Baba Harare - Greater and Wiser Album Review

So the inevitable has happened, Baba Harare is back to Jiti. This wont come as a surprise, the main question was always how long before he returns. Personally I did not understand the move, when an artist feels like releasing a gospel song they can do so without necessarily making a scene about it, anyone is allowed to sing for their Creator. As I highlighted in my article about artists switching to gospel, one of the major points was that the gospel community does not like to pay artists or any service provider, they hide behind "do it for the Lord and he will bless you" tip and that for me is plain slavery clothed as the gospel, just as pastors are financially taken care of, any person (member or not) who the church hire/books to provide a service should be adequately paid, not given a token of appreciation, a full service fee.

Back to the music, after his switch no artist really made a serious push to fill the gap left by Baba Harare, something that is quite shocking and disappointing. That lack of serious competition will make his return a bit easier, the gap is till there and if he delivers at he goes back to where he was before. 

After some days listening today will be sharing with you my views and thoughts on the album.

1. 9 Months

Ushering us into this much awaited album is an appreciation track to parents, on the track Baba Harare thanks his mother for the 9 months she carried him and how she has taken of him till he became an adult. He also thanks his father for being the rock of the family, making sure he was well provided for. The production is well done, Nyasha Timbe has a very good working relationship with Baba Harare and he shows it on this track. The amazing Trust Samende was on guitar duties and he delivered, Trust has been one of the top if not the finest guitarist in Zim for years and you can hear why. This one of for the Jiti fans, its full of energy, it has all the elements required for a good jiti song, a strong message and some insane jiti chants to end the track, after all Jiti is for dancing and not listening whilst sitting down.

2. Couple of The Year (feat Gemma Griffiths)

Baba Harare teams up with Gemma to continue with the magic they made on Ndini Ndinaye. On this track they are all pledging their undying love to each other, claiming that they are gonna be the couple of the year. This wil be a favourite one for all those crazy in love, especially those in the honeymoon phase, its perfect for that moment. The production is done well, the track is well arranged, Nyasha Timbe did a solid job on the production. Gemma and Baba Harare still have the magic and this will be another popular one from Baba Harare. 

3. Chigaba Chinorira

On this track Baba Harare takes aim at leaders of churches, saying anything they do is fruitless if they do not have love, they are just an empty can which makes unnecessary noise. It love that is highly valued in the Kingdom, love for your neighbor, love for the next person and not the other things we do for show. You can feel this track is directed at certain people who failed to show Christ like love to him when he was on his path of Gospel music, those who despite preaching love failed to practice it in real life. The track is well arranged, love how the vocals are arranged on this track, the instrumental is on an Amapiano tip which is well executed. 

4. Poverty

Baba Harare is declaring success in his life on this track, he is promising to work as as hard as possible to ensure he will be a success. A life of poverty is painful, the world is cruel to the poor so one should take strength from the bible and work on the promises that were made, those that say those who believe and work will succeed. From the onset one feels a lot of Nigerian elements in this track, the way the instrumental and vocals are arranged is all copied from Nigerian music, we also get some few Amapiano elements here and there. The latter half of the track reminds me of his other sort of similar track Prove Them Wrong. 

5. Tiyende (feat Blessing Jeduthan)

The last track is a gospel track where the two artists are saying the end goal is to go to heaven, its the price for all the strive and effort we are putting on in this world. You can in a way feel this track is aimed at those from the gospel circles that were attacking him when he returned to Jiti. No-one has a monopoly on the path to heaven, he who believes, is full of life and walks on the right path will be welcomed to heaven no other human can deny you entry. The track is produced well.

So ya that's it for Greater and Wiser from Baba Harare and you can feel has had a lot to say when he made this project. 

The production is well done, Baba Harare and Nyasha Timbe have a solid understanding of each other and they continue with their chemistry on this project. Arrangement wise the album is a mixed pot, you get Jiti on 9 Months, some contemporary on Couple Of The Year, some Amapiano on Chigaba Chinorira, some Naija flavour on Poverty and it closes off on a gospel tip on Tiyende. There is a little bit of everything, expected more Jiti but for this project we got just one. 9 Months is quite impressive, its not the usual Jiti we have come accustomed to, on top of the usual elements one expects from Jiti we also get some Rock and Amapiano fused into the track at different times, especially in the first half of the track. This will definitely be the one of rotation in various joy spots, the visuals are also spot on. It remains to be seen if we are witnessing an evolution of Jiti music. 

Baba Harare delivered solid vocal performances on the project, he continues on the streak he left off on Prove Them Wrong. The collaborations are well executed, the one with Gemma is good, I don't feel its better than their previous one but its good nonetheless. The other collaboration with Blessing Jeduthan is also good, ironically it may be the best gospel song Baba Harare has released and it comes at a time when he goes back to Jiti, probably its because now he has less pressure.

On the themes Baba Harare has a lot to say to his former gospel associates, he has posted about it online and you can feel it really struck a nerve withing him. The music industry is like the jungle and its no different when it comes to gospel music, what changes is just the subject matter one is singing about but most of the elements remain the same, artists are at work and each one wants to eat at the end of the day. We don't know specifically who did what to Baba Harare but I 'm sure they have received the message Baba Harare is sending with this project, especially on the last 3 tracks. 

To conclude I have to say this is a good comeback, its not at the level of Zimbabwean Giant which I feel remains his best project to date. You can feel this album was in the works for some time, these tracks were not rushed but came about from the constant frustration he encountered. Now that he has gotten a lot off his chest I hope we get the Baba Harare who is playful, energetic and wants to give Zimbos a good time, for now we dance to 9 Months as we wait for more.

My Overall Rating : 7/10

Feel free to share your thought on the album down below.

Proud_Zimbo