ALBUM REVIEW; ERIGGA – THA ERIGMA
The definition of realness and absolute intelligence is
actually what Tha Erigma encompasses in a flurry of storytelling and ingenious
narratives delivered in the language of the street with a substantial dose of punch
lines and witty wordplays. It was laced in such a way that both core hip hop
heads and punch line fanatics can easily relate with, with the album creating a
fusion of braggadocio, core hip hop and pure lyricism.
The truth is hip hop can be delivered in any language as
long as its fundamentals are strictly adhered to. The strong points of the
album include Erigga’s good diction and the way he brought rap to the streets
in fluent language from the first snare to the last beat of the album. He
proved critics wrong with this album proving that hip hop can be done in any
pattern as long as the correct dose of realness is included. Provided he sticks
to this formular, he’s sure to succeed.
Erigga is signed onto Snowman’s record label, New Money
Entertainment. This album brings forth his street experiences in rich
storytelling and witty wordplays, his life on the creeks of the south-south,
his personal relationship and a bit of socially conscious joints. He showed an innate ability to take listeners
through a wide range of informal lectures with his pidgin English laden words
and revamped proverbs. Erigga is however noted to have made blasphemous comments
on most of his tracks such as: “my mille
dey provoke I no dey gree go church/ but I go die? When igbo dey smell for my
cloth…” with subsequent flows to buttress his points on “story story”. Irrespective of this, he managed to inspire
listeners with his bars and hooks.
The pidgin-English infused phrases and words used might be
difficult for listeners with no street experience to decode, but it might as
well educate them by taking listeners through pictorial rhymes and composite
occurrences in the streets. Some of the commonly used words and clichés in the
album include: ‘kpo’- smoke, ‘ kpo-kpo’- police, ‘gbaga’- gunshots, ‘luga’-
double barrel gun, ‘bistrot’-bar, ‘okpo’- prostitute,’ sk’- marijuana, ‘kra-kra’-
shoot, ‘daga’-knife/straff, ‘bee’- call, ‘zoos’-relax, ‘buga’-brag,
‘ogaga’-gang members/militant and ‘poof’-die
amidst a rich host of other street slangs.
Most times some of his songs seemed to advocate gangster
life, but he clearly preached against it on “wicked man” while also taking a
punt at the state of things in the nation with a satiritic approach to both
verses he took on the track where he featured Oritse Femi; “2’o’clock for night
I sit down for my doormot dey blaow/ with the hope say all the pain go comot as
how?/ I just receive wan mumu call/my padi for Ekpoma dem just use am count
scores/”, “which kain life be this wey one man go sit down on e own p dey feel
pain for e fellow man/ boko dey bomb for one side, but that wan no pain them”.
His cinematic delivery must be praised on joints like: ‘no
go away’, ‘wicked man’, ‘dem no get two head’, no go away, alcohol and wild
wild west, while his performance was subpar on “binu binu” which featured Klever Jay. Even Klever
performed below expectations with a clear overdose of autotune dousing his true
abilities. Nonetheless, this was a good attempt by Erigga altogether. Thumbs
up!
Please drop comments below. Thanks
Thots
Edited by Tha Watcha
2 comments:
Nice Review
Nice Review
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