Over the past couple of years, South African musician Refiloe Cassper Nyovest Phoolo has been alternating between two sonic poles: hip-hop and amapiano. Playing both ends against the middle has resulted in his most recent projects being staggered musically, with his earlier projects being for core rap lovers while his Short and Sweet series caters more to the taste of amapiano and pop sensibilities.
His latest album, Solomon, is the hip-hop cycle of his discography, and wrapping up after only 37 minutes, it’s a brief project packed with raw emotion and the gritty Mahikeng drive that propelled him to the spotlight back in the early 2010s.
Thematically, Nyovest plumbs the depths of personal sorrows with moving tributes, particularly to late Mzansi stars, HHP, Costa Titch and Kiernan “AKA” Forbes. On “Candlelight”, he details his heart posture on his beef with career-long archrival, Kiernan, and recounts his feelings towards the events of the spat between him and Supa Mega and his subsequent demise in February. “Tell people that you love ‘em while they still live”, he says on the chorus.
And throughout the album, Cassper is focused and locked in on emotion, expanding upon themes of existentialism (“Ever Changing Times”), luxury living (“It’s Not the Same”), and the inevitability of outgrowing the shoes you love the more you mature (“Who Jah Bless”).
From a production standpoint, Solomon is a purist hip-hop album, straying very little with R&B influences. Although the album is built firmly on the foundation of hip-hop production and pure lyricism predicated on dizzying wordplay, braggadocious swipes, and seamless code-switching, Maglera Doe Boy is the only guest rapper in the offering. The only anomaly is “Chomie Lover Friend”, which features Nobantu Vilakazi, Alie Keys, and Windows 2000.
Throughout the 11-track collection, Cassper rolls back the hands of time, channeling that soul-stripping “Destiny”-esque energy and raw passion from his “I Hope You Bought It” days when he usurped the commercial hip-hop throne in 2014 with Tsholofelo. The first five songs are straight punches with hard-hitting basslines and retro drums reminiscent of old-school hip-hip but with more polish and controlled grit.
Solomon might be Cassper’s first authentic attempt at creating a timeless body of work as a hip-hop artist. As compact and concentrated as it is, his seventh foray isn’t pretentious or even extravagent, making a very compelling case for the #FillUp pioneer’s album.
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