The most anticipated local hip-hop album is about to drop sometime this year. That's if AKA doesn't pull a Dr Dre on us and have us waiting for the album for a few more years. AKA has assured us that his 2nd album "Levels" will drop when it's ready and says that will be soon. Now the danger of an album being so highly anticipated is that it could suck, and hence why I think he's making sure it's fire before he drops it.
Now what is the "Khuli Chana Album Curse"? Khuli Chana has crazy hit singles that showcase what a great artist he is but when you listen to his albums there's nothing there. I remember when he dropped Tswak Stick 'em and had local hip hop in a frenzy. I was hit by the track I decided to buy the album, Motswakoriginator, and I was greatly disappointed. The only other hot track on the album was "No more Hunger" which later also became a single. Then he released "Freshe" which is just bullsh*t in my opinion. I initially thought maybe the Tswana was affecting my ability to fully understand the album being Xhosa and all, I gave the album away to my cuz who's a big fan of Khuli who agreed that it sucked, to be totally honest. And after listening to a review of Lost in Time by Steve from www.sahiphop.co.za, I couldn't help but relate to his experience after buying the album. Seems like the responsibility of a good artist is to have a few dope tracks and fillers for the rest of the album. That's not enough for people to keep believing in you as an artist.
The only SA Hip Hop albums that have kept up from singles to the album in my opinion are Proverb's first 2 albums, Prokid's 1st 3 albums and Tear Gas's Dark or Blue. Those stay in my mind as classics. And now it's an opportunity for AKA to do the same. His first offering ,Altar Ego, was basically new dope singles mixed up with his 2 year old mixtape which was also a big disappointment. The signs are looking good though, he's spending time releasing songs, the songs he has dropped have been nothing short of fire and his features are murked aswell. I've made the decision to buy this album and hope this won't lead to further disappointment. AKA is having nothing short of a "Drake" career, he's the "IT" kid and knows what he's doing. Let's hope the music will relate that.
The Tiger Himself
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