EP Review: Ice Price - Cold

''Ice Price'' Who is one of Nigerian's most successful artist of the 2000's is back with his second extended play after his 2015 effort for Trash Can EP and this one is titled   - ''COLD'' and  ''Cold'' consist of Eight (8) tracks and was released on the 30th June, 2018. This review is expectant after the release of Ice Prince third studio album Jos to the World, which i thought was somewhat underwhelming or at least average in comparison to his previous releases. So join me as we take a shuffle on the COLD EP.  


Shut Down Feat. JethroFaded: This is a Remy Baggins produced record kicking off the EP and with the aid of that alternative/new school vibe by JethroFaded on the chorus/hook certainly is a good way to light up this campaign. And we see Ice Prince stick to spitting bars on this track that has that dark side element to it and truly feels like the best way to Shut Down everything coming through. Lol! 


Space Funk Feat. Remy Beggins: This record takes us back to that 90's vibe assisted by Remy Beggins soulful hook,which can only make you do one thing - DANCE. This is by far one of the best record off this embodiment of work as we see Ice Prince maintain his rapping prowess. Space Funk is such a brilliant love song, a concept to a record that is mind blowing with layers of that nostalgic feeling it brings and it would be lovely to see a well taught out video that would either have a futuristic (sci-fi) concept or an old school concept to it.  


Hit Me Up Feat. PatrickxxLee & Straffitti: Hit Me Up is a straight up new school trap style kind of music that is base heavy and has that hardcore hip hop baseline. This record was previously released ahead of the EP release, so it is safe to say Hit Me Up is the lead single off the COLD EP as we see Ice Prince feature both PatrickxxLee and Straffitti  who did a good job adding that trap elements to the record. This definitely a great selection to have made the tracklist on the COLD EP.        

 
Die for Your Love (Interlude): This is a beautiful alluring mid - tempo interlude Ice Prince curved into an amazing love song. It would have been great to hear a full fledged track from this number but Ice Prince decided to tease us instead with an interlude. Die for Your Love (Interlude) has a great production output and it is nice to see Ice Prince for the first time on this extended play give us a flip side of his rap/singing skills in an equilibrium manner.  


Tour 254: This is another record we see Ice Prince show us his musical versatility in both spiting bars and singing, leaving us with that new school musical vibes. Tour 254 is one of the solid tracks on the COLD EP as we see Remy Baggins lace the lyrics of Ice Price (which sounds like a true life experience/story) on this beautiful mid - tempo beat  giving it all the freshness it deserves. A visual for this track won't be a bad idea for this record to be fully appreciated. 


 
So High Feat. KSwitch: This record is one of the  few records with a feature on it and it has none other than the talented act  KSwitch. The  both went on that reggae path paying tribute to popular grass - marijuana which is used within these circles of the genre for inspiration, relaxation and general life motivation. If you know what i mean. Lol! Ice Prince still tried to maintain the essence of the EP by dropping a few bars to give this classical inspired record a balance and boost of enchantment.  


 
Watching You: Now this record proves why Ice Prince is such a critically acclaimed artist since his inception into the music scene. GCL3F the producer brought this Rap/Afrobeats song to life with this slow - tempo  track of charming instrumentation and that Ice Prince melodious vibe making it one of my favorite love record of the COLD EP. However, my falloff on this record is that the song writing skills is not particularly a solid one but an average attempt. Watching You deserves a video still to bring out the quintessence of the art on the track.




Las Gidi No.1 Chick: Ice Prince took us back to that Ice Prince retro style which is simply a beautiful record. Las Gidi No.1 Chick is a classic breakup song that most lads can relate with especially in this age of social media influences and all that comes with it. This is an amazing record that has that soulful touch to it and a brilliantly executed video will do justice to it. 



 
Here are my final thoughts on this project by ''Ice Prince'' - COLD.'' This is truly exciting to see that Ice Prince still got it. However, sonically this EP might not be a commercial success but you can tell he made this extended play for his true fans and real hip hop heads and i have to say this is timely project. ''Ice Prince'' pulled off a solid project and even better than his previous release and it is interesting to see how he recruited only one A-List feature in the person of KSwitch with PatrickxxLee and Straffitti and relatively newcomers on production credits such as; JethroFaded, Jaydiggybeats, Remmy Baggins (also a guest feature), Illkeyz, GCL3F, and ace producer Austynobeatz. Therefore I would like to rate ''COLD EP'' a  solid 8/10. This is a great effort by Mr. Zamani and we are looking forward to a new studio album from him in the nearest future. PEACE OUT!



In case you haven't listened or downloaded Ice Prince - COLD please download it here:

DOWNLOAD HERE

Ice Prince - C.O.L.D [EP]

Super Cool Cats act Ice Prince is back with a brand new body of work titled C.O.L.D (EP). This is his second EP after Trash Can was released in 2015 and his latest work after the release of his 3rd studio album Jos to the World.  The extended play consist of Eight (8) tracks with features and production credits from the likes of: KSwitch, Remy Baggins, PatrickxxLee, Straffitti, Jaydiggybeats and Illkeyz. The C.O.L.D EP was released on the 3rd of July, 2018. 
Check on it!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Album Review: M.I - Rendezvous (A Playlist by M.I Abaga)

M.I is back with a brand new album after the release of what i would call his concept album The Chairman back in 2014 making it almost a four year hiatus by the rapper, and we are excited for the release of  Rendezvous (At Playlist by M.I Abaga). The album Rendezvous Playlist has at least a guest feature on each track and i guess that's the concept of an ideal collection of tracks we tag as a playlist.   

Rendezvous (At Playlist by M.I Abaga) was released on the 18th February, 2018 and consist of Thirteen (15) tracks and judging from the lead singles and features like; Cassper Nyovest, AKA, Ghost (SDC), Falz and Ajebutter 22, it promises to be an interesting listen.

  

Soup Feat. Cassper Nyovest: M.I introduces the album with a this hardcore Hip Hop/crunk sound along side South African rapper Cassper Nyovest and record is titled Soup. This is certainly a good way to kick off the Rendezvous album as both rappers state their case as still being the best to have done it with lines such as; ''If Cassper is a legend/i guess we are related/ i pass the baton on my subject/like we are relating.../motivated cos haters, hate that i made it/they wait on me to be faded/ ironic i am on-top of my game/and i am still underrated/ i guess when i am gone/ i will be celebrated/like happy belated/look mama i made it (mama i made it) /lately i do this for greatness/see i do not want it/if cannot take it with me/ i am the realest of my generation/so you cannot fake it( you cannot fake it)/still occupying the throne/i will let you know when its vacant.'' ~M.I. This is a record that imbibes such a creative chorus/hook, as well as a very interesting production credit to Nonso Amadi making it a definite winner. 

On Code Feat. AKA: This is yet another very solid Hip Hop record off this album and it features the talented rapper AKA from South Africa giving On Code that all round swag it deserves. The most interesting element of this song is the writing skills and the fact you can brag about how much monies you made last year but it is all On Code. Lol!  M.I and AKA did justice to this track and deserves a worthy pick on the Rendezvous playlist. 

 Slow Feat. Straffitti & BlaqBones: M.I has recruited the new skool chaps (Straffitti & BlaqBones) on this trap influenced record to give listeners the ''best of both worlds'' feel of both (Rap & Trap). We see M.I's creative writing skills on display again, this time around, throwing shades at some so called social media influencer's/trend and to buttress his point he uses a reality without what other social media trend setters are about (simply genius). I would say its a fair record, at least everyone held their forth to make it a worthy listen and seeing Kemi Smallz on the outro/excerpts on this track, makes it the more trendier which has been noticed across the board on this album.     

The Crew Feat. Yung L & Uax: This record features label mate Yung L with Uax as we see all three artist giving the record that fusion of Afrobeat/reggae/R&B base.  This is a sensual song that an average 'bad boy' would love and can relate to and with  that Uax amazingly soothing vocals which made the track everything  a lady would die for in this life time. The Crew is an appropriate track to have made the album. 

Lekki Feat. Odunsi, Ajebutter22 & Falz: This is a brilliantly produced Afrohouse record by Odunsi The Engine who also did an amazing hook on the chorus, with additional vocal excerpts by Nigerian female comedian Wofai fada gaving the track that balance of a call and response concept based on the lifestyle of Lekki girls and the experiences/encounter of  the Lagos Boys. And with the best to help deliver this story-line is none other than Falz and Ajebutter22. This track is one of my favorites of the Rendezvous album that deserves a well executed comic visual depicting the reality of the lifestyle experienced in Lagos on the daily.   

Jungle Feat. Tomi Thomas & Santi: This song has that all round freshness of that new skool vibe with a bit of soul, as we see M.I recruit Tomi Thomas and Santi on this amazing record titled Jungle. This record gave us that retro M.I with the combination of the new lads and Jungle is yet another brilliant classic story of the 21 century ladies and their train of thought about the use of physical beauty to get what they want and not necessarily  be tagged a call girl. Lol! Funny right? This is a great record and i am glad it made the cut on the Rendezvous playlist based on its context of social consciousnesses.   

Your Father Feat. Dice Ailes :  This is the lead single to the release of the album: Rendezvous (A Playlist by M.I Abaga) and it features label mate  Dice Ailes in a very pop oriented video. This record Your Father produced by Chopstix has a very modern day crunk touch, with an amazing witty flow delivered by both M.I and Dice Ailes giving the record that all round awesomeness. However, this is not necessarily a record i would die for but it is a fair song to have made the track list with a memorable hook. 

Jiggy Feat. Terry Apala: M.I takes this record to the streets along side dynamic act Terry Apala who gave the record the street essence. This is a record that reminds you of when M.I hooked up with Timaya on a record titled Anybody from his Album Mi2 The Movie and this can only be a winner. This is what geniuses are made of as M.I was able to successfully make this love record have that street edge but at the same time it still maintained the soul of hip hop and  i believe its only a few like M.I that can achieve this.  

Playlist Feat. Nonso Amadi:  Now.. this a record M.I teamed up with the talented vocalist Nonso Amadi on a track titled playlist and its an all round love song. I want to believe that part of the crux/ idea for this album is hinged on this record. And with the song writing technique on this record made it top notch and absolutely brilliant.  This is by far one of the best records off the Rendezvous album and deserves a visual expression of the lyrics. 

The Rendezvous A Playlist by M.I Abaga album is great concept album from M.I as he always makes that conscious effort to deliver one. Starting off with the track list cover which gives a detail information about how each record was influenced in the space of 24 hours to deliver Rendezvous A Playlist by M.I Abaga. This Album had at least one guest appearance on each song from artist like; (AKA, Cassper Nyovest, Yung L, Terry Apala, Ajebutter22, Nonso Amadi and Odunsi The Engine). As a result of these line-up you can only expect a fusion of various sounds and genres, and yes M.I nailed it. The album also had a large array of top notch productions from the likes of; G -Plus, Chopstix, TMXO, Ckay, Odunsi The Engine and Jude Abaga himself. Therefore, I would like to rate this album a  solid 7/10. This is because Rendezvous A Playlist by M.I Abaga is a well thought out project with great effort put into it as we can see from each record on the track list. M.I is definitely one of the best to have ever done it out of Africa and we can only look forward to his continuous support for the Hip Hop culture in Africa, even though, going by this album i don't think it was the most Hip Hop based albums at least in 2018 but he gave that opportunity to a lot of up coming artist  on this album which can propel their career, now that's another good aspect of supporting the music culture which is indeed a great platform for any of these artist to blossom in the music industry beyond their imaginations if used properly. Overall, great work by M.I Abaga. 

in case you haven't listened or downloaded Rendezvous (At Playlist by M.I Abaga) by M.I please download it here:

DOWNLOAD HERE