MTV Europe Music Awards-nominated star and amapiano producer Austin “Tyler ICU” Baloyi, as per usual, had another year for the books. From reveling in the overflowing global success of his 2023 banger “Mnike” alongside Tumelo.za to strengthening his chokehold of dominance in the yanos scene with “Manzi Nte”, all that remained for the “Izolo” hitmaker was an album drop to etch all achievements in stone. In the spirit of leaving the best for last, Tyler released Lucent, a full-length project serving as a tributary album named after his beloved grandmother.
Beyond it being a collection of groovy thumpers, the New Money Gang powerhouse’s LP has a personal touch, reflective of the artwork featuring a young Austin holding hands with his grandma. Slightly over ninety minutes with fifteen songs, Lucent is a thoroughbred amapiano body of work whose genome borrows, albeit with cautious reservation, from jazz and gospel to braid elements of spirituality and soul into the album.
Tyler ICU | SUPPLIED
With scintillating percussions and the exploration of stylistic variations within the vast catalogue of log drums, in its basic form Lucent is an ornamental music box wrought for the paradoxical intention of being hung on club ceilings or someplace regarded as a sanctuary of peace conducive to letting the music sink in.
Baloyi’s latest solo outing is consistent in the way it switches between matters of the spirit and of the heart to casting off all moral and civil restraint. For this one, Tyler explores divine guidance (“Emakhosini”, “Mabhalan'”, and “Alibongwe”), the hills and valleys that come with the tumultuous act of pursuing love (“Hlala Nami”, “Uthando”, and “Ng’limele”), staying hopeful amid struggles (“iThemba”) and nightlife shenanigans (“Instango” and “Awuna Mali”).
When not exploring anything concrete in particular, Lucent sees Tyler step back into familiar territory. Evidence of this is most apparent with “Mnike”, “Manzi Nte”, and “Iy’pikiri”, songs which are the album’s signature speaker busters – the kind of soundtrack groove denizens relish cracking a bottle of Savanna to.
Watch “Mnike”:
Lucent’s creative vision would’ve been a pale one, however, without the gamut of features, from producers to vocalists. Nontokozo Mkhize and Kailey Botman are a pair of warblers who flit in and out the guestlist, delivering mellifluous pipes backed by prospects of either hope or romance, while Jay Sax infuses his jazzy touch into the album to lend it a calming texture. When not catering for the inner world, the likes of Ceeka RSA, Mr. Nation Thingz, and Tyrone Dee are called up to the foray to whip up storms meant to hypnotise listeners with forceful yet distorted production (“Ibhova” and “Iyavuma”). Risible songwriting such as on the weed-inspired “Instango” and “Awuna Mali”, which jokes about not having money, serve as comic relief.
Tyler ICU’s Lucent is an apt answer to all the questions pertaining to what can be put on rotation for December as next year already beckons. A concoction of deliberate prayers and nocturnal anthems, the album seeks to please as much as it aspires to calm and appease those who might want to listen for an emotional and spiritual release.
Preview Lucent:
