EP REVIEW: Pulse reviews Idowest's 'Mafia Culture Vol. I'

The conundrum of being a Hip-Hop lover born in the ‘90’s and growing up on quality albums sometimes means finding it hard to endorse modern albums where enjoyability is the goal and not lyricism, topics or themes.

Mafia Culture Vol. I is one of those albums, but this was always an inevitable phase of Hip-Hop, and we have to flow with the time and accept it or die with conservative standards that hold little sway in contemporary times.

Before we go ahead, let’s get one thing clear, ‘shepeteri’ is the Nigerian version of ‘the trap,’ or the ‘trap lifestyle.’

Here is song-by-song review of Mafia Culture Vol. I;

Ye Mama

This is definitely a song from the trap generation, it feels like something off Future’s Streets Callin or Beast Mode I produced by London On Da Track. The trap drums are good and so are the piano chords and bass chords that follow the kick drums. The song is introspective on the struggles of life and the fabled ‘come up.’

Suprinsingly, Idowest chronicles the story of his switch to music due to insufficient funds for a University education. He talks about how he started sending Davido direct messages on social media in 2017 and called Lati (Davido’s personal assistant) for months without a response.

In the end, the song is about how the fire of the struggle stokes the desire for success.

A Day Money

I’m not entirely sold on the move from mellow trap music of ‘Ye Mama’ to the fleeting world of furious gqom on ‘A Day Money’. The song itself is not bad, but something is off about the track list. That flow is off and there was no segue.

Music sometimes needs to align, and for music lovers that transcend the shepeteri listeners, this could seem a lazy attempt at making music and drive harsh criticism towards 'A Day Money.'

For what a shepeteri dance song is meant to be, ‘A Day Money’ should light up dancefloors across the country if it is pushed well. It has every ingredient from the catchy rhymes like, “Jeropa muropa…” to the bland lines like, “Gbera ma gbera, ote ma na…” while the beat runs like a car with damaged breaks.

It’s just such a pity that Drumface (the producer) left the best part of the beat – a beautiful bass string accentuating the beat – till 3:03 of 3:18.

Skr Skr featuring Abramsoul

By far the most impressive song on this track list. A blend of beautifully arranged kick drums, with two impressive bass layers that interchange, depending on when they come on and beautiful guitars that Metro Boomin will be proud of. Shout-out to Drumface for this beat.

There comes a time when the production is more important than the rap. This is one of those moments. I like Idowest’s Meek Mill-esque flows and he should be proud of his technique, timing and switch of pace when it matters.

I do feel this should have followed ‘Ye Mama’ on the track list as track two while ‘A Day Money’ should have been track three. The hook… Oh, the hook is perfect and so are the adlibs.

Forever

Shepeteri afrobeat. I like the topic as Idowest raps about the typical Lagos ratchet love affair. I mean, Idowest moves directly from talking about love to the uncouth conversations of sex. To the shepeteri, sex is as much a part of the conversation of the famous ‘toasting phase’ as anything is. The story is authentic.

In that space, local bars are where the girl brings her friends to see her new man. This is the shepeteri version of a date at the movies or Hard Rock Café - for those who can afford it. I like the topic, but I am not sold on the production from a dance song point of view at all. There is a disconnect.

WHO

The song title seems at loggerheads with everything on the song. How ‘WHO’ plays into all of this is subject to intense thought, but the production is fire.

Again, shout-out to Drumface who is showing his ability to effortlessly switch between genres.

Jaiye Featuring Yonda

This is another trap song from the ‘Skr Skr’ constituency. I also like the fact that Yonda sang on the hook. I also like how he rhymes ‘o’ on the hook to words that mean the same thing in Yoruba and English – we shall not mention those words in this review, thank you. If you know, you know.

Yonda’s hook is good, but not excellent. Yet, it encapsulates the trap-shepeteri lifestyle as seemingly intended and the technique on his verse, which shows an understanding of trap music and the beat itself while talking shepeteri gives me joy. It’s original.

Dripilos

Drumface is an excellent producer. This beat is brilliant trap&b. In some ways, it reminds of Mike Will Made It’s brilliance on Lil Wayne’s ‘Love Me,’ but Drumface was brilliant enough to infuse a The Runners-esque percussion into it.

This isn’t bad.

Verdict

Idowest has bars. Fortunately or unfortunately, this is not an album you can judge on brilliance lyricism, even though it’s a Hip-Hop album. It's simply about vibes and how enjoyable it is.

With four whole trap beats and three shepeteri sounds, judging on lyricism or astute songwriting will be harsh. That said, Idowest did perform well – but not excellently – whenever he felt like telling stories. There is also the commendable part chronicling ‘shepeteri things’ with original language which depicts the lifestyle itself.

The production is good on three songs, excellent on three and questionable on one while the tracklist has only one blemish; ‘Skr Skr’ should have been track two while ‘A Day Money’ is track three.

For what the album is meant to be, it is good and the trap songs are quite enjoyable, but I’m not entirely sold on all the afrobeats songs barring ‘A Day Money’ which could do well. It’s not a bad album, but it’s not excellent either.

Ratings: /10

• 0-2: Flop

• 2.1-4.0: Near fall

• 4.1-6.0: Average

• 6.1-8: Victory

• 8.1-10: Champion

Pulse Rating:

Production: 1.9

Enjoyability and Delivery: 1.5

Cohesion: 1.6

Track List: 2.3

Total: