We are living in uneasy times, and listening to this album doesn’t do much to allay any fears or insecurities we might have. This is not one for the faint-hearted. Throughout the album, Obaro Ejimiwe pleads for unity, repeatedly bows down under the weight of the trouble he feels he’s in and generally worries about the future. We can all relate, I’m sure. There’s a sense of unease and disquiet that pervades these songs, but it will get inside your soul like nothing else you will hear this year. It’s like an addiction: as soon as it finishes I find myself going back to the start for more. His beat-driven, other-worldly music provides just the right vehicle to propel these marvellous spoken/sung rap monologues into a part of your brain that then refuses to let them out. As with any great work there is light and shade, and there are some other featured vocalists, but I’m flagging this up as his best work yet. The last track, ‘End Times’, had me looking round the room to see what the unearthly noises were until I realised they were part of the song. He’s been Mercury nominated twice before, and this will be released just too late to make the shortlist; but if this record was released a few months earlier, I’d wager that it’d have a fair chance of winning.
My album of the year… so far.
9/10 MP
