Progressing from the more intimate monologue in “Forward” ( the first single off his new album “Bondzie” ), M3NSA once again shows us how much he owns a clear sense of reality with an incomparable way of reading the room, presenting hard truths with a charming allure.
M.anifest adds his charm and his classic cadence, and the dialogue between these long time friends is seductive, to the point that when the hard truths hit, they hit harder.
Some collaborations can have a purely commercial purpose, but with “QFTG”, we sense the natural synergy and connection between the artists involved.
They have known each other since they were teenagers; no wonder M.anifest sounds so at ease and in his element next to M3NSA. Their exchange is riveting, and the question for them is why they don’t do more of it, because honestly, it is a joy to listen.
With M3NSA, we are used to complex and layered productions. “To master the art of entirely producing your music by yourself,” he says, “you can never settle for preconceived ideas about your sound, and you have to escape self-imposed limitations. It’s almost a schizophrenic act of being in and outside your music.”
His performance on “QFTG” sounds like a liberating moment: for once, he just sunk into this soul-style sampling ( produced by Radical the Kid ) and gave us a more raw, still refined, performance.
He points toward many Ghanaian ( or African ) current issues, in a Kanye-sque way to reference pop-culture poignantly, questioning those who are stuck in a bubble of privilege, those who consider themselves “above” us: Gods or Idolised Humans?
When he decided to crowdfund the release of his upcoming album “Bondzie” through Kickstarter, he questioned the industry, the algorithms, refusing to conform to how an artist releases their music and how an African artist should sound like, and present his work.
Throughout his career, he’s always taken on the responsibility of questioning everything, not as a PR stunt, not to sound conscious or controversial, but to respect and own his nature. And while growing as a musician and a producer, he has always been true to himself. Not every artist has to do it, but when someone does, especially in an environment that seems to be expecting the opposite, we should probably pay more attention.
Questions For The Gods is almost an interlude that leaves us wanting more, another piece of the puzzle that M3NSA’s next album is. The good news is, it seems we will not have to wait too much for what’s next.
