By Ayomide Tayo
Album- The Price of Free EP
Artiste- M.anifest
Duration- 47 minutes
Never heard of the rapper M.anifest? Well, he is one of the impressive rappers from Ghana, a country that has been producing quality rappers over the last 5 years.
‘The Price of Free’ EP is the latest offering from M.anifest who possesses a commanding and deep voice when rhyming. As a matter of choice, he spits more in English than his Ghanaian language, which will undoubtedly make his work more accessible to English speaking African countries such as Nigeria.
The first thing that struck me when I started listening to ‘The price of free’ EP was that M.anifest sounds so much like Nigerian alternative Hip Hop act Black Magic. The Ghanaian rapper’s flow is more structured than Black Magic’s, who prefers to run loose with his. Still the similarity is too strong to ignore. Also, M.anifest infuses a lot of soul and West Africa influenced Jazz in his music.
‘Time is money, I dey watch the bezel/dance with the devil/he no dey my level’ starts M.anifest on the EP’s opener ‘Singitdamnit’. The jazzy hook introduces you to a rap sub-genre heavily influenced by West African Jazz. Think of it as our version of Jazz rap popularised by A Tribe Called Quest in the 90’s in America.
‘Someway Bi’ is a song dedicated to the theme of ‘Thank God It’s Friday’. The Jazzy affair continues on this beautiful track which features Latin guitar licks and horns. Some solid Ghanaian groove and dance is on ‘Ebei (Dream Killers)’ where M.anifest hails his Nigerian counterpart M.I.
M.anifest is also a decent rapper who engages in wordplay. On ‘Right Here’ featuring Paapa, he shows what he has in his bag of tricks when he spits the football themed bars: ‘I’ve got an Ozil for my Arsenal/filling the void/my team is excited-united-no David Moyes’.
He, however, doesn’t rely on this as his main strength. M.anifest is a Ghanaian MC with a conscious side, which he reveals in ‘Debi Debi’. He takes shots at greedy men of God (‘let’s start with religion and these big ass churches/pastors more paid than teachers and nurses/how the pastors they afford these big Benzes/and nobody questions it from the pews and the benches’) on the first verse.
In ‘Mind Games’, which boasts of a Timbaland style of production, M.anifest touches on the ups and downs of a love affair. Credit has to be given to the rapper for singing expertly on this song and many of his tracks. He possesses a jazzy and soulful voice, which makes him versatile.
On ‘Never Feel’ featuring Blackway, M.anifest reminisces about his come up and thinks about how enemies want to catch him slipping. The centrepiece of the EP has to be ‘Post Azonto Blues’. This is as soulful as soulful gets. M.anifest’s rhymes on this gem in a way that is reminiscent of the intellectual style of rapping two decades ago.
If the songs on this EP are anything to go by, then M.anifest is on the brink of stardom, not just in Ghana but in Africa and beyond. His solid rhyming skills and flair for West African jazz might earn him a place as an internationally acclaimed rapper.
Rating- 3.5/5
