Kakata ya Nerubia zulas to survive on new album

KAKATA ya Nerubia recently released his album ‘Born 2 Suffer: Zula To Survive’ on which he delivers a message of trials and triumph through music.

The album kicks off with a word of thanks where Nerubia gives shout outs to his family, friends, fans and God as well as all who took part in producing the album. That would be producers Elia, Villo, Araffat, M-J and Glo.

Track three, ‘I Can Take You’ featuring Zoey, delivers a blend of Afro-pop and R&B and is a catchy and dance-worthy love jam with quality vocals and instrumentals, but with more bass, the track would’ve reached higher heights.

With things looking good a few tracks in, the rest of the album is expected to deliver.

‘Too Beautiful’, an upbeat love song, carries the same atmosphere as track three. Also a nice track to get jiggy to, this song is, however, not as catchy as ‘I Can Take You’. Some technical faults creep in regarding the mixing and mastering, although some of those small aspects can be changed.

A track produced by the artist himself on which he fuses different sounds, ‘Okakadona Kosjili’ featuring Mr Ace slows down the pace of the album a bit. While the instrumentals are exciting and enjoyable to listen to, they get drowned out a bit by the vocals.

Speeding things up again, ‘Move and Shake’, produced by Elia, has a house feel to it. ‘Party Going On’ plays on a fusion of sounds, as do some of the previous tracks – Nerubia not only sings on this one, but also spits a few bars in vernacular.

Going back to a stronger, old school foundation, ‘Celebrator’ with Odie takes you back to the late 90s or early naughties and the sounds of Mzekezeke, Mandosa or Trompies. Nerubia shows good ability to transition between local languages, making the track relatable to various groups.

On track 12, ‘Love You Forever’ with Mr Ace, Nerubia delivers another R&B inspired love song and on ‘Say No To Suicide’, he gets inspirational. The lyrics of this song could have been better, however, the chorus makes up for it.

‘Follow My Lord’ delivers another well-rounded collaboration with Zoey. The uniquely African sounds on this track make it a very enjoyable song to listen to.

Although there are a few wrinkles Nerubia needs to iron out, this project is well polished and offers an array of different sounds and moods for the audience. Hopefully Nerubia will improve as an artist as there seems to still be a lot of fire left in him.

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