Blaqbonez has released a new tape titled Last Time Under, which is a follow-up to 2015’s impressive introduction – Cassettes, Tapes and TVs. CTT was an exciting project to listen to because Blaq approached it not only as an MC aspiring to be great but also as a rap fan, like the rest of us.

Even though it was clear that he was still searching for his sound, the focus seemed to be on lyricism, on being dynamic with the music and also on taking a stance on the direction of Nigerian hip-hop culture. Having already fired off a diss at Yung 6ix at the time, the OAU undergrad had already made it known that he felt let down by the rappers he’d looked up to in the industry, even Illbliss was collateral damage.

Listen to “Warning” below:

Blaqbonez didn’t bite his tongue when offering his 2 cents on their matter on CTT either. Interestingly, one of the rappers the rapper taunted (on “Shake Your Back”) was Vector. Which was confusing because Blaq was a runner-up in the King Kong contest that VEC organized a few months before the CTT tape dropped. Not only that, Blaqbonez and Vector would later rap in the same cypher in the Hennessy Cypher 2016.

Anyway, Vector would also collaborate with Blaq on the remix to “Rambo” and help to make that song the promising MC’s most popular record till date. “Rambo” wasn’t included on the new Last Time Under mixtape, but here are 3 songs that were and you absolutely need to hear:

1. Not Many

This song is one big boast when it comes down to it – Blaqbonez sees himself as one-of-one and even if there are others like him, there aren’t many. With an attitude like this, no one can ever accuse the young MC of lacking self esteem. Blaqbonez’ supreme confidence seems to come from his uniqueness as an artist. On “Not Many” he beats his chest, while gliding over one of the more sparsely produced songs on the mixtape with finesse.

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When you’re this confident, you’re bound to have people who try to deflate your ego but Blaq’s unlooking game is too strong.

They’re hating, they’re crowding my mentions

They get get no reaction like Beyonce in the elevator

This is certainly one of the better songs on the project.

2. No English

A key difference between LTU and CTT is the sound, particularly in the density of the production work. On LTU, the emphasis is on creating heavy, trunk-rattling trap anthems that are drenched in 808 drums. The casualty in this sonic change? Bars. Blaq’s emphasis is less on rhyming and more on finding wavy melodies. Sometimes his raps come out as a mumble as a result but it’s obvious that the young MC sees a future in this trap lane.

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This is music to ride to. But one challenge that trap music, in its current form, has is that it isn’t rooted in many cultural element that are local to Nigeria. So for instance, except you picked a shorty up from the village, how realistic is it for her not to know a word of English? That’s obviously a foreign inference and the onus is on rappers like Blaqbonez to find ways to plug trap music into Nigerian youth culture in order to give the art form some life – art is supposed to imitate life.

3. Levels

Speaking of culture, Blaqbonez is like a culture critic of sorts – although he is less critical of the local hip-hop community on this project than he was on CTT, the outspoken MC still has a lot to say. On “Levels”, Blaq addresses a bunch of issues on his mind, from rappers living false lives on social media, to questioning their work ethic in the booth, all the way to addressing the elephant in the room – his own switch to trap music on this new tape.

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Ironically the people tryna to tell me how to make am

Those people so underground that they remind me of Satan

The change is against the best wishes of a lot of his fans and colleagues but Blaqbonez seems to be adamant that he has made the right switch. He’s even adopted the new moniker ‘Wave Boy’. If his career really takes off after this, then he’ll be vindicated.

With that said, there are still a number of proper rap songs on the 18-track long Last Time Under mixtape that you can cram the lyrics to, that is, if you’ve refused to surf along on his new wave. Skr skr.

Listen to the full tape below:

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