Sheffield’s first poet laureate Otis Mensah has further underlined his radical talent with the release of a new EP titled Mum’s House, Philosopher. Produced by his brother, the intern, and written mostly in his family home, the EP is a contemplative, personal affair that fuses Mensah’s vivid storytelling with rich instrumentation.
Opener ‘Buffer Rings’ extends a warm invite into the front room of Mum’s House, before the rapper-poet ups the pace on the claustrophobic ‘Foreign Object’. Mensah effortlessly adapts his sound and delivery style as the story evolves; channelling Mos Def as he calls for open-mindedness on ‘People’, then evoking the laid-back haze of Mac Miller over swirling reverb on ‘Outside the Cave’.
There are moments of humour (Mensah condemns greed while bossing around ‘the intern’) but this EP’s real strength lies in its ability to roam between musical environments: Inside a smoky jazz cellar one moment, harnessing the hustle and bustle of the street in the next, Mensah effortlessly delivers a string of home truths with accelerating urgency.
5/5 Jamie Haworth
The album is available on Spotify
