To create is often to release. A dissipation of pressure. It may be driven by a need to scratch an itch, a desire to shape something into being or something as raw and instinctual as catharsis.
Benefit Tanaka's fourth studio album seems shaped by all 3 factors, with a heavy emphasis on catharsis. It is weighed down by emotion, driven by need and underlied by grief. Yet before everything it contains is analysed in context, what it presents is an artist confident in his craft.
Basquiat is a name synonymous with artistic greatness. Collector's items, that grace renowned art galleries and the homesteads of multi millionaires. Benefit's Basquiat is a homage to the artist in how it questions the world, a mirror for the painter's brilliance and a display of how Benefit sees Basquiat in himself: Not only in creative exploits that exceed their youth but in both of them being painters.
Benefit is exorcising his demons, letting go of his pain and coming to grips with what he can or cannot control. All of which give rise to anger, even if this comes with understanding, it is an understanding still brash with questions. This is evident right from onset.
It is quintessential boom bap, and delivered with the aggression of a tirade but clear and concise thought. This is echoed throughout the project.
On the surface "A.O.T.Y Contender" is a middle finger to the critics but in contextual translation it is the understanding that what you think of yourself matters above all else. Yet it may be hard to look beyond its directness because the hook is punctuated by "Fuck all you niggas and your approval, anoda huya fight."
The album shape-shifts but remains consistent both sonically and thematically. It is vulnerable in "Quick, I'm Losing Patience," a solemn poem that questions multiple aspects of existence with sad yet beautiful storytelling. It is defiant in "Underground," which is best explained by refrain "Let it okay for Saint to be Saint, for Sane to be Sane, for Suhn to be Suhn, and for me to be me." It is an expression of grief in "If I Had" and "Angel's Belong I Heaven," songs that are an ode to the loved one Benefit lost but also other things to fall out of his grasp.
In every moment possible, Benefit remembers P, the love of his life. In speaking on the pain of his loss and the depth of his love, he also reflects on himself and how far he's come. In many ways Basquiat is anaphoric, building on the stories his previous albums Benefit Fred, Shakespeare and Pana Mwinga (the dedication to the love of his life) gave us. It is a concept project, with the concept being his life.
While Benefit is the star at Basquiat's core, the importance of the production in bringing this album to life cannot be overstated. From the xylophonic chimes, to the acoustic drums and the jazzy chords, the cast of Calvinmadeit, Phoenix Beats, Brett Jaggz, and Boy Tricky have a touch that doesn't falter. There's a distinctive identity to the production in the sampling of Jean-Michel Basquiat himself, Yuki Kaji, and Yui Ishikawa.
In the perspective of hip hop it is the craft executed as it was always meant to be, but in the perspective of life there's a sentiment of existence being unfair. Benefit Tanaka openly shares himself, and there are moments bound to leave one without words as they bear witness.
Greedysouth rating: 7.8/10
Basquiat is a name synonymous with artistic greatness. Collector's items, that grace renowned art galleries and the homesteads of multi millionaires. Benefit's Basquiat is a homage to the artist in how it questions the world, a mirror for the painter's brilliance and a display of how Benefit sees Basquiat in himself: Not only in creative exploits that exceed their youth but in both of them being painters.
Benefit is exorcising his demons, letting go of his pain and coming to grips with what he can or cannot control. All of which give rise to anger, even if this comes with understanding, it is an understanding still brash with questions. This is evident right from onset.
The intro "B.I.M.B" sets the tone right from the beginning, with reflections on how Benefit initially wanted to take a break from music but decided to forgo that and channel his emotions into another project: "I'll do another one just for the hell of it/Kusvika makuti mukanzwa kuti classic album you think Benefit."
It is quintessential boom bap, and delivered with the aggression of a tirade but clear and concise thought. This is echoed throughout the project.
On the surface "A.O.T.Y Contender" is a middle finger to the critics but in contextual translation it is the understanding that what you think of yourself matters above all else. Yet it may be hard to look beyond its directness because the hook is punctuated by "Fuck all you niggas and your approval, anoda huya fight."
The album shape-shifts but remains consistent both sonically and thematically. It is vulnerable in "Quick, I'm Losing Patience," a solemn poem that questions multiple aspects of existence with sad yet beautiful storytelling. It is defiant in "Underground," which is best explained by refrain "Let it okay for Saint to be Saint, for Sane to be Sane, for Suhn to be Suhn, and for me to be me." It is an expression of grief in "If I Had" and "Angel's Belong I Heaven," songs that are an ode to the loved one Benefit lost but also other things to fall out of his grasp.
In every moment possible, Benefit remembers P, the love of his life. In speaking on the pain of his loss and the depth of his love, he also reflects on himself and how far he's come. In many ways Basquiat is anaphoric, building on the stories his previous albums Benefit Fred, Shakespeare and Pana Mwinga (the dedication to the love of his life) gave us. It is a concept project, with the concept being his life.
While Benefit is the star at Basquiat's core, the importance of the production in bringing this album to life cannot be overstated. From the xylophonic chimes, to the acoustic drums and the jazzy chords, the cast of Calvinmadeit, Phoenix Beats, Brett Jaggz, and Boy Tricky have a touch that doesn't falter. There's a distinctive identity to the production in the sampling of Jean-Michel Basquiat himself, Yuki Kaji, and Yui Ishikawa.
In the perspective of hip hop it is the craft executed as it was always meant to be, but in the perspective of life there's a sentiment of existence being unfair. Benefit Tanaka openly shares himself, and there are moments bound to leave one without words as they bear witness.
Greedysouth rating: 7.8/10