Category: EP – 6 tracks, runtime – 16 min
Genre: Afrofusion, R&B, Afro Indie
Release Date: 10.March.2025
Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ – 10/10
Uhm… sheesh* Look, up until now, there’s been only one project that’s ever gotten a full 10/10 from us. And as you likely know, that’s Tungi’s monumental “Life of Sound” EP. Not even Tungi himself could match it, both in its aftermath and even in comparison to his past projects. Like, we went back and evaluated his prior output just to probe the latter. But let’s get back to the present moment & our main man Kyle: “Person” finally matches up to a full scale in score! Like we’ve drummed home the point over & over that it’s no easy feat. We don’t do puff-pieces or disguised promo. When we rave about a joint, that’s us verbalizing nothing more than our raw sentiments. To plastically deny honor where it’s due in bid of keeping a reputation of being stringent is just as conceptually cheesy as exaggeratedly lauding a project. Principle is, granting cred where it’s due. And dang is it due here!
For clarity’s sake, it’s not that this is the most sonically innovative or absorbing joint we’ve chanced upon. We can think of a couple of them we reviewed that didn’t achieve a full scale. But the gist of it all is an elemental balance. Let’s head in for a fuller appreciation of it.
From the opener, which is concurrently the title track, there’s an intentionality in even the slightest of parts that make up the sum. Executional subtleties like a mild throat clear & the brief missable backdrop of a crowd, followed by psych-y acoustic guitar play, are a deceptively simple device on here that traps attention across the span of the piece. At no point does it feel like a filler. That’d be certainly hard in any case, given the draw of Kyle’s dry raw ethereal pipes that pack loved up lines, hovering over compellingly atmospheric stringwork.
The second track, aptly titled, well, “#2”, would have been a merely enjoyable, melodically safe, inspirational followup without as much strength in individual moments, if it weren’t for a delightfully dissonant alteration of the guitar towards the end. In the same vein, the followup’s quite a vibe, but what we’d really like to get into is what we’ll dub the joint of two Kyles, that is, the project’s fourth gem “Baby Cakes”. Simbwa teamed up with Senté(za), who himself is a fav of the team back here. Scattered with insertions of equalized call simulations, we suppose for a rawer artsy feel amidst its predominantly synthetic production, the track’s a beast when the momentum picks up. It houses Simbwa’s most absorbingly unique vocal work on the EP, especially in the hooky portions. It’s also noteworthy that the joint’s the most sensual of all the tracks, accentuated by Senté’s best support roster work in a long minute. Magic combo that* And it only makes sense that the next track,“Hooked”, is placed after it in sequence, easing the joint even further in a straightforward Afrofusion direction.
The closer “Hit n Run” ft Suubi is another inflection point on the project, & yet it’s also a whole journey on its own, in that it resolves its own momentum satisfactorily as to seal up the EP’s high energy ends. Our highlights are Suubi’s soothing vocal work & the fuzzed up 80’s-ish synth-poppy sonic carpet that buoys up the entire piece.
Over all, though by no means short of maverick moments, what makes this project stand out even more is the intricately balanced combination of self aware songwriting, moderation in support roster, consistency in sonic and conceptual themes, and some rather neat curation & sequencing of material. We’re sold, Kyle, keep cheffing!
