
working on a project by a fellow Military Touch Movement colleague. EX-Q's TSEU TSEU.
Tseu-Tseu was primarily produced by Tamuka da
Magician
Coming only
as a 6th album for ExQ, whp is one of the most intelligent artists in the
industry, Tseu-Tseu is a masterpiece. Ex-Q proves why he is arguably the
greatest creative voice to come out from the slumbering and perhaps 'dead'
Urban Groove genre, with his voice fitting hard hand in glove with his bouncy,
swaggering instrumental choice, exhibited almost in every song.
Tseu Tseu comprises
of 16 tracks and over 7 collaborators including the Military Touch Movement
Convener Jah Prayzah, Trevor Dongo, Madiz, King Of Rap Junior Brown, the jazz legend
Tanga WeKwaSando, Zimdancehall's Freeman, Nutty O, Killer T, Reakado Banks among many other
artists with a massive fusion of the classic Sungura, AfroJazz and modern wavy Afropop sounds.
Tseu -Tseu lead
track Tsvigiri, which had been released off the album with a
smashing hot video that had already hit 100 000 hits by the first week of its release. The best part of the video is that it will keep you intrigued and
engaged throughout the video to find that unraveling end.
Jah Prayzah who features on 'Pahukama' is with no doubt, a club banger. Jah Prayzah on this one makes sure he leave behind
his usual infectious self, delivering another catchy chorus and his usual deep
Shona lines that seems to be destined to be sung over and over again at live
shows as people rile against those that throw dirt on their names through lies. Jah Prayzah' once again shines as he delivers thought provoking lyrics in a quick
and fast, manner matching with the fast track beat.
If Jah Prayzah
provides the food for thought, then Ex-Q serves wine for the mind.
His verses
throughout the album, delivered in the unflustered way that fans have come to
expect from the 'usual' Ex-Q in a 'salala-ic' fashion, allow the listener to
wash down his compatriot’s chorus and chants.
It is a style that fans have grown accustomed to since the turn of the century. In 2000, the rapper dropped Musalala, tale of a pampered urban youth’s struggle to cope with the life and demands of rural Zimbabwe.
Seventeeen years
later, he is on another hit album with 5 albums in-between, making it only the 6th from the rapper. This time signed under Jah Prayzah's MTM, striking
blows against those that are splitting out lies about him. This song came in
the aftermath his 2017 successes on the Zimhiphop platform. Ex-Q makes it clear
that he is here only to make good music.
'People can talk all
they want and involve my name in their ‘Pinocchio’ business but bottom line is
I don’t care.' has always been his message! Talking of that joint with Jnr
Brown dubbed KaLife.
KaLife is one of the best song on the album with
the 'usual' juicy chorus from Ex-Q who delivers it in a 'salala-ic' and
'swagga-refic' manner. Perhaps because of my strong bias towards Zimhiphop, King
Jnr Brown never fails to amaze me. Jnr Breezy's flow on
this track whilst he is ranting and preaching about 'Love', is above average. This
is perhaps a happy song.
In Kalife ExQ
chants about good vibes, good energy, good people and living a life which is
negative energy free.
“My mission is just
to make good music for my fans and that’s what I’m concentrating on. I thank
God for my talent and the phase I am at, at the moment, it’s all God’s work and
blessings,” said Ex Q shortly before the release of this album.
While the other
songs in this album are a worthy reply to those who hate him, one can argue
otherwise that Ex-Q’s longevity in the world of music is a worthy enough
counter-blow on its own.
It is rare for any
musician to survive a decade in an industry with such a high turnover of
superstars. This is even more-so for rappers, who always run the risk of being
replaced in the blink of an eye whenever a new wordsmith emerges.
The search for new,
exciting voices never stops, and in a genre dominated by youthful listeners,
successfully maintaining a spot on the charts can be an impossible task. As has
been seen with artists that he has added on this Jam as features. Talk of the
Jazz Maestro Tanga WekwaSando on Bvuma, which reminds me how good
he was and obviously the forgotten superb- Rhumba artist Madiz on Unyerere who
seems to have been in the shadows of the Zimbabwean economy. Well at least he
has not forgotten about his long time colleagues.
The stars of
yesterday are either languishing in the music wilderness or barely scraping a
living on the fringes of Zimbabwean music. Personally, through the feature on
the song entitled Unyerere, was shocked to learn that Madiz is
still in this country.
Unyerere, however is quite a good piece of art which
may bring you back into time when Madiz used to be an artist to reckon with,
chiefly because it has an afro-rhumba fusion basically a Madiz trademark on it.
On this piece of art he really makes it easy to concede to the fact that he is
one of the top artist with work expertise and experience, hungry to make a
comeback. 'Madiz arikutiregerera!'
Ex-Q however, has
defied those odds by the strides, surely, continuing with that momentum again
this year. So far by looking at TSEU TSEU he has not showed
the desire to either slow down or hand over the button to competitors.
Tseu Tseu the main
track of the album talks about Ex-Q's musical long journey,
the ride so far, the highs and the lows, the ambitions, the wishes wished upon to achieve
the success his name has carried over the years, in his career. Tseu Tseu can
also be attributed to mean 'slowly but sure one step taken to reach that
desired success'. Those who have goals and ambitions will relate to Ex-Q
story.
When one looks at
the current Zimbabwean music landscape particularly ZimHipHop which he is
controversially attributed to, it is vastly different and has a lot of
varieties from what it was a decade ago. That is why most, if not all of the
times he is categorized under 'Alternative'. At the end its all about being creative!
The stars of
yesterday are either languishing in the music wilderness or barely scraping a
living on the fringes of Zimbabwean music. Personally, through the feature on
the song entitled Unyerere, was shocked to learn that Madiz is
still in this country.
Unyerere, however is quite a good piece of art which
may bring you back into time when Madiz used to be an artist to reckon with,
chiefly because it has an afro-rhumba fusion basically a Madiz trademark on it.
On this piece of art he really makes it easy to concede to the fact that he is
one of the top artist with work expertise and experience, hungry to make a
comeback. 'Madiz arikutiregerera!'
Without any doubt
whatsoever, the Zimdancehall tidal wave swept away many urban grooves stars
from the top of the charts and replaced with chanters whose finger is on the
pulse of the everyday Zimbabwean youth’s struggle. That is why we have seen a polarization
of 'hip-hop meets dance-hall' features lately where one Zimhiphop rapper join
hands with another artist from Zimdancehall to create a banger. This also explains his joint with
Freeman, the HKD Boss and probably another Zimdancehall King - Freeman, on Nzenza.
NZENZA is totally a feminist song about women with
a moral lesson which advocates for the empowerment and uplift-ment of women
in general and is the campaign tool to advocate and encourage men to stop acts
of abusing,degrading and shaming woman in society while on the notion is a song
about a man who proclaims his unconditional love for his woman regardless of
her flaws and shortcomings which are frowned upon by society. And its also
about being proud of who you are!
Usandirambidze is a thought provoking song to all the love
birds everywhere featuring Trevor wekwaDongo and the Zimdancehall Chanter Nutty
O. Trevor D makes sure you know, that he is arguably one of the
most talented RnB singers and song writers in the country. The talented crooner chorus is as swift as he can possibly be. The pop factor again in this track
is delivered by Nutty O whose verse on the track is just swift as well
this time ranting a bit slow and lousy! Making it the most swift song on the
album'
Looking at all these
components and fusing elements of this jam, some people and fans will question
why he included his earlier songs that he released to be part of this album but, It could be because he had kept on postponing to numerous release dates and pushing them back without
any satisfactory explanation whatsoever or could be seen as a formula that Mr
Putiti has adopted. We surely don't know?
ExQ’s urban grooves
partners are nowhere near the charts. Wordsmiths like Extra Large and Maskiri
are nowhere to be found while Roki is trying to stage another revival in South
Africa after his umpteenth brush with controversy.
Urban grooves’
songbirds are gone too, with the likes of Betty Makaya seemingly now content
with leading a life away from the bright lights of super-stardom.
However, ExQ has
seemingly survived this apocalypse, soldiering on as he proves that true
greatest can even outlast a genre.
The earlier releases Let’s Talk About It and the hit club banger Nhema are also part of album.
Here are the names
of the standout songs on TSEU TSEU
- NZENZA ft Freeman
- TSVIGIRI
- MUSIKANZWA
- USANDIRAMBIDZE ft Trevor Dongo
and Nutty O
- PAHUKAMA ft Jah Prayzah
- BVUMA ft Tanga Wekwasando
- TEDDY BEAR
- TSEU TSEU
Get a feel of my personal
favorite track down below from the whole Jam:
https://itunes.apple.com/kg/album/tseu-tseu/1372698611
