Since his meteoric come-up with his Price City tape back in 2015 to his grown-man opus I Love It Here, Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo, also known as Nasty C, has been on a rolling stone’s journey with his music. From starting out as a bar-reliant lyricist to evolving into a melody-dressed and performance-ready musician, the South African star has morphed into a cosmopolitan songwriter. Fresh from his fourth album, the Durban native has returned to the scene with a two-song EP titled Ivyson Pack.
The almost six-minute extended play is a hip-hop project dominated by trap and R&B sprinklings. With a lone feature from Indianapolis singer-songwriter MAETA, IP boasts production credits from “Water” producer Sammy SoSo, MaxOnProduction, The Elements, Kid Hazel, Hoskins, and Ngcobo himself. Crafted to be a dichotomous listen, the thematic scope of the album can be halved into ravenous ambition for wealth, fame, and social status (“coMPRess”) and reflective nostalgia and pride in how far he has come (“See Me Now Remix”).
Leaden and forceful in delivery, the “Prosper In Peace” hit-maker is in his braggadocio bag on “coMPRess”, flexing his skyscraper-sized self-esteem (“I’m really him in the flesh”) while turning his nose up at his naysayers (“My biggest hater looks homeless / You tell me who the joke is”). True to the wordplay of the title (money, power, respect being the meaning of the capitalised MPR), Nasty stresses the importance of those things in the song with the catchy chorus: “I get cheques on cheques on cheques”.
Listen to “coMPRess”:
The soulful half of the EP comes in the shape of “See Me Now Remix”, with Nasty shedding the brash persona of “coMPRess” in favour of crooning and sentimental rap-singing. Assisted by the dulcet presence of MAETA and the soft hand of SoSo behind the desk, the Nasty on this song is faithful to the one on I Love It Here, the same place where the remix was extracted. The synergy between the rapper and the singer summons the likeness of “Question”, the unreleased collaboration between Shekhinah and Nasty C back in 2016.
Nasty could’ve held out for another year or two without dropping anything after his filling fourth. Whether this is a rapper cracking his knuckles for fun or, unbeknownst to us, getting ready to step into the ring, it is evident from Ivyson Pack that Nasty C is still very much in control of his creative prowess and ever-growing musicianship.
Listen to “See Me Now Remix”:
