‘Mafia Culture Vol. 2’ measures the methodical brilliance of Idowest [Pulse Album Review]

In Nigeria, the real Hip-Hop is made by the so-called street artists and one of them is Idowest. On ‘Mafia Culture Vol. 1,’ he engaged in a lot of braggadocio about his wealth, street status and the impact of his craft.

But on Mafia Culture Vol. 2, he has grown. As he raps on the Drill record ‘Nu Level,’ he brags that he is on a new level while he was filled with incredible gratitude on the album opener, ‘Jah.’ One can even align his overall positive energy while making this record to its length - 10 tracks - while ‘Mafia Culture Vol. 1’ was an EP.

Aside from his impressive ability as an MC and his unique way with hooks, Idowest’s other impressive skill is his ability to choose impressive pieces of production, defined by chord progression and a deft use of compressed space.

Across the album, Idowest consistently explores genres. ‘Church music’ produces the album intro ‘Jah’ while he explores Amapiano on ‘Caro’ featuring Davido, ‘Kabaa’ featuring Mayorkun and ‘Gbe Body’ featuring Mohbad.

Out of all those Amapiano records, ‘Kabaa’ is on a higher level due to Mayorkun’s seemingly never-ending sauce on the hook.

The best performer on this album is probably Ayanfe, who absolutely dominated every aspect of the love-themed appraisal of a faceless woman on ‘Joro.’ His voice was as soft as a baby’s backside while his technique cut through the beat like a hot knife through butter.

Patoranking is a close second though; with his incredible hook on the street-hop record, ‘Shamaya.’ Whenever Wilmer’s dad decides to perform on Yoruba, he always gets into a street-hop rabbit hole that seemingly transports him back to his days in Ebute-Metta.

Idowest also had bars. Arguably, the best of the bunch is the most disturbing of the bunch. On ‘Nu Level,’ Idowest raps that, “Won fe ki n jabo bi Kobe…”

In English, that means, “They want me to fall like Kobe…”

He employs more sport-related bars on ‘Kabaa’ when he raps, “Ki n re won lo bi Gaucho…”

A reference to Ronaldinho’s dribbling skills, it means “Let me slice them like Gaucho…” Ronaldinho’s surname as a footballer was Gaucho.

His awareness of the current happenings also make him rap that, “E de fe lo mo bi COVID…”

In English that means, “And you guys don’t want to leave again like COVID…”

But with all the pop culture references in his bars - which also makes him reference Alexander Mahone of Prison Break on ‘Famo,’ Idowest fundamentally retains his street essence.

As on ‘Nu Level,’ Idowest shines bright whenever he steps into the world of Hip-Hop. Adequately complimented by the brilliance of Zlatan who shines anytime he lands on a Hip-Hop beat, Idowest tears into the exotic Jazz-Rap of ‘Famo.’

‘Mafia Tension’ featuring Bella Shmurda might have lacked the shock value that one might have dreamed of, but Idowest seldom misses with his features, despite the seemingly excessive rate with which they reoccur.

In the end, Idowest is still formatively vain in his inspiration. He is still driven by women, cars and the good life. However, he says some thought-provoking things.

On ‘Nu Level,’ he quips that “All lives matter” while he raps about greed on ‘Gbe Body’ with a deft reference to Hushpuppi.

‘Jah’ could have done with a Qdot feature though.

Ratings: /10

• 0-1.9: Flop

• 2.0-3.9: Near fall

• 4.0-5.9: Average

• 6.0-7.9: Victory

• 8.0-10: Champion

Pulse Rating: /10

Album Sequencing: 1.5/2

Songwriting and Themes: 1.6/2

Production: 1.6/2