By Ayomide Tayo

Album – Levels
Artiste – AKA
Guest Appearances– K.O, Burna Boy, Da Les, J’ Something, Sarkodie, Jr., Reason
Record Label: Vth Season
Duration– 40 minutes.

AKA is the king of S.A rap with ‘Levels‘

When it comes to rap music in the most southern part of the African continent, rhyme slinger AKA has been heralded as the ‘South African Prince of Hip-Hop’ because of his cool demeanour, flashy lyrics and cocky flow.

With his new album Levels, his royal moniker should be bumped up to King. With total control of his empire, AKA runs more than Jo’zi. His album, which lasts for 40 minutes, is enough for you to fully grasp AKA’s dominance.

After the obligatory intro, Levels kicks off with ‘Sim Dope’ an aspirational track that has a dark aura with distorted horns and that heavy ‘Maybach Music‘ bass that is prevalent in rap now. Boasting a sample, AKA spits ‘Hands in the air if you’ve been broke/I see millionaires making bread-that’s the end goal/Private jet, Benz-o/can’t see through the windows’. The sound on ‘Sim Dope’ is also schizophrenic- a mood which AKA channels when he reveals ‘My daddy climbed up the ladder until he ran out of steam/reputation was damaged, but never ran out of dreams/that’s why I talk in my sleep’.

AKA’s cockiness is all over his project, smacking his competition with his confident rhymes. ‘I‘m holding the crown/my soldiers surround- so throw in the towel,’ he declares on ‘Run Jozi (Godly)’ featuring K.O. On this track, AKA borrows Drake’s ‘Versace flow’, while K.O’s nimble flow- ‘I annihilated all my competition, so there is no further challenges’ lifts the hometown pride on the track. On ‘Pressure’ featuring Reason (a song with schizophrenic laser lights and an electro hook reminiscent of a Daft Punk track) AKA with a Kanye attitude, and Drizzy flow searches for a challenger to his crown, ‘I need a moment of clarity/I need a motive/I need a worthy opponent/no one can challenge me’. Reason who released the eye catching ‘Do It Like I Can’ in 2012, proves he is one not to sleep on with his double time flow; ‘I am reaching till I hit the scene/’cos I was beneath them like Lucifer’s playground’. AKA dismisses any newbie tag on the first single of this album ‘Jealousy’ when he cockily says, ‘They said the boy came up to quick/remind me to shine my trophies’.

Don’t dismiss AKA as a vain guy who only talks about his game. On several tracks he goes soulful and talks about other things. ‘Sunshine’ featuring Sarkodie and J’Something boasts a soulful sample, and groovy 70’s vibe. ‘I stay on my grind, you stay on my mind’ says AKA. The rapper has it bad for this chick when he reveals, ‘My b*tch is bad/I usually tap no strings attached/you take my hand- we fall in love, I just hope you can catch.’  J’ Something’s R&B/soul hook helps to stretch the soulful atmosphere on the track. ‘Congratulate,’ continues with the soulful theme. The hook ‘I congratulate me’ helps AKA reflect on his achievements and touch on self-adoration. ‘This is the moment I have been waiting for my whole life/didn’t believe it till I seen it with my own eyes’ says the rapper. AKA gets his R&B tuxedo out on ‘Let Me Show You’- as he sings on the hook, and thanks his parents for the hard work they put in.

When it is time to chill AKA calls on his wingman Da Les of the Hip Hop group Jozi on the song ‘Kontrol’. With his homeboy, riding shotgun, AKA cruises the streets in search of a good time. It’s a chill turn up track that has Da Les saying, ‘I’m so gone/so faded/so blown/like how the hell did I get here/and how the hell am I going home? / I don’t care bring mo’ Kush.’  Our own Burna Boy appears on ‘All Eyes On Me’ featuring Da Les & Jr. Burna is the driving force on this song with him creating the ‘stealing the show’ concept of the song. His syrupy chorus is backed up when AKA says ‘Once you get it, you never get enough/you go’n need better credit to get ahead of us/we the power circle coming to you live from the third world-getting high off the purple.’

AKA stumbles on ‘Daddy Issues’ which comes off as boring. This misstep doesn’t deter Levels from being a dope album. AKA has shown that there are levels to this rap thing, and that he is at the highest level. What else would you expect from a king?

Rating- 4/5