On those chilled, cloudy days when you just want to be in bed listening to some soulful slow jams, you can certainly tune into Jermain Casper’s ‘Ninety Six 96’.
Growing up in Khomasdal, the young R&B and pop singer mentioned his surroundings, experiences and his mood transcend into his lyrics and the music he makes at the end of the day.
In ‘Ninety Six 96’ Casper said his life experiences since his birth year and going through life’s roller coaster and difficult moments inspired his album.
This makes the album relatable as most of us have gone through the same issues, especially those concerning the heart.
Casper lays his heart bare on some of his tracks – showing vulnerability, purity and allows his music to connect with the audience.
On track three, ‘Roses Are Red’, Casper reveals his crush on someone special, who has no idea of his feelings.
“Have a crush on you, wanna tell you, but it’s hard.” This is something probably everyone has gone through, and Casper captures the rawness of the situation perfectly in his lyrics with the appropriate melody to tie the track together.
Casper also mentioned that although he doesn’t want to imitate him, John Legend is one of the artists he looks up to.
“I look up to John Legend. I don’t want to be like him, but I admire what he does. He is really passionate about music and always has a message, especially that people should love one another and not hate. And that’s what I want to do as an artist,” Casper said, and he certainly achieved that with this album.
Another artist’s presence manifests on ‘Ninety Six 96’, and that would be Casper’s co-writer, the eloquent Michael Pulse.
Those who know Pulse and his music will not take long to catch onto his influence on the album, especially since the two artists share a producer – Ponti.
What would an R&B album be without a little more explicit material? Track six titled ‘Cooling It Down’ featuring rapper Abdallah, provides the album with a dash of sensuality, making you want to grab a girl, slow dance and get lost in each other.
Factors I always look out for in music are originality, story-telling, instrumentals and how it all comes together.
Casper hasn’t disappointed in these aspects. However, on certain tracks, he should work on his articulation as some lyrics are lost behind the music.
Other songs on the album feature the likes of Braze, Mappz and Romi – although these features weren’t necessary and may have taken away from their respective songs as Casper’s vocals already delivered the quality and honesty to the music.
My favourite songs on the album include ‘Broken’, ‘Game Over’ and ‘Cooling It Down’. Casper delivered soothing, soulful hits and an album that is euphonious – certainly music that should be on your playlist.
