Holy Ten - The Book Of Malachi Album Review

Holy Ten is making sure you don't go long without new music. Was not very impressed with his past two projects, with Risky Life  I felt it was all hype and little substance, then Energy suffered from production issues. He has however made up for those lacklustre projects by the singles he releases in between, last year after the poor album he redeemed himself by his performances on the various singles he featured on especially Loss by Nicky Genius.

This year after stirring some controversy on Twitter after the release of Winky D's Ibotso which he featured on, he announced his new album. Seems like a perfect time as he was trending. The album is now here and today will be sharing with you my views and thoughts on the project. The major question being has he finally made a solid project which you can listen to without skipping tracks and one which you will continue listening to after the hype dies down??!!. 

As usual will be doing a track by track review of the album and then share my overall thoughts at the end.

1. Zvivindi

The album starts with the keyboard led sound that made Holy Ten popular. The production is done well. On this track Ten is saying you have guts, the effort you put in ruining another person's marriage is too much, it will lead to embarrassment for you. 

2. Deep Down Zaka

On this track Holy Ten is saying we came from deep down together, we have experienced the worst together but now you acting like you don't know. You doubted me even though you know what I have been through, now you throwing shade at me now that I have made it. The production is done well. Holy Ten delivered a good performance. 

3. Pressure (ft Miss Candy & Michael Magz)

On this track they are saying you assuming that I am cheating, you are giving me too much pressure, but have been through your phone and you are hiding stuff, deleting messages. The production is okay. Michael Magz delivered a solid performance, Ten was okay, Where does Miss Candy come in??? 

4. Miscommunications

Holy Ten addresses a number of issues in this track, from his successes, his ambitions, the societal imperfections, and he starts all those topics with a verse. Enjoyed his rapping style on this jam. The production is well done. 

5. God is not on Holiday (ft Michael Magz)

As the title implies Ten is saying God is not on Holiday, I will get what I want if I just pray. But do not be fooled this is not s gospel track at all, we get some swearing in here. The instrumental is solid. The vocals are okay, not that audible on certain parts, they went for a American style vibe on this one and even on the lyrics, does Ten have a baby mama??!! Or it's because it just rhymes well??!!.

6. Gomba ReShumba

This is the mbira track he was talking about. He sampled Chembere Dzemvura by Duramazwi Mbira Group and added some trap baselines and percussions, the end result is an okay sounding instrumental. The overall production is not up to standard as many parts are not audible, the instrumental and vocals are clashing and you can't even comprehend what he is singing about. 

7. Can't Get (ft Michael Magz)

On the DJ Ollah interview Ten mentioned a Dancehall track, this is that track. The two are dojng Dancehall the way we used to do in high school where a riddim is played and you freestyle over it with the crowd cheering the one with the most bars, this does not feel serious or professional at all. 

8. My Feelings

This feels like a continuation of Too Scared from his Energy Album, it has a similar mix and vibe. The production is okay.

9. The Book Of Malachi

Firstly the title track is louder than all the other tracks, the mixing should be consistent. On this track Holy Ten goes back to that Dancehall vibe which he is not that good at. Yes he can get better at the Dancehall sound but for now he should stay away from it. 

10. Aba Father

When you see the title of this track what comes to your mind and what you get are two different things. He is asking for forgiveness from the Lord, atoning for his sins. 

11. Crown

Holy Ten ends the project in a string way with this track. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. He has a lot hanging on him as the leader of the youth, he will continue speaking the truth. The production is okay. Ten delivered a solid performance, which leaves you wondering why he switched his style on the past 6 tracks. 

Stream the album: The Book Of Malachi

So ya that's it for The Book Of Malachi and still Mujaya fails to create a solid body of work. He started well but somehow lost direction midway then found the direction on the last track. 

The production issues I complained about on the past project Energy continues on this project, you wonder why he  is rushing to release. Many many hip hop projects that come this past year were clearly audible, well balanced, mixed and mastered which shows its not the fault of the producers, the problem has to be with Holy Ten. With this album he was probably trying to capitalise on the Ibotso hype, he should stop basing his project purely on capitalising on hype but focus more on substance. The most frustrating part about Holy Ten is that when he wants can be extremely good for example (Crown, Miscommunications) then in the same project you get poor tracks such as Can't Get and Gomba ReShumba. What is needed is direction, he needs a team that pushes him to concentrate more on his art, teach him patience while he masters his art. 

From God is not in Holiday to Aba Father he is just experimenting and not the good kind. The experiments he is doing show how he is taking fans for granted, he is in that "they will like whatever I do mood" which is not good for someone who claims to be the alpha. He needs to take time and perfect whatever he will be trying experiment on. There is a lack of maturity in the way he is doing things. 

To end this review, this is another disappointing project from Holy Ten, despite me enjoying Crown and Miscommunications this album against fails. My recommendation is listen to the aforementioned two and maybe Zvivindi & Deep Down Zaka, skip all the others. 

My overall rating: 5/10

Feel free to share your thoughts on the album in the comments section below.

Proud_Zimbo