The unorthodox alternative rap album represents the African Dream of a rapper who wants to be heard through the global phenomenon of hip-hop; an artist who wants the world to hear his story in bars of well-written lyrics using metaphors and unapologetic realness.
Sunyani-based Mr. Muffin (real name Ike Owuraku Amponsah) describes CNL– Aftermath’ as a multicultural hip-hop album showcasing true-life stories of betrayal, backstabbing and how he almost lost everything after the release of his previous album; an album that was pulled down from all platforms due to production conflicts.
Track 1, African Dream spares no punches in sharing his hustle in living his dream of making music. I particularly like the way he incorporates the howling of a wolf to show his aggression, and of course the album title.
Track 2, Breakfast, is less aggressive but equally laced with puns…food for thought for those who get it.
Track 3, Syll@bus, is a cynical look at the rap industry and how other rappers compare to him.
Track 4, Lunch sees the rapper attacking the snitches, and basically having them for lunch with his punch lines.
Track 5, Blakk Boi Muff! (feat. Drew) has a fantastic and simple instrumentation that starts with piano notes and switches up into a pulsating adowa tempo, as he and his guest artist serve some narration of real life situations, from discouraging remarks, and hate to pretense.
Track 6, #MNB (Me No Bore), is one of my favorites on the album. I like the flow to it. A clever expression of his resistance to all the challenges he went through.
Track 7, Demonic -Gonzo- (feat. 12welve) may start off as a fun rhyme but quickly moves into serous flows and hardcore lyrics, that would make you not want to mess with Muffin and his posse!
Track 8, TNB, LAGA! Shows Mr Muffin’s diversity as a rapper as he slows it up with a trance-like flow on the concept of truth!
Track 9, U$ed $cam, reminds me a bit of the ‘slim shady’ personality of Eminem, as Mr Muffin in his own way reflects on how money changes the situation or messes things up.
On Track 10, Blue Face, it’s smack down time and Muffin says Niggas shouldn’t try him or they will end up with a blue face. It’s his time to shine. He coins his emotions beautifully into a rather smooth flow.
Track 11, Magnificent is an up tempo hip-hop track with a distinct fast rap flow that is quite different from Muffin’s style and flows on the EP.
Track 12, Fire and Grace!!, is a good end to the journey that begun with an ‘African Dream’. It is a track that has the most African influence on the album and probably my favorite. It has really nice melodies and lyrics that Muffin cleverly uses to make a statement about ‘changing to become what people want’.
Remarks:
The album which was largely recorded or produced in 2016 is a modern hip-hop album thanks to the various signatures from producers such as Dare Mame Beat(Ghana), Jay Twist(Ghana), Rojesus(Nigeria) and Dakkagob(France).
It is an album that can be appreciated by hip-hop heads in any part of the world. It is a well-written album using great literary tool, consciously or unconsciously, and what makes me especially proud is the fact that it was all made in Ghana, Africa!
For the hip-hop album it is, I would rate it a 7/10!
