Baba Harare - Ramba Wakadzvanya Album Review

Baba Harare had quite a successful 2018, his track The Reason Why won many over with its irresistible energetic Jit vibe, lyrical humor that got many singing along and dancing. He followed that up with the track Guzuzu featuring Jah Prayzah which also got quite a lot of airplay. Due to his success in 2018 it convinced me to include him among the 10 artists one should keep an eye on in 2019. 

Baba Harare did not wait any time opening his account for 2019 as he dropped his album just as the year began. He has been talking up his album for some time now saying it gonna be bigger than The Reason Why and that made many wait for the project, me included. The album has finally dropped and have managed to get my copy, listened to it and today I will be sharing my views and thoughts on the album with you. 

The album contains 11 tracks and as usual will be doing a track by track review:

1. Ramba Wakadzvanya

The title track was also the first single released off the album and it came with some colorful visuals. On this track Baba Harare continued with the Jit sound and arrangement that made The Reason Why such a massive hit. As expected from a Jit track it has a lot of energy and is laced with some humorous lyrics (some questionable), its again more like 3 tracks in one same as he did on The Reason Why. The lyrics are arranged in a way that makes it easier to sing along. The instrumental arrangement is done quite well, enjoyed the guitars on this track. The visuals are also quite entertaining, they went for the very colourful visuals which are a signature from Naxo Films. Its a good song but I however do not feel it's at the same level as The Reason Why.

2. Zvakanaka Mambo

On this track Baba Harare is urging people to give their lives unto the Lord, for those who believe in Him will not be lost. Its a common thing to hear a gospel (sort of) track on a lot of albums these days. The track has quite a lot of JP influences all over, from how the vocals sound some of the times and the instrumental arrangements to an extent. In overall its not that memorable a song.

3. Ndinoshamiswa Kwazvo

There are certain songs whereby if your not 100% sure you will do a good job on never sample them and this classic hymn is one of those tracks. Baba Harare dared and surprisingly did not ruin the track, on some parts I feel he could have done better but in overall it's not bad, it's quite good. The production is done well, Oskid did a good job on the production. This is one of the very few better songs on the album, love the guitar work at around the halfway part. Baba Harare was also quite good on the vocals, the backing vocals are also quite good. 

4. Bhinya iBhinya

On this track Baba Harare is saying to the girl he wants to marry saying will your father accept me as the thug he knows me to be. He is saying he will talk to her parents until he has convinced them to let him marry their daughter. Baba Harare was okay on the vocals, and he tried to mix up his wordplay, using some deep shona, some humorous descriptions and slang which works sometimes and not so good the other times. The production is quite simple and a bit uninspired. 

5. Mafuta

On this track Baba Harare is singing about how the ladies love their beauty products, so he is saying ladies should be given an allowance to cover for beauty products. This track was created from a humorous point of view but it falls flat. That carries on to the production and arrangement, its all flat again. This is a poor track. 

6. Bhinzi 

This track is titled in a way that grabs your attention, in summary it's click bait. The track is on an uptempo tip, laced by some good lead guitar work, in fact the lead guitar its the best and most visible aspect of the whole track. Baba Harare's performance was not inspiring, its one of those track that get you asking; "Is he really serious???". The theme, lyrics and vocals performance drown the rather nice instrumental and pull the song down. 

7. Kamunakiro Kayo

This songs sound like a gango of sounds, they just threw everything at the song and it's too congested. The lead guitar again salvages some appeal to the song on the few parts it is given space to shine. Given how congested the instruments are its hard to follow what Baba Harare is singing about, I don't think he even wanted people to follow what he is singing about. 

8. Kuchema Mambo

The instrumental arrangement on this track is quite good, love the mbira, drums and guitars, they combine to deliver a surprisingly lovely instrumental. Again the lead guitar shines. The vocals are commendable, some of the best on the whole project. This enters the list of the very few "enjoyable" tracks on the album. 

9. Nhonga Nyama

I'm not sure what to really say about this track, again; "is he really serious???". Who is the song, which people is this song aimed at???. In summary this is a very poor song, I just cant... yjoooh. 

10. Maine Gule

From the onset one gets the gule (zvigure vibe), that is from both the vocals and instrumental arrangement. The energy, drums and style of singing undoubtedly has an enchanting allure to it, there is a reason why this music is preferred when someone in in a trance or to get someone in a trance. Such as type of sound has its followers and they will enjoy it, I not one of them so for me I don't see myself listening to this song post this album review.

11. Mhoro Babie

On the last track on the album, Baba Harare went for the Imbube style which was very popular some time back and gave us groups such as Black Umfolozi, Impumelelo Shining Stars just to mention a few. The track is structured in a basic imbube way, the vocals are harmonized quite well but am am not convinced about some of the adlibs. The subject theme of love is tackled quite well, they tried to add some humour which does not work for me that much, i feel it would have been better had they kept it less humorous at certain points. Baba Harare just followed all the basic structures and takes advantage of the charm of the singing style. 

Stream The Album on Spotify: Ramba Wakadzvanya

So ya that's it for Baba Harare's Album Ramba Wakadzvanya and its a poor project. It feels as if he is not even trying on 90% all of the songs. The album lacks depth and creativity in all aspects, the lyrics are poor, the instrumentals are not inspired. The comic nature that made his tracks hits last year does not work on this project. The only positive thing on this album is the lead guitar. 

Has he released only a Ramba Wakadzvaya and maybe Mhoro Babie, Ndinoshamiswa Kwazvo and Kuchema Mambo he would have been better off because all the other tracks are forgettable. I can't help but think who is the target for this project as most songs are absolute jokes, they will leave you asking if Baba Harare is really serious. 

Do not have much to say except that I was greatly disappointed with the project. There is a lot that Baba Harare needs to master an polish (vocals, themes, arrangements...etc). He has to go back into the studio and put more effort and give us a better project or he will get forgotten soon.

My Overall Rating:  2/10

What are your thoughts on the album??

Proud_Zimbo