Album Review: Simba Tagz - Natural Selection
Have been a big Tagz fan since I listened to his Black project a couple of years back, up to this day I still have some tracks from that album in my phone. It takes a lot for a song to be a permanent feature on my playlist but Tagz has managed to do that. After that he also delivered a superb Titans EP which he collaborated with Dutch. When he announced the release of his album, I was glad because his past projects Black & Titans have been awesome....the album finally dropped and got my copy and got the listening. So today ill be giving my thoughts and views on the album.
The album contains 15 tracks and below is a track by track review.
1. Plenty
The first track on the album is a lovely afro fusion. The guitar work gives the afro beat instrumental a nice dimension, love the instrumental. On this track Tagz is saying to his girl he will always be by her side so he wants all her love, he wants plenty of her love. The vocal performance from Tagz is on point, the vocals are also arranged well. This is a solid jam.
2. With You feat. Dotman
The first track on the album is a lovely afro fusion. The guitar work gives the afro beat instrumental a nice dimension, love the instrumental. On this track Tagz is saying to his girl he will always be by her side so he wants all her love, he wants plenty of her love. The vocal performance from Tagz is on point, the vocals are also arranged well. This is a solid jam.
2. With You feat. Dotman
The track is on a slow typical afro beat instrumental. The production is done very well, the arrangement is standard and sounding very good, love the bass. On this track Tagz is simply saying he wants to share his love with his lady. The way this track is structured is catchy, it has that feel good vibe that stays with you throughout the track. The Zim-Nigeria collaboration worked quite well and both gave good performances.. The vocals are structured in way that makes it easy to sing along, Dotman did a good job on the chorus and by the end of the song you will be singing along. Solid Jam.
3. Love
Love the modern dancehall vibe of this track. This is a sound that has taken over the international scene and they did it very well here. The instrumental is arranged very well, superb work on the production. Tagz gave a superb vocal performance on the track, he blended well with the instrumental, he also complimented the dancehall vibe to near perfection. On this track Tagz is appreciating the Love that is now being showed to him in the streets. There have been a lot of ups and downs in his career but after all that he powered through and now he is appreciated. Solid Jam.
4. Madha
The lovely guitar work is back on this track. The instrumental is an afro beat house kind of tip, the Soweto Baby kind of fusion. The overall production is done very well, great work by YoungNash. The vocal performance is also done quite well. This is a track a guy will sing when he comes across a lady he can see having a future with, a girl he wants to call his Madam. All in all this is a good jam, love the production and arrangement.
5. Mr Lover
You are greeted with a nice guitar loop which also carries on for the whole track and it gives the track a nice vibe. Don't know if it was Sylent Nqo behind the guitar but its a superb touch. The overall instrumental is sounding superb, the bass is done well. The arrangement is on an afro beat tip and it's standard, but the guitar gives the track that unique feel, great work on the production. Tagz was also up to par on the vocals, he delivered a very good signature performance. On this track Tagz is just praising his girl, throwing compliments at her, hitting her with the lines (kurifonyora) and the lady is impressed and now refers to him as Mr Lover. The lyrics are nice, simple and a bit cheesy on a number of times but it all done very well and with such an awesome instrumental (guitar loop) it makes for one solid jam.
6. No Pressure
This was the first single released from the album and did a review of the track months back, read the review here: No Pressure Track Review.
7. Get With You
They switched from afro beat to a more RnB/Hip hop kind of instrumental. He engaged Young Nash on the production of this one and he did a good job. Tagz gave a good performance on the jam. This jam is dedicated to all those who hate on Tagz, he is saying you should get with me, I got all the girls and good stuff. This jam has this modern international feel and one will not even think it's a local jam if its were not for the shona words on the first verse, and that's both good and bad.
8. You
Tagz continues with his dancehall influenced instrumentals on this jam. The instrumental is sounding very good, the keyboard work is simple and on point. Tagz again delivered a very good performance on this jam. On this Tagz is saying to this lady that he is missing her and she makes everything seem better so he wants her, a lil bit of her in his life. All in all this is another lovely jam on the album.
9. Hello
The dancehall influenced instrumental here will get you dancing from the from the first time the beat drops. The production is done very well, the instrumental is arranged in a standard way and will fit perfectly among the many international similar songs. Great work by Tagz & Rob Macson on the production. On this track Tagz is regretting not saying hello to this girl and now she is gone. The instrumental is captivating and will get you dancing in no time. The vocals are structured in a standard way for this type of sound, they compliment the beat, easy to follow and sing along. Superb Jam.
10. Best Friends ft O25
They continued with the dancehall sound on this track. The production like all the tracks before is done very well, instrumental is sounding very goood. Drop this is the club and the ladies will be going crazzzzy. Love the instrumental. On this track Tagz is saying to this girl that one cannot leave alone, they need a best friend and someone to hold them down when they need company so he wants that girl to be his best friend. The vocal performances are done very well, Tagz and O25 blended very well. This is one song that's gonna get a lot of people dancing.
11. No Hands
They switched to a more bouncy hip hop type of instrumental on this jam. The production as usual is done well. Love the acoustic guitar addition, it gives the track a lovely dimension. Also love how the instrumental switches on the chorus. Superb work on the production. On this track Tagz is they way he charms up the ladies make it seem easy, the ladies are all around her and hoping he would chose one of them. Tagz delivered his signature vocal performance.
12. Yolanda
Tagz relived the production duties to Sarz on this jam and he did a good job, the instrumental is on an afro beat tip and its sounding good. Sarz has been in the game for some time and he just shows his magic touch here. Love the saxophone, it was a great addition, it adds this jazzy feel to the song. Great job by Sarz. Yolanda is a girl that has Tagz going crazy, she says she only dates Naija boys but Tagz is saying I can do anything for you, I can even die for you, just give me a chance. The vocal arrangement is also done very good. Its a solid jam.
13. One More Time
From the onset one will feel the house vibe, the Uhuru kind of sound to be specific. The overall instrumental is sounding good. On this track Tagz is saying tot his girl I just need one more time with you, one more dance, one more drink.They arranged the vocals in a standard way and it blends well with the instrumental. It a nice song in overall, one of those songs that may not be massive hits but is definitely guaranteed to get people dancing especially when the drinks start doing their magic.
14. Ndaramba
The instrumental here is again sounding good, love the production. On this track Tagz is just saying he has had enough of trying to get people to like him and if they keep hating on him they will lose out. Tagz's vocal performance was also quite good. All in all this is a good jam.
15. Zvakanaka ft Ba Shupi & Exq
This was the single that set the standard going into the album. The track talks about ambition, everyone wants to live the good life, munhu wese anoda Zvakanaka. Every success story has trying journey behind it so one has to work hard for the life they want. The production is done very well, the instrumental is on this new afro beat hip hop kind of vibe and its sounding very good, great work by Dj Tamuka. The artists managed to complement each other well, they both have different styles and but they made all the styles work without compromising the quality of the sound. Superb.
Follow @SimbaTagz
This was the first single released from the album and did a review of the track months back, read the review here: No Pressure Track Review.
7. Get With You
They switched from afro beat to a more RnB/Hip hop kind of instrumental. He engaged Young Nash on the production of this one and he did a good job. Tagz gave a good performance on the jam. This jam is dedicated to all those who hate on Tagz, he is saying you should get with me, I got all the girls and good stuff. This jam has this modern international feel and one will not even think it's a local jam if its were not for the shona words on the first verse, and that's both good and bad.
8. You
Tagz continues with his dancehall influenced instrumentals on this jam. The instrumental is sounding very good, the keyboard work is simple and on point. Tagz again delivered a very good performance on this jam. On this Tagz is saying to this lady that he is missing her and she makes everything seem better so he wants her, a lil bit of her in his life. All in all this is another lovely jam on the album.
9. Hello
The dancehall influenced instrumental here will get you dancing from the from the first time the beat drops. The production is done very well, the instrumental is arranged in a standard way and will fit perfectly among the many international similar songs. Great work by Tagz & Rob Macson on the production. On this track Tagz is regretting not saying hello to this girl and now she is gone. The instrumental is captivating and will get you dancing in no time. The vocals are structured in a standard way for this type of sound, they compliment the beat, easy to follow and sing along. Superb Jam.
10. Best Friends ft O25
They continued with the dancehall sound on this track. The production like all the tracks before is done very well, instrumental is sounding very goood. Drop this is the club and the ladies will be going crazzzzy. Love the instrumental. On this track Tagz is saying to this girl that one cannot leave alone, they need a best friend and someone to hold them down when they need company so he wants that girl to be his best friend. The vocal performances are done very well, Tagz and O25 blended very well. This is one song that's gonna get a lot of people dancing.
11. No Hands
They switched to a more bouncy hip hop type of instrumental on this jam. The production as usual is done well. Love the acoustic guitar addition, it gives the track a lovely dimension. Also love how the instrumental switches on the chorus. Superb work on the production. On this track Tagz is they way he charms up the ladies make it seem easy, the ladies are all around her and hoping he would chose one of them. Tagz delivered his signature vocal performance.
12. Yolanda
Tagz relived the production duties to Sarz on this jam and he did a good job, the instrumental is on an afro beat tip and its sounding good. Sarz has been in the game for some time and he just shows his magic touch here. Love the saxophone, it was a great addition, it adds this jazzy feel to the song. Great job by Sarz. Yolanda is a girl that has Tagz going crazy, she says she only dates Naija boys but Tagz is saying I can do anything for you, I can even die for you, just give me a chance. The vocal arrangement is also done very good. Its a solid jam.
13. One More Time
From the onset one will feel the house vibe, the Uhuru kind of sound to be specific. The overall instrumental is sounding good. On this track Tagz is saying tot his girl I just need one more time with you, one more dance, one more drink.They arranged the vocals in a standard way and it blends well with the instrumental. It a nice song in overall, one of those songs that may not be massive hits but is definitely guaranteed to get people dancing especially when the drinks start doing their magic.
14. Ndaramba
The instrumental here is again sounding good, love the production. On this track Tagz is just saying he has had enough of trying to get people to like him and if they keep hating on him they will lose out. Tagz's vocal performance was also quite good. All in all this is a good jam.
15. Zvakanaka ft Ba Shupi & Exq
This was the single that set the standard going into the album. The track talks about ambition, everyone wants to live the good life, munhu wese anoda Zvakanaka. Every success story has trying journey behind it so one has to work hard for the life they want. The production is done very well, the instrumental is on this new afro beat hip hop kind of vibe and its sounding very good, great work by Dj Tamuka. The artists managed to complement each other well, they both have different styles and but they made all the styles work without compromising the quality of the sound. Superb.
Follow @SimbaTagz
So ya that's it for the Natural Selection Album. Before I started listening to this album, I expected to hear some superb instrumentals because Tagz has a very good ear when it comes to instrumentals and I was not dissapointed, the album has some very superb instrumentals. The overall production is done very well. Tagz gave a good vocal performance throughout the album, he delivered his signature vocals with some naija accents thrown in here and there. The themes are okay, not as deep but okay. This is a feel good good times album and due to that the themes do not matter much.
The downside of this album is that the majority of the tracks are not that relate-able to many Zimbos, there is a reason why the biggest artists when it comes to afro beats on the continent sing in vernacular. This album lacks that Zim feel (except Zvakanaka) and that will make a lot of people discard the album. Take the popular local afro beat jams, Mukoko, Watora Mari, Gafa Party, Siya, Dissapear... they are all sung in vernacular. Because of that, the tracks sound good but they are failing to really stick with me.
In overall, I enjoyed listening to the album, the instrumentals really make this album worth a listen. my favourite jams are, Love, Plenty, Madha, With You, Mr Lover, Best Friends, Zvakanaka...etc. Do not really have a track I dislike. It quite balanced in that respect.
Proud Zimbo Rating: B
What are your thought on the Album???
The downside of this album is that the majority of the tracks are not that relate-able to many Zimbos, there is a reason why the biggest artists when it comes to afro beats on the continent sing in vernacular. This album lacks that Zim feel (except Zvakanaka) and that will make a lot of people discard the album. Take the popular local afro beat jams, Mukoko, Watora Mari, Gafa Party, Siya, Dissapear... they are all sung in vernacular. Because of that, the tracks sound good but they are failing to really stick with me.
In overall, I enjoyed listening to the album, the instrumentals really make this album worth a listen. my favourite jams are, Love, Plenty, Madha, With You, Mr Lover, Best Friends, Zvakanaka...etc. Do not really have a track I dislike. It quite balanced in that respect.
Proud Zimbo Rating: B
What are your thought on the Album???
Proud_Zimbo
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