Sarkodie, the Ghanaian rapper and songwriter has given us another body of work we can literally jam to… JAMZ by Sarkodie. The new album has so many exciting features, let’s head right into a review of Sarkodie’s new album.
The album starts out with Labadi, a pre-release featuring King Promise. Sarkodie talks about this rap being influenced by a place called Labadi which is actually a physical place in Ghana where he got married. King Promise comes through with a sublime sample of Pain Killer with the Craze for Your Body line, and Coublon brings a balance to the sonic infusions together with the beat. Sarkodie tells Apple Music he had no trouble writing this song… boat ride, all white, having fun. If you’ve seen the video for this song, I guess you now know where the visuals came from.
The next song, She Bad, features Oxlade. On this, Sarkodie aimed to create a melody that made people feel something. He worked in tandem with GuiltyBeatz to add in R&B infusions and log drums for a little bit of the Amapiano vibe. Oxlade takes the chorus with a catchy ‘She Bad’ on repeat. I think they gave us a banger on this one.
Album body of jamz by sarkodie
Confam has even more log drums and Amapiano infusions in it. The Ghanaian rapper speaks about how much he thought those drums brought out a special side of a raw, rap element in him. I can get that, If Amapiano drums make me (a terrible dancer) feel like I got moves, then how much more Sarkodie?
One Million Cedis features Ink Boy, produced by Masterkraft. The most prominent tone of the beat is ‘dark and bossy’ in his words. Ink Boy gave a good hook, even though I wasn’t in love with this song.
We don’t even have to wait until the chorus to hear Lojay on Cougar. He opens up with his all-too-smooth vocals, and he sings about an attraction to cougars. Sarkodie tells Apple Music that it’s not necessarily about older women, but strong women. He refers to his wife as a living Google, with whom you can have any informed, in-depth conversation. And there’s nothing more attractive than that.
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We also get a Kranium feature. Told you the features on JAMZ by Sarkodie are actually great. The next song is Forever and it’s no surprise that Kranium gives a sweet chorus that I may or may not be serenading my significant other with later on. Sarkodie says this song makes him imagine getting away with his girl to a resort in Paris or Miami. Same here, Sarkodie, same here.
On Me features Cina Soul, whom Sarkodie refers to as one of the greatest singers from Ghana at the moment. This is what I would refer to as feel-good music. It’s clear he had fun with the beat, and the vocal chemistry with Cina takes the song up a notch.
final songs on jamz by sarkodie
Joeboy gave Hips Don’t Lie a catchy chorus, and the song talks about finding the kind of love he has been searching for. Again, the Ghanaian rapper talks about being drawn to confidence in women and how that subconsciously makes its way to his music.
Country Side features Black Sherif, and it made me think about Coachella with Sarkodie and Kwesi Arthur for some reason, but a more laid-back version. It’s a chorus you can easily start singing along to with steady cadences. Sarkodie says he enjoyed working with Black Sherif on this because he came with an energy that made him think about being in between the phases of being an underground rapper and being a known rapper. “… It’s something you can’t get over. Sometimes I have to pinch myself because it all feels too good to be true”
JAMZ by Sarkodie ends with a BNXN feature on Better Days. Sarkodie stays true to his core fans whom he says like it when he gives them hopeful messages about life. Of course, I wouldn’t be the first person to hate a BNXN feature. It was a great song, a beautiful way to end the album.
As for JAMZ by Sarkodie, it’s clear he writes in tandem with whatever direction the beat is headed. I think this brings a well-balanced harmony to the melodies and rap verses on the album. We got groovy songs and I think it was an equal mix of great songs and average songs. I definitely had my favorites because they were easy to choose. But it was overall a good body of work, what do you think?
