Category: Album – 18 tracks, runtime – 48 min
Genre: Afro fusion, R‘n’B, Afrobeats
Release Date: 30.August.2024
Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ – 7.8/10
Yeah, uhm, this is cheating, Cohen Mwesigwa… But we too can play. We’ll do this a bit differently from previous entries in this category. Instead of a comb-through of individual tracks, we’ll go for a topical evaluation of the project.
Highlights
Let’s talk about that intro, folks! Dang thing raised many questions in our heads.
Its less-than-a minute duration bears influences we’d not imagined Kohen would draw from. Did he anyway? Like, there’s a proggy sound to the piece, a Pink Floyd feel. But is our man of the hour even into an act like that, as to listen & draw its spirit out for use in his own art? It gave us a think, as did many other aspects of the album.
Elsewhere, our standout track is that gently stampy “Nva Wala” joint, featuring Maurice Kirya. All factors aggregated, it bore the most apt combination of material, execution, dynamism & a bold embrace of risk.
In the same vein, we had a pick for the best member of the support roster on the project; and it’s none other than hip-hop mainstay Navio on “Night Like This”. He pulls an unforeseen move with the dragged melodic approach, before launching into his signature bars. Quite fitting for the track’s overall sensual laze.
Thematic Clustering
“Rwebembera” is a freaking 18-track album! Ballsy, huh? Anyways, what tends to happen with projects that have this many pieces is, they’re often arranged to have a sonic divide between what comes before a certain point & after it. Say, the first half could be high energy & the last contemplative and so on. But that’s not the case on this project. There’s a bit of every vibe everywhere on here. And so, to explore links & distinctions between its content, we’ll be mechanical about pooling together pieces by their corresponding themes. Here goes.
Sonically speaking, the intro & outro, and to a subtle extent “Nva Wala”, bear elements of progressive pop. Spacey & big on atmosphere, sustained pensive melodies, eccentric leaks & riffs. Similarly, numbers like “Rulendere” & “Sing” share a kinship of sound, both falling squarely into the realm of bouncy harmony-heavy Afrobeats.
In terms of the project’s intentional themes, “Dancé”, along with “Byoyagala” & the similarly indulgent “Weekend” and “10:30” are carried by a youthful hedonism, allusive to growth as is represented by the color green. [Color-concept match from prerelease notes]. Whereas tracks like the aforementioned “Ability”, along with “Theodore’s Interlude”, implicatively add a dimension of royalty, as is signified by a golden hue in the notes. For one, there’s something suavely regal about being assured of an upward artistic trajectory, on the former track. In the same way, the latter track’s use of a reference to the artist’s son is charmingly princely in how it centers him with tenderness.
That’s touching & all, but if we’ll laud the highs of the project, it’s only impartial to also highlight the patchy & less than delightful side of it. To begin with, Kohen (bless his earnest soul) has a sweetness of temperament to him, just by his demeanor, which, while potentially cool, can be jarring when paired with a lyrically sexual gusto. In moments when this happens, the attitude and language seem a bit forced. Staying on the point of language, another low is what amounts to redundantly repetitive lines in instances like the main refrain on “The Way”. The repetition would be okay if not patchily tiring. Thankfully, it’s balanced out the song’s brevity.
Ups & downs of breaking ground
We’re persuaded we’re witnessing a seminal work in real time. Barring shortcomings, the intricacy & innovative layeredness with which Kohen has approached this project are bound to be influential on the scene. We just hope that the acclaim that results from it doesn’t ensnare him into making the project a limiting template for his future work. Anyways, as for now, we hope he takes some time to busk in it. He deserves all the rave reactions he’s bound to get. Take it in, we say!
