Album Review: Hustle – The Album by NC Dread
NC Dread has been at it for a long while and its for the long haul. The grind, the hustle has never stopped but has intensified this year with the culmination of the release of his debut album – Hustle. Basically the hustle has paid off and now secured him a spot in the Dancehall scene in South Africa and in the Continent. He is one artist who had his tunes played in Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda. He has made connections and collaboration with fellow artist from Tanzania to Jamaica and made valuable links in the UK and Greece. During this period, between traveling, studio time and promotions, he has been dropping a single every now and then, the formation of Hustle – The Album.
The Album opens up with the title track Hustle. The whole point of hustling is to get to a point where you intend to be. There is no point in continuous hustling with no end results. Here NC Dread says he’s been hustling everyday and never strayed and he wont stop until he gets there. Ultimate goal seemingly, being money, represented by the splash of the dollar of the cover of the album. Just as players have their cheaters prayers songs, so do hustlers have their grind song. And Hustle it is.
He then delves into his signature singjay style with the hit tune Dem Cant Stop mi. This is the tune that got him featured on the Jamaican Star newspaper and play listed on ZipFM103 in Jamaica. It was produced by Fras Twinz from Jamaica on the popular Party Vibe Riddim which had Dancehall heavyweights like Red Rat, TOK and General Degree featured on it. This is a song that is definitely an NC Dread tune, it can never be mistaken for another. The collaboration with the twins definitely brought out the best of NC Dread in this tune.
In the song Don’t give up, NC Dread displays his understanding of the hustle and how rough and frustrating it can be. He demonstrates that he has been there and it easy to throw in the towel. The lyrics speaks to his peers, they subtly speak about his experience and basically says just like him, the hustle will eventually pay off one day. Its pretty much a raggy road before you get there, its the rite of passage. The message is delivered once again in true NC Dread style.
Dutty Bad Mind is like paying homage to his mentors and people who have influenced his music and his style. This is dancehall as it should be, the flow, the riddim, the beat and the lyrics. All the components of a dancehall tune, a singjay stylin head quartered in Jamaica and dispersed to the rest of the continent to be revised and interpreted accordingly.
The single Fire Burn Dem stands out for its bold stance against child abusers. When he released the single he also provided support centre numbers for reporting child abusers and for victims to seek assistance encouraging the community to be involved and be part of the solution. It is quite evident that he feels strongly about this as he says in the song: throw dem in jail and dash weh the key/ cut out dem pee.
The song Music, is an upbeat singalong tune laid on the a free flowing riddim with a pop sound to it giving it that cross over appeal. But what is appealing about it is the introduction it gives us to Tanzanian Dancehall artist Chibwa. The collaboration and production flow seamlessly and it piques an interest into Tanzanian Dancehall scene and especially the artist himself, exactly what cross border collaboration should do, has been achieved by this collabo.
The same applies with My World, a cross border collabo introducing us to Lamboginny from Naija. The tune set off and Lamboginny ride pon the track like a Lamborghini cruising on a wide open road. Mavluz from Ghana and Da’Nandi from Jamaica also get to flex some serious flow on the track Rich. A club banger headed for the Bassline and Bar9 dancefloors. Chico from Jamaica makes an appearance on the track Love you More on the Blackol Record’s Wrong turn riddim. Praise is the song paying tribute to the Almighty voiced on a riddim with an old school feel produced by Jusa Dementor of Abbra Records.
The remaining tracks provide a solid presentation of NC’s vocal range. His ability to connect with other artists from diverse genres and different countries is a remarkable feat. Although a song like Can’t let go is average, it plays its role in demonstrating the other playful side of the singer. It has got a bit of an RnB feel to it and deals with RnB issues of love and lyrics. On Games he features LaSoul, a South African RnB artist to render a soulful catchy song.
The 15 track album is testament to hard work paying off. The mixed bag of producers contributing to it makes it a listening pleasure as it gives varied tastes and sound. The album owes its high production quality to Soulful Records in Cape Town where it was mixed and mastered with an overall rating of 7/10 from this listener. The physical copies are now available in Cape Town and will also be available in Johannesburg with the digital release on itunes.
NC Dread – Hustle – The Album
Digital Release: 04 December 15. Distributed by 21 Hapilos
Mixed and Mastered: Soulful Records, Cape Town
Genre: Dancehall
Executive Producer: NC Dread
Track list
01. Hustle02. Games
03. What you do
04. Don’t give up
05. Fire burn dem
06. My World
07. I know
08. Praise
09. Love you more
10. Dem cah stop mi
11. Dutty Badmind
12. Rich
13. Music
14. Cant let go
15. Rich Again [Remix]
Featured artists: Lasoul [South Africa], Chibwa [Tanzania], Lamboginny [Nigeria], Mavluz [Ghana], Di’Nandi [Jamaica] Chico [Jamaica].
