Yung6ix offers a timely reminder of his talent on, 'Introduction To Trapfro' [Album Review]

Yung6ix can make albums. No, Yung6ix makes quality albums. His debut album, ‘6ix O’Clock’ was released in 2014 as a glowing celebration of Afro-pop. 2016’s EP, ‘Billionaire Ambitions’ was followed by the beautiful trap rendition on ‘High Star’ in 2017.

On June 5, 2020, he released his fourth body of work in the 11-track Introduction To Trapfro, a merger of his two strengths as a rapper-singer hybrid; Trap music and Afro-pop. While the EP lacks a thematic glue for its tracks, it is fused together by the ideas that form Yung6ix’s daily life and day-to-day business of getting money.

Even when the topics are obviously fictional, Yung6ix does what he does best and that’s sell it and make it believable. The EP is also concise with apt features and beautiful beat selection. If you thought Yung6ix forgot how to make quality music, this album will prove you wrong.

‘Intro (Wake Up)’ is built on a slowed down Trap&B beat on which Yung6ix tells the story of waking up beside a woman to go about his daily life while drawing inferences with when he used to wake up with no food or hustle. In moments like this, Yung6ix is at his finest, sung-rapping with pristine flows and impressive technique with bars like “Feeling myself, I nor dey wank o, eh!” or “Now I flash so much, you think I work for the airline…”

“0147” is also an interesting number. ‘Decisions’ is a 2019 single that is built on a dancehall beat that you might expect from Odunsi or Santi and it sees Yung6ix discuss conundrums as they relate to a woman. ‘On A Daily (OAD)’ a melodious trap song with a beautiful underlying guitar riff and on it, Yung6ix describes the key parts of his day-to-day life from business to pleasure.

‘Step 1’ is one of the best songs on this album. It’s one of those moments where lyrics don’t matter - just enjoy the vibes. ‘Shole’ brings us back to trap and vanity. Yung6ix embodies an underworld trap lord. And that hook… Oh, that hook is beautiful. Take a bow, Dammy Krane. Instead of Sinzu, I would have put Veen or Kiienka on this track - as impressive as his verse was, this track needed sung-rap, not pure rap.

'Shole' might be two years old, but it's still fresh.

‘Body’ is not a bad song, but it lacks shock value. Something tells this writer that it will be some people’s favourite on this album though. ‘Inna The Benz’ is one of the best songs on this album - E Kelly is a boss for all intent and purposes. Yung6ix didn’t even have to do anything, the pon pon beat did 70% of the work. Even though it dropped in 2019, it's still a beautiful song.

‘What If’ is just a filler and it’s an absolutely cliche of a track - one of those overused Fresh VDM-produced, revised pon pon beats forms its foundation, hence the cynicism. ‘Energized’ is a story of grass to grass built on vibes that could have been done with a Wizkid or Rema feature.

‘You Don See Am’ feels cut from the early days of Rae Sremmurd with a Nigeria soul. Yung6ix gets his hook and features right. Erigga has some bars, but he struggles with his flow scheme and techniques. ‘Work’ suffers from a questionable hook, but the beat is hook. Disally struggles, but Yung6ix saves the day.

Final Thoughts

For the most part, this is a commendable album - some might even say surprisingly good. While the album is topically limited with an excessive fixation on sex and women, Yung6ix saves himself with quality beats, great flow schemes and impressive technique that helps him fuse well with each beat.

When Yung6ix traps out, he's top quality. In the end, this is a timely reminder of Yung6ix's talents.

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

Tracklist: 1.8/2

Content and Themes: 1.0/2

Production: 1.8/2

Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.5/2