Category: Album – 12 tracks, runtime – 36 min
Genre: Afro-electro, dance, alternative rap
Release Date: 21.November.2024
Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ – 9.7/10
Odd point to start on, but there’s 14 other artists on the support roster on here. Of course, we’ve chanced upon projects with more before, but the difference here is the cohesion of the outcome. With all the eclectic diversions & peacockery going on, “Olympean” still oozes one man’s identity. Point is, mwami is intense! And we’re okay with that being interpreted in ways more than one😅
In way of themes, it’s hard to ignore how worldly bro is. From the native-soaked opener contrasting regional trad sounds with suavely modern production, to a Stromae-esque frenchy feel on “danser”, & chants and quirkily placed sermon excerpts on a couple of tracks like “boyscouts”. Neat.
Fav track on this sucker had to be “daisy” ft Kohen Jaycee, whose altered vocals added an extra sleek dimension to it. It’s comical how brief it is. Even more impressive is the jarring proggy approach to it. I’m willing to bet our main man helps himself to some prog/experimental/math rock in his free time. Would be fun to extensively dig into his influences. Speaking of digging, bro’s aggressively sensual, it’s an attack at this point😂…no complaints whatsoever, we’re lapping it up. What with the vibrating pipes and the campy tension!
Elsewhere, our pick for most complimentary collab is MAUIMØON on “the wine garage”. It’s an achievement not to be mogged by the main man, but he pulled it off, crooning across jolty beats and a spasmodic carpet of sound underneath it all.
Overall, mwami’s outdone himself. If it weren’t in the interest of naked honesty, we’d desist from raving about it all. But we’re all about a neutral evaluation, and sometimes this is where it leads; according praise to where it’s due. On a more adventurous note, if you happen to be scheming through this piece, mwami, may we interest you in a Canadian duo called MONEYPHONE; we have a feeling you’ll love’em & it wouldn’t be hard for you to set a collab with them, ‘cause y’all on the same tangent & they’re pretty chill & accessible. This is a first for us to suggest this typa thing publicly, but we digress, back to the project at hand. Immaculate delivery here; impressionné!
