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African culture has made inroads into the mainstream and this wave is being cultivated by Anatii. Each song on Anatii's album, Iyeza, could quite easily spark a separate project of its own, with varied genres, writes Phumlani S Langa.
Iyeza by Anatii
Available on all music platforms at R89.99
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Years back, Anatii burst on to the music scene with a lively brand of hip-hop that involved beats constructed without the use of a sample. He even bagged himself a collaborative project with AKA, Be Careful What You Wish For, which had the streets on smash.
I figured he would churn out something similar to that or perhaps a continuation of where he left off with AKA, but he has headed in a completely different direction.
Much like his buddy AKA, Anatii has knocked out what sounds a lot like a pop album.
This move makes more sense coming from this guy as he was never a full-on rapper and in fact singing predominantly on Iyeza has given him a bit of that Tory Lanez or 6lack artist appeal.
The risk of these hybrid rap artists, who fuse styles and genres to come up with something new, is that they seldom give you a classic record on which every song is worth a good listen. This is what I expected after hearing the opening track, Wena.
Very cleverly, Anatii has looked to his tradition to supplement his fusion of sound. There are elements of mbaqanga and live instrumentation, which I commend, and of course the use of his mother tongue, isiXhosa – a solid move for any plans he might have when he performs this album live.
Ntoloni begins with the congas being banged rhythmically and these eventually make way for one of the more trap-orientated tracks on the record. It involves Anatii’s quirky style of rap, which was similar to the sound he generated on Be Careful What You Wish For.
I do think this project is brave and if it works it could open up new demographics as far as his fan base goes.
There were moments when I caught myself thinking about Afro-pop singer Ntando – in particular on the track U Sangthanda Na? – if Ntando used Auto Tune. I’d like to believe that Anatii has some actual vocal capability. This track boasts his ability to bridge the gap between more traditional vocal stylings and the more modern R&B approach.
God My Best Friend and Thixo O Nofefe are what I consider acceptable ways to end an album. Look, this may not necessarily be, as they say, my sh*t, but I appreciate the creativity and the thought put into the style of this project.
