Album Review : Vuyo Brown - Grace Fufilled

One of the joys in this trade is the new artists that you come across. Today will be sharing with you an upcoming artists that has been brought to my attention. So this article will serve both as an introduction and album review. 

Vuyo Brown is an upcoming gospel artist, she is trying her hand in the very competitive gospel genre. dominated by artists such as Janet Manyowa, Min Micheal Mahendere, Tembalami, Min Takesure Zamar, Kuda Mutsvene, Worshipper Larry Gunda...just to mention a few. This album will serves as Vuyo's introduction to the gospel music scene, a good platform is very important, so lets see how large a foundation she sets with this album.

The album contains tracks and as usual will be doing a track by track review:

1. Areka
The intro gives me this strong Fungisai Zvakavapano vibe. On this track Vuyo is saying I was blindly travelling on the road of life all alone but that changed when she met someone who told her about Jesus and since then her life has changed. The overall production is done okay, the guitar work is lovely but on a number of parts it sort of overpowers the vocals and take attention from the vocals.

2. Ngingowako
She slows down the tempo and takes us into a worship mode on this track, well for the first part!!. The track has two sections both lovely, the production is done well. In the first part love the keyboard work which compliments the sweet vocals well and and ushers you into a worship mode. On the second part of the track  which starts at 02:46 the tempo is raised to this soulful jazz which sound lovely but; 1) It would have been much more appropriate had she made it into a separate song eg. Ngingowako (Jazz Version), it disturbs the worship mood. 2). The experiment to an extent its not completely bad but the transition was rather abrupt, they should have dragged the transition for a few seconds whilst allowing the strings to completely fade out.

3. Ukholo Lwami
Like on the above track the two tone structure carries on on this track. The arrangement of this track largely borrows from South African gospel music, the first half reminds me of the Rebecca Malope and Lundi days and the other part raises the tempo but retains the similar feel. On this track Vuyo is singing about her religion or Chitendero Changu if translated to Shona.

4. Bless Me
Vuyo seems to be taking inspiration from different sounds and countries, on this track she goes full Naija. I say full Naija because she borrowed in terms of the instrumental arrangement and vocals structure and pronunciation of words. The track sounds like one of those track one will hear as a soundtrack for Nigerian movies.

5. NdiJesu 
On this track Vuyo is saying Jesus will do right by you, he is faithful, all you need to do is go on your knees and pray unto him. The production is done quite well, the track has this Fungisai kind of vibe all over it. Vuyo on her part delivered a commendable performance.

6. Runyararo
On this track Vuyo is saying she has peace because of the Lord's presence in her life. The track is on this spacious and pensive kind of instrumental, the production is minimal and works well for the track. Its one of those tracks that will serenade and relax you. She also went on to deliver as matching performance, the calmness in her voice compliments the instrumental very well.

7. Tichatamba
This is an uptempo pop house praise jam, the production is sounding good, its bright and lively. Vuyo is saying we shall dance and praise the Lord for he is the one and only God. She also delivered quite a solid vocal performance, however I feel she could have showed much more passion, her vocals were a bit controlled and subdued, the track was begging for some screaming to up the atmosphere, take for example how Tembalami's does his praise songs. Regardless of that this is a good jam.

8. Daidzai Jesu feat Carlos Jiri
They continue on the uptempo tip on this track but this time they adopt an afro jazz sound and structure. The production is done well, love the traditional elements on the intro, the guitar work is also done quite well. On the track Vuyo & Carlos are saying call unto Jesus for he hears and helps his children. The collaboration between the two is not that bad, it kinda works.

Buy The Album: Grace Fufilled


So ya that's it for this album Grace Fufilled, its an okay project. The production is done quite okay but it can definitely improve. Working with or recording with a live band will help add more depth to her sound. She has not found her sound yet and the instrumental arrangements feel all over the place, she needs to find a sound that fits her most and work on it.

The themes are okay but do not really go deep, she needs to put more effort into her messages to make sure they reach deep down. In terms of vocals they are quite okay and I believe she can improve more as she grows.

The biggest challenge Vuyo will need to overcome as mentioned before will be to find her sound. Personally I'm more inclined to slower/mellow and worship tracks so would urge her to push more the sound on tracks such as Runyararo and Ngingowako (each part as its own song). When it comes to uptempo tracks Tichatamba is modern and sounding lovely, she can pursue a similar bright and modern sound. The sound on the other tracks has been well mastered by a lot of bigger artists and it will be a nearly impossible task for her stand out.

In conclusion this project will not introduce her to as many Zimbos as she probably hoped but its the first step, she must learn from it and improve. The hard work now commences for Vuyo Brown.

My Overall Rating: 4/10

What are your thoughts on the album???

Proud_Zimbo