By Brandon Mwanza
Taking time to write in this game is a skill greatly appreciated and who else to do it better than Raykaz. Beyond reasonable doubt, he is penning arguably the best bars and doubles in this game. With the release of his EP Anxious Confidence, the 13 track project is loaded with substance and penned with artistic mastery.
Here
is a comprehensive track-by-track analysis of the project from a perspective
that allows us to fully and contextually understand and appreciate the art.
1. COLD INTRO (Anxious)
The intro introduces
us to the theme of the Extended Play with a poetic quote:
As I walk through walls, my conscious is unhindered
By cultures rising by societies advances
To smear my mind and seal my eyelids
An introspective mind at play, Raykaz highlights how society is trying to blind us from reality. He was throwing hooks all over and the way he took the beat down to a
certain sound while at the same time making his pen known makes him the special
artist he is. It might have taken him a couple of years but Raykaz seems to
have discovered and mastered his sound, which is something we love to see: an
artist offering us an authentic sound that makes them special and worth it. In music,
it is quite a common thing where we get an artist trying to sound like another
artist or using and artist’s sound as a template to their music without a sense
of originality and authenticity, but this is something you will never find in
this EP.
2. Desire
“Trapping ain’t dead,” the common phrase used by trappers and it
shows life in this song, setting the tone with some wordplay and a curious (though
somewhat familiar) trap sound. The interchangeability of voices and rap styles
in-between verses in this song is just flawless. This song fuses the listeners’
love for both trapping and lyrical content making this song worth it. Our Desire
is to keep hearing Zim Hip Hop represented well like this and Hip-Hop in general.
This sound is special. The flow concept in this play is remarkable.
3. Code
Maintaining the
trap vibe, Code is the next song on this compilation of art by Raykaz; a
wavy song from the start to the end, just Raykaz doing what he can do best, RAP. He has exhibited versatility in his art and his ability to both hop on to
slow jams and trap sounds at the same time doing justice to the beat with his
impeccable pen game.
No doubt his pen
game is on point.
4. CJ’s Song
The song sets off with
a classical old sample playing, giving the preamble for a love-inclined themed
song with slow raps marking such a style on this jam. This project is beautifully
written you will probably have a hard time picking a favourite and if slow rap
is your cake, then bargain with CJ’s Song. This is an exhibition
of a pen and a pad coming together in a lovely artistic alliance. Raykaz is talking
about a love paradise at a getaway trip, just him and this girl, flexing and
enjoying nature’s gifts while listening to old slow love jams – perhaps one of
the purest shows of love. This song creates captures the listener to a
different set of rap, different from the first project songs, versatility!
5. Nabila
They’re poignantly poised to poison my soul, but…
I float buoyantly, though… past them on waves of truth that flow
And nourish me, and allow me to grow… so I make my escape …
By the skin of my tooth
The song is introduced by a quote and a hook which pave way for a verse
with Ray bending raps and styles on this quotable verse, his wordplay is seen
from the following extract,
Listen, who you know got the words twisting like afro?
Cooking dishes hotter than casserole, my cast/cats roll quiet as the night’s
Sleep and as tight as the gastro
Ray is asking if you can name any rapper who can bend and twist raps
like he can (twisting like Afro) with a comparison to the Afro which is a kinky
African hairstyle that ‘twists.’ The next line is just wordplay and word-bending with homonyms, with casserole/cast roll/cat’s roll talking about how
hot they are and how he and his squad move quietly.
Only trine’ acquire cilantro, that’s green chasing
Shit is only Meek cause we dream chasing…. Thinking Mills
M’s on my head when I’m speed racing
Ray talks of acquiring ‘greens’/ money by making a reference to cilantro,
which is a vegetable green in colour, “Only
trine’ acquire cilantro, that’s green chasing”. He then goes on to talk about how things at
times get tough and appears meek due to the fact that he chose to Dreamchase - another clever use of words as he alludes to popular
Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, who is the owner who is the owner of multiple
projects titled Dreamchasers.
Thinking Mills….M’s on my head when I’m speed racing
He goes on to talk
about different issues in the modern society like how religion is used by
hungry capitalist prophets pocketing money in churches, Ray plays with the
words again with the
They told me I ain’t fit to lead cause I ain’t follow religion
But the Leader of your syndicate is fondling children then he
Pocket up your tithes for a dollar incentive, Guess he’s a
Profit/prophet now innit but my relationship with Jesus doesn’t count
Cause I believe on all accounts that us as people better
Served by dedicating self to truth and not Cathedrals
These lines elucidate
how modern-day prophets, referred to as Profits/Prophets here, tend to use the
church as a business forum to drive capitalist profit agendas. But in all this
the actual truth lies in yourself and being a better person in the society. There
lies the actual betterment tool not dedicating lives to doctrines and systems
set in place to massage egos.
He goes on to talk
about internet opinions, how social media likes control this generations’
thought patterns and how we perceive ourselves – the likes and retweets on
these social apps are some sort of validation currency of worth. Raykaz then
goes on to talk about how this generation’s kids get on to learn the wrong
things through the internet and get to lusting first, raising men who will grow
not to respect women in society. He mentions how the suicidal statistics of
males are significantly higher because of how the wealth and health of a man’s
pocket determine his status in society. This at times can get tiring and because
of this warped system, men are leaning to ease the burden of this life.
I mean the global suicide figures highest in males imagine your whole existence rated by acquiring wealth so lean and pills cope with the pain or we firing shells (Gunshots) or hiding in shells to keep it in and swallow the grief
6. Blexcellence
The run of
excellence continues with Blexcellence which is Black-Excellence and
from the song you can certainly tell the assertiveness he has in his music. Throughout
this project, consistency has been a notable feature and from the concept Anxious
Confidence, he alternates between tracks that give the two words meaning,
getting confidence to get over anxiety. The production is marvellous on this
record, and the vocals on point.
Shxvx got mix like he work at the brewery
3 different languages Shona, English then money,
They grew on me; they got opinions when hiding on screen soon
As I ask them about it its ziiiiiiii
7. Not Real
He expresses how false
impressions and fake lifestyles portrayed around social media should never sway
you and change your path this song opens with the poetic verse by Munya Murapa,
By the skin of my tooth…. And a low profile I will keep to allow me to take root till time toks and ripens my fruit…That I may nourish you who grasp, struggle… and yearn for the sweet nectar… the syrup of youth
In the first verse Ray talks about how he has personally struggled and how
he has managed to get over everything that was going on. The title Not Real is
self-explanatory, as he mentions how sometimes there is a false reality created
through hype and fame. He’s talking about how throughout every success or
failure, you cannot be swayed away from a set goal and vision and in everything
never losing yourself.
They’ll do away with you my nigga don’t ever think you different because of the hype
They’ll do away with you my nigga don’t get distracted by action and cameras and lights
They’ll start to play with you nigga you’ll end up another statistic from taking your life
You think a star, they judge from afar and quick as it came…..you outta sight
He goes on to talk about how with growing up there are certain changes
that are difficult to cope with and how the way you view life changes with more
responsibilities and burdens. One must rise above it all and muscle up.
8. Easy
Another wavy song depicting the confidence bias of this EP, the twisting
of words is phenomenal. The backing vocals on this song were top tier, and we
have to give the producer on this track his flowers this was well produced. It
seems he has discovered and somehow mastered his craft; the music is there to
prove that. In the last part he talks about how things work out well if you
believe in yourself and never force things, thus remaining authentic and
goal-driven.
9. Spiderman
Niggas be faking depression, don’t even know how to be broken
I used it to my advantage, the beast that’s inside of me woken
Over the whole project he has addressed issues to do with anxiety and
depression, how these have affected him in the past, and how he coped. Now, he
is talking about how he used that time to catapult himself back into the game
and create timeless music. He talks about how he’s been held back and how
anxiety affected music release in the song Cold (Intro). Over the whole
project he mentions the issue of Team Oriented goals and how he prefers a
low-key story away from the mainstream side of this musical industry and this
still progresses over and continues on this song (Concept Consistency)
Live by the code and we laid to the letter tryna take over your stereo
That is my latest endeavour I got a team tell ‘em that I do not want it if we cannot
Make it together
He’s riding around in that Spiderman suit with his eyes glued to the
prize.
10. Zaykaz
Got a tat, on my back not from ink from the whip
I’m a slave born to fail cause of the colour of my
Skin
Raykaz is talking about how he is already getting whipped by the system
because of the fact that he is black. He finds an artistic way convey the issue
and gets to talk about how people never get to understand him as a person and
the journey from the start. The media driven agenda may give false impressions
inverse to what exactly happens or happened, as he was saying on Not Real.
You don’t really know my life
You don’t really know my story
You don’t really know my strife
You ain’t never seen my scars, you don’t really know my pores
You ain’t never seen my heart, only ever seen my flaws
You ain’t never seen me cry, only ever shown my strong
11. Deuce
This is collaboration between two very talented artists, Raykaz &
Suhn. The inter-verse change makes this that collaboration; “Ray & Suhn top 2 that’s not restricted
to area code.” They did justice on that beat. The confidence and composure exuded
by these two is remarkable. The song touches on the confidence aspect of this
project. It is worth the listen and with the rappers’ ability to fuse their
sound together, it affords listeners comfortable listening experiences. At
least for those amenable to contemporary hip-hop sounds.
Sunning you niggas might need to check on the RNA
Running you niggas, you might end up where Aaliyah stay
He makes a reference to the legend Aaliyah who passed on in 2001.
12. Reaper
As with Cold, Nabila and Not real, the track opens with a
poetic quote from Munyaradzi Murapa,
The chains of the hive mind that seek to pull me out
Bleach and sentence me to the blind side…
They seek to seal my mind’s eye…That I may not exist as, I ….
…but rather, as a statistic
A well-backed hook. He is expressing and sharing an experience of a
painful moment(s) in his life and this is aligned with the anxiety and pain
aspect of the project theme.
I done lost my mind to the fallen time
Life get hard again, mama where the rope?
I give in to blame, I look at the razor
…I look at my life, think I might erase it
Nothing keep me going, mm
This project gives an artistic perspective and allows to a fully
understand how this came to be, what happened and how he was thinking, now we
run up the project with the last and final track
13. Runners Outro (Confidence)
Going in confidence he puts the pen on the pad, a good way to sign out
by Raykaz. Excellent hook, well mixed and mastered. The trajectory from here
for Raykaz at this point is only up and he knows what he wants and is surely
going to get it.
Anxiety building, it’s big as a building, it’s built
In and I do not think I can change but please don’t
Interpret my kindness for weakness, defeated that’s part
Of the fame it’s one and the same
He seems to have his goals well planned out; the vision is so clear.
You can listen to Anxious Confidence by Raykaz via this link and tell us what you think.
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