Album Review: Winky D - Gafa Futi ChiExtraterrestrial

Winky D has finally released his much anticipated and awaited album Gafa Futi. Last year he released Gafa Life around the same period and it went on to become the anthem during the festive season and this year he is aiming to repeat last years feat. Last year when his album came out it too the limelight from Killer T's Ngoma Ndaimba which had been the best album for the first three quarters of the year, this year his major competition will be Freeman's Mangoma Ihobho. Will he be able to skip to the top again, will he be able to give us a track better than Soul Jah Luv's Hove Huru or Killer T's Takangodaro or Freeman's Zvakaipa Itai Ndisiye??? Time will tell, so lets see how the album fares?

Before we get to the track by track review, I have to say I believe  the Scandal that happened between Winky and Oskid was a marketing gimmick, the timing and lack of credible action is just suspicious if you ask me.

The album contains 12 tracks and below is a track by track review.

1. Photo Life

This track is aimed at his haters, Winky is saying all the negative comments and attitudes aimed at him actually help in building and pushing him to the top rather than pull him down. So he is saying he will keep on working hard to achieve a life he wants despite what his haters say or hope. Singing about haters is a popular theme on the local scene and this jam will add to that already long list. Winky gave a good vocal perfomance. The instrumental is a typical Oskid beat, regardless it sounding okay. 

2. Karma

Winky is celebrating beating poverty, he is now living a life he desires and he can only reminisce on the time things were not balancing and laughing at the experiences and difficulties he had. Karma means what goes around comes around so he is saying poverty used to rule his life now he has power and control over it. Enjoyed the comical nature of the track. Winky gave a solid vocal performance. The instrumental is sounding okay, it's not dancehall....well dancehall as we know, I was against the structure but after these weeks it has become one of my favourite tracks on the album.

3. Hooray

This track is made for weddings, the structure, lyrics. Winky is just saying today we are celebrating the union of two lovebirds, their parents are happy, friends are happy, everyone is gathered to witness the marriage. He also gets to advise the newly weds on what to do in their home to keep the love burning. For huge Winky fans this will definitely be among the songs for the wedding steps. Winky was good on the vocals. The instrumental is sounding good, its on an afro beat tip...seems Winky has joined the afro beat wagon. Love the ending of the instrumental from 3:07 till the end, where the flute is playing on top of the beat.

4. Happiest Man

As the title implies the track urging people to be happy. In life you are in charge of your happiness, so depsite hardships a person must make a choice to be happy. He is saying he is happy regardless of the fact that he has no money in his pocket and he does not need alcohol or drugs to be happy. The vocal perfomance from Winky was okay. The instrumental is sounding okay another typical Oskid beat.

5. Bob Marley Funeral

This is self praise jam from the Bigman. He is just describing why he is regarded as the Bigman in dancehall. Winky is an icon, he has done more for local dancehall than anyone and he is just reminding people that he is still the King. He has given us many self praise jams but last year's Ndini Ndaita Kuti remains probably the best. The vocal perfomance was good. The instrumental is also sounding good.

6. Chi Extraterrestrial 

The only love jam on the album. Its about a girl who falls for Winky and he is now telling her how good he will treat her and the awesome experiences she must look forward to. Love the wordplay on this jam, great work from Winky. He also gave a very good vocal performance. The instrumental is chilled and sounding very good, its a different style from Oskid. Love the keyboard work. Solid jam.

7. Gafa Party (Toi Toi)

This is the the official party track on the album, the instrumental has a lot of afro beat elements. It follows the Disappear and Freeman's Siya kind of sound however it has more afro beat elements than those two. The track is about a party, a Gafa Party, loved the way he played with the semantics of the word Party. Politics is a trending issue right now so he is playing around that in a humorous way, many fans will love that. Winky's performance was also very good, he blended with the instrumental very well.

8. Daddy

The first reggae jam on the album. The instrumental is sounding good, simple arrangement and an awesome bass line. Love the last part of the track, the saxophone was a good touch. Great work by Oskid. The theme steals the show here. It's addressed to all the fathers and fathers to be in this world. Winky is urging fathers to work for their families and leave something for their kids to benefit from in the future. No father would want a situation whereby their kid is asking what they were doing all these years whilst other fathers were building houses for their families, buying cars, starting companies. Its demeaning and extremely humiliating, so fathers must work hard for the future of their families. Powerful. Winky also gave a powerful vocal perfomance, Ninja Lipsy was good on the backing vocals. Its a track that as a man makes you audit your life and the plans you have. Definitely my favourite track on the album.

9. Twenty Five

Prior to the album release this was the track many were looking forward to, there were clips from Winky's Shoko Festival performance all over YouTube which garnered a lot of fan interest. Winky is narrating that he envisioned that at 25 years he should have had a house, a car, a wife but life happened and that dream failed to materialize. He is now urging the young Zimbos that life is hard and its constant battle so one must be very strong if they are to achieve their dreams. Powerful. Winky gave a strong vocal performance. The instrumental is sounding very good. Solid jam.

10. Mwendamberi

The instrumental reminds me of the early days of Zim dancehall, the structure is reminiscent of those days. Love the hardcore nature of the jam, great work by Oskid on the production. Winky is saying he will no spend his time concentrating on petty useless stuff, he will continue moving forward despite those that will want to pull him back. This is a mindset a lot of us must follow, don't stray away from your vision becasue of petty issues. Winky gave a good vocal performance. Nice jam

11. Bhebhi RaMwari

This title of this track, I believe it was chosen because it was gonna raise some controversy hence marketing the track and album. On the track Winky is saying he enjoys spending time with fun girls, those who know how to have a good time. The vocal performance was on point. The instrumental is sounding good, also a typical Oskid beat.

12. Panorwadza Moyo ft Oliver Mtukudzi

Did a review of this track a couple of weeks back, read the review here: Panorwadza Moyo Track Review

In overall this is a good album. The production is done very well, Oskid did a commendable job on the production. Winky D gave a good vocal performance throughout the album, he gave his signature performance throughout, loved the wordplay. This album is quite balanced, unlike last year's album. The tracks are more on less on the same wave length. There is a consistent vibe throughout the album which makes for a good listening experience. That consistency is largely due to the fact that the instrumentals are similar for most of the tracks especially the bass lines. Oskid is not that versatile, he is good at his sound and his sound/style works but the tracks sound like one beat at some times.

This album is made to get people dancing during the festive season and it's gonna do that. Its not better than Freeman's Mangoma Ihobho nor is as explosive as last year's Gafa Life nor does it have a track that will emulate Disappear but its a good offering nonetheless. My Favourite track on the album is; Daddy, other track I loved are; Mwendamberi, Karma, Twenty Five & Chi Extraterrestrial. My least favourite tracks are Photo Life & Bob Marley Funeral.

Proud Zimbo: B (75%) 

What are you thought on the album??

Proud_Zimbo