After months of fiery teasers and FOMO-inducing social media posts, award-winning Ghanaian artist Kwesi Arthur has finally unleashed his highly anticipated full-length mixtape, Son of Jacob. The fifteen-track body of work is a genre-bending gem showcasing black culture from different parts of Africa and the diaspora.
Kwesi’s virtuosity has been probable from the conception of his sensational industry debut. The all-round musician was bagging international hip-hop accolades while simultaneously gracing us with Afrocentric bangers such as “Waora” and “Anthem” throughout 2018 and 2019. Son of Jacob is a testament to the rapper’s versatile artistry, which he has consistently shown since his awe-inspiring rise to fame.
Record opener “Drama” ushers in the noir cultural experience with a lightly-compressed guitar riff accompanied by Aurthur’s recitative chorus. In the intro, the musician sings about not wanting the drama that inevitably comes with living in the limelight. “They call me broski, but cross me,” he sings, alluding to betrayal and being exposed to fake friends.
SOJ wouldn’t be a Kwesi mixtape if it didn’t showcase UK Drill with an African twist. Songs such as “Traumatized” and “Winning” are guaranteed to take listeners down memory lane to when the remix of “Sore” by Yaw Tog was released. The remix, released in 2021, featured the man of the moment and UK Drill’s finest, Stormzy. The abovementioned pair of tracks from the mixtape also consist of heavy bass lines and puff-chested raps, strong signifiers of Drill music.
On the heartfelt “Silver Spoon”, Arthur opens up about losing his grandmother and sings: “no matter what go happen, we’ll be just fine.” Despite its melancholia, the tone and the lyrics of the hip-hop-infused song suggest that Kwesi is determined to focus on the positive things in life. We see growth when he says: “I was on the bench, now I’m on the field”, which suggests and highlights his facile ability to incorporate wordplay into his music.
Kwesi Arthur proudly celebrates his West African heritage in his 2020 hit single “Bajoo”, which was expectedly included on the mixtape’s tracklist. The song features Nigerian hit-maker Joeyboy and showcases Afro-diversity. West African culture is explored more in “Disturb”, which guides us further in with an energetic beat, accompanied by Kwesi Arthur’s soothing falsetto.
The album’s groovy lead single “Celebrate” features Nigerian superstar Teni and is a fresh burst of Afro-fusion. Teni harmoniously sings, “from Lagos, down to Atlanta”, confirming the mixtape’s global approach to showcasing black culture. The vibrant song also fuses different Afrocentric instrumentals with an exceptionally jazzy trumpet.
Southern Africa is well-represented in this body of work through Amapiano log drums and keyboard riffs in “Mind Over Body”. The melodious club banger is followed by “Animal”, a colourful fusion of Amapiano and Afrobeats that further defines the mixtape’s primal resolution: celebrating black culture.
You can’t talk about the rap scene in Ghana without mentioning Kwesi. And the 2019 VGMA Hip-Hop Artist of the Year has demonstrated that he’s earned his stripes on his latest offering.
