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Thursday 12 June 2014

Mixtape Review: Tay - Passport




Abuja based Producer/Singer burst into the music scene at a very tender age of sixteen (16) with his own individual records, features, and productions for other artiste. In 2014 Tay in his purest form puts out his first embodiment of work tilted ''Passport'' on the (20th April 2014) by Bantu Records. ''Passport'' consist of twelve (12) tracks.

Intro: Tay introduces all his fans to come take this ride with him on'' Passport'' as he puts his amazing vocals on a laid back and soothing beat. This is a great way for Tay to introduce listeners to what he has to say on ''Passport'' assuring fans a balance of content for both the guys and ladies.

Gabriel (feat. Sute): The mixtape kicks off with an amazing ballad. Tay titles this one ''Gabriel'' and will certainly get listeners curious on what he has to say...... ''Gabriel'' is an amazing love song that has a dynamic interpretation to it. I see Gabriel as my guardian angel always there to lead me through in the right direction and because of the divine connection, ''Gabriel'' remains dear to my heart. Sute on the other hand brought an amazing Hip hop vibe to this track with his brilliant rap skills, his is able to tell tell the story further on his verse. This track displays some good writing skills and has made it one of my favourite tracks off the mixtape.

Lust or Love: A mid-tempo beat with Tay invoking his playboy persona on this number. I love the modern R&B touch Tay puts on ''Lust or Love'' with the vocoder on his verses, it strikes me as a track the leader of the new school; Chris Brown would love to be on. However, I felt '' Lust or Love'' fell short for me based on the fact it was rather too short to be labelled as a full track, it should have come in as an interlude or a third verse included.

Lost: This track shows Tay's dynamic and creative side. I loved his approach to what he has done with a sad love song where two love birds are caught up in an illusion or dilemma and with Tay again making it a bit fun with the effects on the chorus and the end part to the track. ''Lost'' is not that sort of track you get drawn to instantly but could grow on you after a few plays.

P.Juice (Interlude): Tay shows his vocal ability on his signature kicks, with an amazing hook to the interlude. However, I would have expected Tay to capitalise on this amazing concept/element behind this number and make it into a full record instead of an interlude. In my opinion ''P.Juice(Interlude)'' should have been a full record and track (3) ''Lust or Love'' an interlude, which would have made ''P.Juice (Interlude)'' one of the best records on this mixtape.

Spiritual: This is one of the leading singles off the mixtape and in a typical Nigerian music scene a lot may have felt this shouldn't be one single to precede the mixtape including myself but when I listened to the entire mixtape, I have to applaud Tay for his choice of  ''Spiritual'' as this second single off the mixtape. My reasons are; that ''Spiritual''  a mid-tempo track is a great love song which kept a balance between new school and old school R&B touch with his signature kicks and baseline on the track, then I  felt  a lot of  that classic Craig David feel to it which is a great thing for the record overall. A great retro visual will do great justice to this record if he decides to put one out. This is one of my favourite records off the mixtape. 

Bounce3 (Feat. Sute): This is one Afrobeat influenced track on the mixtape with Tay imploring the horns of the Saxophone along side his signature kicks, he tells a beautiful story about a man's encounter with a material girl and in conclusion all he got is himself. I love the way Tay made the track something you can relate with by using terms such as; the name Shade, the use of a bit of ''pidgin English'', and bringing back the talented rapper Sute who added great quality and feel to the record as the horns ends the track on a good note.

TheBox: This is the official/first single off the mixtape and I think it meet the expectation of listeners on what to expect from the mixtape. ''TheBox'' influenced by the strings of the guitar and drums kept the song alive with Tay hitting all the right notes on a good storyline. This is one incredible song off the mixtape and by far my best record on the mixtape after I had listened to the entire project. 

Try (Interlude): This is one amazing inspirational interlude that I would have loved to see as a record instead, because I feel Tay had more to say on this interlude. I love the fact that he defiled his usual production style and gave us a bit of versatility on a Rock influenced beat laced with the electric guitar and drums. Brilliant effort by Tay... (Lesson: never give up on love; keep trying)

Right Now(Feat. Shiz): This is one for the clubs with an up beat vibe and explicit scenario through the lyrics, Tay recruits Shiz who adds a great ''Naija'' dynamic to the record. ''Right Now'' is one track you can easily fall in love with but does not necessarily leave a lasting impression. In my opinion this is a record I would not have missed if it didn't make the cut on the mixtape but a thoughtful choice by Tay to include this record to keep a fair balance on the project.  

Party: Another up beat track off the project and to end the mixtape on a high note. Tay displays his vocal skill on this House influenced track as he is distracted and checking out a beautiful ''coke like bottle'' girl he spots in the club and she be fronting like she's not aware of the commotion she's causing ;-) 
Again Tay tells a beautiful story on this track.

 Outro (Feat. Idara): The outro unveils the affirmative and sensual vocals of Idara laced through Poetry on a Jazz influenced beat, Talking about the experiences that probably led to the theme of the project ''Passport'' by Tay. This is certainly going to be one classic piece of Tay's project.  


 Here are my final thoughts on the mixtape review of  ''Passport'' I enjoyed listening to the project and it was certainly a joy ride. Tay's mixtape ''Passport'' is a SOLID project considering the fact its his first effort/embodiment of work and all songs where Produced/Mixed/Mastered by Austin 'Tay' Iwar. This is indeed an impressive work coming from a teenage lad. In addition, Tay brought in the right elements through his featured artist thereby adding value to the content and exposing them to a new audience. However, I was a little let down by the similar pattern of the production Tay implored and I would have loved to see a bit more dynamism as well as risk taking on his production level on the project. And based on my conclusion I would rate ''Passport'' a 8/10 as against the 8.5/10 I initially thought it deserved. 

In case you haven't listened or downloaded Tay - Passport Mixtape please download it for free here: DOWNLOAD HERE

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