Rappers tend to take themselves seriously. Years before and aeons after the god MC Rakim spelt out his credentials on the seminal rap record “I Ain’t No Joke,” rappers have found a billion and one ways to show, and in some cases tell, us just how nice they are in front of a microphone. Mainly used as a form of expression, with an increasingly wide palette that gives unlimited license to its participants to explore unlimited amount of topics, one of the long-running canons of rap, which also happens to be one of its perks, is in the implied competitiveness that’s attached to it – no rapper wants to be at the bottom of the figurative ladder. To be a rapper means being a competitor. Even though introspection, up to the point of unabashed navel-gazing, has gained a foothold at rap’s epicentre over the last decade, machismo is still very much involved and will forever be important.
In all of its testosterone filled glory, though, an important part of the genre is for rappers to (try to) have fun while making music, and also transmit that energy to their listeners. As well as rap music is suited to “more” substantial, tougher topics, it’s also as malleable in creating viscerally enjoyable music. Since it’s one of the MC’s primary duties to move the crowd, aiming for full-bodied reactions, or a more chilled out equivalent, from listeners in the most unassuming way possible is a noble pursuit that’s often underappreciated. Although hardcore rap, as it is referred to, is often placed on a high pedestal because of how much it prioritizes lyrics, softcore rap that embraces “vibes,” as we kids call it these days, deserves a podium of its own as well. Besides, it doesn’t mean that lyrics have no place in softcore rap—no matter how whimsical or simplistic, lyrics will forever be important to rap music—it’s just that the, even if some of the lyrics remain heady, the themes would be brighter and carry less weight.
While lyric-centric rappers dial down the mean mugging or cerebral shit to tap into their jiggy side for a few customary cuts on their albums, in search of balance, diversity or a hot single, it can also be quite gratifying when they entirely model their style into something more summery for an entire body of work. From the outside looking in, it might seem very easy to make a few light-hearted songs and throw them all together in service of a project, but it takes one or more deft hands to put together a project that’s upbeat and wholesome, relaxed and engaging. Curating and crafting an altogether fun rap album, one that’s entirely listenable from front to back, requires being able to mix pop instincts with the natural rap dispositions in service of something that’s decidedly more inclusive, which is what M.I and Show Dem Camp achieved with Rendezvous and Palmwine Music 2 respectively.
Rendezvous and Palmwine Music 2, both 2018 albums (I really don’t care for that playlist tag) from a veteran rapper and a rap duo made up of veterans respectively, were eagerly awaited comeback projects upon public notice, but they saw their creators nicely flipping such high stakes positions into hassle-free but substantial releases. To be clear, these examples (probably) aren’t the only examples of top-to-bottom, solely-made-of-out fun-subjects rap albums, but they are the most recent in Nigerian hip-hop, and they also happen to be well helmed and critically acclaimed. Looking closer at the fine print of both albums reveals three slightly broad but equally important moving parts essential to a great, simply fun rap project.
1. Ethos
Without the clarity of a throughline, an album can lose a few cool points or totally bottom out due to the lack of a discernible strategy, which, in this case, could make a project filled with chippy rap songs sound like it was treated as something rather humdrum by the artist(s). While rap albums with an overarching concept are expected to be knotty, and the idea here is to create something loose, it is still important that there is a guiding light that elevates the predictable element of fun into a more significant premise. Be it explicit or implicit, a defined attitude brings with it a much-needed air of precision and togetherness to the album, which intrinsically extends itself into sequencing and pacing.
On Rendezvous, M.I superbly tacks on a storyline that includes a night out with friends, where songs not only accompanies a specific event, they set and steals the scene in equal measure. The winded drowsiness of “Sunset” captures the feeling of finally wading through Lagos evening traffic before the energy is dialled up a few notches on “Soup,” while “Kososhi” personifies the bravado and urgency right for its description. Musically, Rendezvous is intentionally scatter-brained, which would be par for the playlist course, but since it is unified by clear thematic cohesion in form of succeeding events, a sense of purpose underpins and emphasizes the diversity on display, while also showcasing M.I’s vastly improved abilities as an auteur/curator.
Where M.I has to be blatant and more elaborate with Rendezvous, Show Dem Camp simply have to rely on the title of their album, and it’s just as effective. Prior to the release of last year’s Palmwine Music, Vol. 1, it was clear, right from the cover art, that the duo was taking a divergent, good-humoured path away from their Clone Wars series—the press release stated that the EP would expound on the sound they briefly toyed with on “Feel alright,” their biggest single at the time. As a sequel to a highly successful first entry, you knew what to expect from Palmwine Music 2, and that aura of familiarity translates into an assertive approach. Without the gra-gra rapping that’s synonymous to Clone Wars, and the overt search for balance that coloured The Dreamer Project, SDC are unabashed in the exploration of their more commercial side on the Palmwine Music franchise, a side that is more identifiable by the fairer side of their fanbase as it is enjoyable by the day ones.
2. Camaraderie
Putting together a jolly album is not the best time to go full J. Cole. Collaborations bring colour, and colour signifies fun. To create an album with a wide base in mind, one that probably even crosses generational lines means crafting songs in the most traditional way possible, which means hooks are indispensable. While rappers are expected to bring their best possible pen to bear at all times for standout verses, the space between successive verses needs to be filled with highly memorable, anthemic hooks, most of the time melodic ones. Since rappers often have passable singing voices, delegating these parts to singers and relegating themselves to their preferred fortes serves the album well. A couple of outsourced rap verses don’t hurt as well.
Across the nine full songs on Palmwine Music 2, at least one singer is featured on the hook of each. The structure of every record on the album follows a similar hook-verse-hook-verse-hook pattern, and it’s mighty effective in its simplicity because of the inch-perfect execution provided by each thoughtfully placed guest artist. While Palmwine Music 2 is very much reliant on its patented sound, it also finds a middle ground that coins in and relies on the ideal sonic choices of the featured artists – you gotta make your guests comfortable too, right? Burna Boy continues his mean streak on instant SDC classic “Legend,” which also features an uncredited but all too important contribution by Efya, and Lady Donli fashions the rich shrill of her voice into soothing vocals on “For A Minute,” while Tomi Agape owns “Love On Weekends” with the sensual hue of her voice.
Rendezvous, in the same vein as M.I’s 2014 The Chairman album, features half a dozen more artists than the number of songs on the entire project. At that, there’s nary a misplaced, unexciting feature. From alluring hooks to dazzling guest 16’s/32’s, features find the juicy middle between thoughtful intention and solid execution. Nonso Amadi wraps “Playlist” with his trademark charm, Wande Coal sounds charged up on “Kososhi,” and Moelogo’s spry tenor anchors M.I’s gruffly singing on “One Way,” while South African rappers Cassper Nyovest and AKA deliver stunning verses on respective appearances. Beyond the impressive guest vocals, skits from famous internet personalities and radio presenters provide perfect segues in between tracks, as well as deepen the picturesque illusion of the attached storyline. They may seem secondary to the music, but these non-musical features are vital in making a narrative that’s obviously an afterthought seem plausible.
3. Pristine Music
There’s no fun if the music sounds like ass. No matter how well-intentioned it is, an album with fun at its centre is only potent if the overall music is as enjoyable as possible. While solid production is important to anything rap, exquisite production is irrefutably essential to a banal rap project. Since the rapper(s) might not plunge too far for topics, the producer(s) must dig deep into their bag for accolade deserving, lyric elevating, and reaction-inducing beats.
In the current nomenclature mishap, if there’s any producer making music worth the Afrobeats tag, it’s Spax. Clearly inspired by Fela’s distinct Afrobeat gumbo, Spax ability to layer instruments into ebullient compositions is first class, blending rolling percussions with stupendous guitar riffs and syncopated horns, not to forget the organ solo he occasionally whips out. As the sole sound architect behind Palmwine Music projects, Spax morphs the neo-highlife sound of the Juls-produced “Feel Alright” into something more composite but equally infectious, performing the role of a groovy point guard, dishing groovy dimes to Tec and Ghost for highlight reel material you’d always want to revisit.
Similarly, the musical side of Rendezvous is a big draw, probably its biggest. Unlike SDC who have a patented sound with an in-house producer to match, M.I recruits a wide array of producers, including himself, to put together an amusement park of sounds. The music is diverse but a shared trait is the remarkable and consistent quality, from triumphant hip-hop drums (“On Code” “Popping”) to tropical pop (“Jungle”) and squeaky trap (“Your Father”), all of which isn’t surprising since M.I has proven over time to be a great, if underappreciated, producer, also with a great ear for picking beats.
Rounding things is the imperative need for a well-polished sheen, aka mixing and mastering. The level of refinement present on Palmwine Music 2 and Rendezvous are integral to the musical success of both albums. Even if every other element is accounted for, cruddy sounding music doesn’t encourage maximum fun.