2020s Zimbabwean hip hop is an era in the genre that is said to have been inaugurated by Holy Ten's "Ndaremerwa." This is a widely held consensus and you would have little ammunition to argue against it. While previous eras of the genre are blurry in their beginnings and endings, "Ndaremerwa" is a clear marker of the shift that arrived at the turn of the decade.
Now fast forward 5 years from that point and you arrive at another turning point, Sane's "Bhimu."
It may not yet be Zim hip hop canon but "Bhimu" is without doubt a demarcation of a cultural shift within the genre, and hindsight will treat this assertion kindly. The bounce and swagger Sane presented with his long awaited single was one that not only demanded our attention but the attention of other artists. So much so that the sound we first experienced with Sane has already gone beyond him.
So when he calls himself "Mwene WeKoloso," which is in essence the "King of the New School," it is not an assertion without merit. Sane has a knack for quotable lyrics, infectious bass lines that bubble with rhythm and melodies that worm their way into your ear. His visuals are eye catching and his aesthetics crisp but not rigid, simply said he just has it.
However on his debut album he doesn’t quite exude all these qualities. While the album title holds the promise of braggadocio and grandstanding (justified or otherwise), Mwene WeKoloso is self indulgent in much more different way. This is a 13 track project of Sane just having fun.
Trappy beats with intricate drum patterns and rapid hi hats meet Sane's signature bounce, resulting in creations that border on the whimsical. Seemingly incongruent in some moments, when the musical alchemy works, Sane strikes gold. This is particularly true for the title track "Mwene WeKoloso."
In true trap fashion, Mwene WeKoloso is rife with escapism and the notion of being trapped by your surroundings. Hweda paints a particularly poignant picture of this on the gritty and energetic "Captain Kalanji" when he says "Chikuru kufema, pamwe chete nekubhema," putting survival and drug use at the pinnacle of Zimbabwean existence.
"Zumbani" sees Sane celebrate his own adaptability while the track title serves a metaphor for marijuana, on "Geisha" he takes a moment to revel in his own success, and the Latto inspired "Big Mwana" sees him get a lending hand from Young Gemini for a Zimbabwean take on "Big Mama."
The melodic version of Sane makes an appearance on the love songs "On and Off" and "Energy" offsetting the trap nature of the album. Something "Fine Shyt," the dancehall duet with Delroy Shewe also does equally well.
Mwene WeKoloso has sparks of brilliance, but the sum of its parts falls short of this label. What Nasper and Usadaro (Sane's producer moniker) work together on production is certainly as good as anything Zim hip hop has ever created, however the music doesn't quite match up to this.
Greedysouth rating: 6.8/10