Unlikely bedfellows and chemistry-woven duo Roiii and Boity have been a wildcard pick in the South African hip-hop tournament this year, which has been active with heavy hitters such Emtee, K.O, and 25K as well as new kids on the block Usimamane and Tony Dayimane. Since debuting their first-ever single together, “Oh My (OMG)”, anticipation has been mounting, with all eyes on the pair’s maiden collaborative album The Extra Mile, which dropped on the 1st of November 2024.
Mainly handled by producers PLXYGRND and 1632, The Extra Mile is a nine-song drill-inclined album with a creative compass that is influenced mildly by the pulls of traditional hip-hop, alternative R&B, soul, and kwaito. Most of the songs on the album last as long as one takes to breathe in and out, with the LP’s playback time amounting to a brief 29 minutes.
Boity and Roiii (from left to right) | SUPPLIED
With such limited time on the clock, Roiii and Boity are still able to stretch the sonic scope of their album by infusing the drill sound with the colours of other genres. However, as far as cohesion is concerned, that’s where the album stops excelling.
There isn’t much tone variation to the album, and the short-sighted subject selection does little to help this. Throughout the record, the pair jump back and forth between luxury lyricism synthesised from the rags-to-riches trope (“More That That” and “In My Bag”) and earnest raps built on raw emotion and controlled performances (“Bout Luv” and “All for You”). These are are two defined polls which dictate the direction and flow of energy. And because of this, the power becomes dimmer as time goes till even Boity’s sassy attitude and Roiii’s razor-sharp outlook become dull because of predictability.
Listen to “In My Bag”:
The strength of The Extra Mile, however, is in the dynamic teamwork displayed by Roiii and Boity, who thrive in the fraternal bond motivated by their worldview and also bolstered by the fluidity of their dialogue-like approach when tackling some songs. Their understanding of each other’s lyrical movements and cadences is reminiscent of Cordae and Anderson .Paak, who, despite their generational difference, find enough common ground to not only stand on top of but to dance on without missing a step. They don’t possess the depth of Run the Jewels or the extravagance of The Throne (Jay-Z and Kanye West), but the sincerity between them surpasses these two acts even though this doesn’t necessarily translate to a solid album.
The Extra Mile is a project of two artists who are pushing the boundary stones of local hip-hop, but haven’t succeeded in doing so coherently with the album. At this juncture, it’s neither a skill nor a sound issue. It’s what the pair stand for or at least what they hope to aspire towards rather than simply looking back at struggles already conquered and not dreaming beyond the money they have already made. If one subtracts Boity’s confidence and Roiii’s style from the album all that remains is an unfocused playlist that thinks it’s shooting for the stars without realising that it’s not aiming high enough to reach its target.
Listen to The Extra Mile:
