Album Review: ExQ - Putiti

This is a very late review I know but the Album truly deserves a review. I have a theory of how the album name came about: After the comments ExQ received for his "Putiti" line on Alleluya, the icon thought of using that attention and named his album Putiti. When I learned his album was gonna be named putiti ndakatoti ndo mafunnies aya and when the album dropped end of 2015 I downloaded my copy but did not really give it time, only knew of the tracks that had been released before like; The Way, Pore Pore, Alleluya and Bhachura. Loved these 4 tracks like crazy, managed to review all of them but somehow I was reluctant to listen to the whole album, mostly because the end of year belonged to Winky D's Gafa Life Kickstape so other projects takamboisa paside.

After the Winky D craze died down, started listening to the album bit by bit. It seemed as I started to listen to the album more, so did the majority of Zimbos, evidenced by the increased radio airplay and the inclusion of some of the tracks in the various radio music charts. The album has been downloaded 73 585 times to date, Zimbos are really enjoying the album. Good music always find its way to the people.

The Album contains 12 tracks and below is a track by track review of the tracks:

1) Alleluya ft Roki

This is a beautiful jam, did a review of the track and video some time back: Alleluya Review. However since I realized  that this track borrowed a lot from (one might say copied) Skales - Shake Body my excitement towards the track diminished a lot.

2) Pina Colada

The only house track on the album and it has a nice instrumental. It maintains the energy from Alleluya and continues with the party vibe. It not much about the vocals here, I feel they are just there to fill up the track without taking center stage. However ExQ is urging people not to focus on the bad things but the good things we can do. The vocalists put in a commendable effort, Its a standard track.

3) Bella ft Nutty O

The Kenako Boys did a great job on this one. The track has a nice Afro (Nigerian/Ghananian) dancehall vibe to it. Bella continues with the party vibe, drop it a party and people will go crazy. Oskid did a great job on the instrumental, I bet a lot of east African artists would have jumped on it given a chance. ExQ and Nutty O complemented each other well on this track, am loving their combination.

4) Bhachura Remix ft Ammara Brown

Reviewed the original track; Bhachura Review. Its more like the original track, with the exception of the Ammara flavour. The instrumental of this track is heavenly, Oskid magic fingers were on fire here, my favourite instrumental on the whole album. Love the theme and advice; Do not rush into marriage take your time, its a lifetime commitment and if you rush you are in for a lifetime of stress and pain. Don't know which one I prefer between this one and the original. Both are great tracks though. 

5) Mamoyo ft Jah Prayzah

This is a favourite of many, possibly the biggest track on the album. Its a masterpiece if you ask me. The combination between the two artists worked better than many anticipated. Love songs don't get better than this. The producer managed to bring out the best in the two artists without sacrificing one. that balance makes the song amazing. That part from 3:15-4:01 is just awesome, superb. This is a classic track here. Production on point, vocals on point. Fantastic track.

6) Hasha ft Trevor D

ExQ featured the King of RnB on this track. Anger is a major problem in many relationships and this track is urging people to keep their anger in check. Don't get into a situation whereby your partner is afraid to talk to you because of your anger. They went for a hip hop inspired RnB instrumental here and it worked pretty well. Trevor is one of the best vocalist in Zim and he showcased his talent here. ExQ also gave a commendable performance on this track. 

7) Pore Pore ft Nesto & Roki

This track was released in January last year. Yes last year. Its the most chilled track on the album. The instrumental is heavenly...love it to bits. It was undoubtedly one of the best love songs of 2015 despite not getting much mainstream success. Roki was amazing as usual on this track, ExQ delivered his signature style flow. Nesto was crazy and amazing as usual, his lines are out of this world. The collaboration works very well. It was the number 3 song for the month of January 2015. Its a lovely lovely track.

8) Bhachura ft Oskid 

Reviewed the track before: Bhachura Review. Also read on Bhachura remix. It was the number 3 track for track for the month of September 2015

9) Nzungu Ndamenya ft Cal_Vin

Reviewed the track last year, check out the review: Nzungu Ndamenya Review

10) I Love You ft Roki & Alexio

This is one of my favourite track on the album. Also love the instrumental on this one, its a well produced track. The bass-line is awesome. This track is about saying I love You to your partner, spending time and enjoying life with your partner. The best part of this track is the way the artists blend and complement each other. Roki's superb vocals, ExQ's  rapping and Alexio's awesome signature sound. Its an amazing and solid track.

11) What am I To Do ft Alchemy

The instrumental won me over before the  vocals even kicked in. Another great instrumental here, its on a mellow and awesome Afro-beat tip. Its a track about a guy who is crazy about a girl but is afraid to approach her...as a guy you have been in this situation at least once in your life. ExQ was at his best on the verses, he is not the best rapper around but his signature flow has made him into an icon and it worked well on this track. Alchemy did a great job on the chorus. The collaboration worked very well here. Another Solid Jam

14) The Way ft Roki

This was one of the earliest singles released, reviewed it in January last year and it earned the top spot for that month. Loved this track from the first listen. A year plus in the future its still one of my favourite on the album. Its an uptempo afro beat track. Roki and ExQ made a great combination here. They are a definitely unstoppable when they work together. Its catchy and you are likely to be dancing by the end of the track. Its a perfect track if you ask me. Despite Alleluya getting all the attention in 2015, to me this track is miles better and with a video it was gonna perform much better.

Download the Album: Putiti

In overall this is a beautiful album. ExQ embraced the afro beat vibe and currently there is no studio that does it better than Kenako where this album was produced. The overall production of the album is very good. The vocal performances are on point. This album really shows why ExQ is respected and loved and at the same time responding to those who said ExQ is finished. Download your copy and enjoy.

Proud Zimbo Rating: B (70%)

What are your thoughts on the album??

Proud_Zimbo