A few weeks after releasing Bibo Worldwide Side A, we finally have Side B available on all platforms and we've been anxiously waiting for it. Yet Side A is a tough act to follow. We've been vibing to those 8 tracks and everyday they've been growing on us. In today's modern music industry were so many acts are stacking their albums with songs in order to ramp up streaming numbers we've been wondering if Side B is needed at all.
After all we don't just want music released for the sake of releasing it but we want a sound that tells us of the pursuit of perfecting the art. Side A of Bibo Worldwide has been making it's rounds and gaining Bryan K a growing fanbase. It hasn't blown up to the point of matching the level of mastery that went into it but it's getting rightly deserved recognition. So I wondered if it didn't deserve more time to breathe before Side B got here. I was just wondering if a 16+ track album wasn't too much.
Yet in the past it has worked extremely well when Takura dropped SHTDi or when Drake dropped Scorpio and Future dropped 2 number 1 albums in back to back weeks. So maybe just maybe the way to go is that if plan A works well then carry on to plan B and make that work well too. Now over there years there's been a certain maturity in the art that I've noticed in Bryan K's music. From the message in his music to the lyricism and vocal ability.
Bibo Worldwide Side B holds onto the same uniformity of sound as Side A and it's consistent in quality. It boasts of features from one the artist's of the moment in Anita Jaxson, Zim-hiphop royalty in the form of Simba Tagz, the reigning female artist of the year Tamy Moyo, Nutty-O who featured again on Side A and Mo-T. From the get go it raised our expectations and that always alters the way we listen to the music.
Number one is a beautiful slow burning RnB joint where a girl is repeatedly promised she's the only one. It's laid back with simple lyrics that are executed to perfection and it has a strong quality to the melody. Bryan K goes, "Girl you'll be my number one, girl you'll be my only one..." I'm taken back to so many times I've said these exact same words and meant them. So many promises the heart believed at the time but then things always get complicated.
Nutty O and Bryan K deliver a gem on Killing me softly. On Side A they did alright together on the track Ita ft Jnr Brown alongside them but Killing them softly is a cut above it. It has a vibrant tempo that blends well with Nutty's jamaican accent and Bryan K hitting us with a few high notes of "usandisiye ndichidonha". The good vibes interlude leaves me wanting more and when you're in a mood for it, this is an album you can listen to without skipping a song.
Pandiri featuring the gifted Anita Jaxson is another beautiful song that delivers all the right vibes. It's a balanced song filled with Jamaican influences, vibrant lyrics and perfect mix of two different vocal talents. Anita Jaxson comes through in full dancehall mode with the accent to match and she switches it up as her verse goes on.
The sounds are mixed together throughout but the album somehow remains distinctly Bryan K. You can tell through it all that it's him no matter the other influences he fuses with. And when you listen to an album you always love that distinct identity that sets it apart. Wakanda loving featuring Simba Tagz delivers the get up and dance vibes and the instant I listened to it I knew I loved it.
It's this goulash of RnB, HipHop and Afrofusion that just simply works together. They were probably in the studio and decided to just throw everything into it and voila a masterpiece emerged. African woman serenades us in a beautiful soft sound that's filled with Jazz and tender vocals.
There's so much to explore and digest on this album. The production was done well and it's well written. It's a body of sound with a long journey ahead of it and I believe it'll age well.
Greedysouth rating: 7.2/10