March is here and a lot of great music has been released, not just here in America but all over the world. Today’s review may be the first international project I’ve ever reviewed, and that’s very exciting. If all you’ve ever listened to is hip hop filtered through the American lens, you should definitely pull up a chair and check out Farai Katiyo’s ‘Yesterday, Today, and Forever God Is Good.’
This project comes to us from across the pond in Melbourne, Australia. Farai Katiyo, born in Zimbabwe, brings a different flavor that most people reading this may not be used to. Admittedly, I’ve only listened to Latin CHH and UK CHH, so I didn’t really know what to expect. The first song is “Shoes Off” featuring Max Shotta and TriceTa. I really like this beat it sounds real chill. I’m not really a fan of Farai on this hook, it’s really simple almost too simple, very elementary, but I did like TriceTa’s vocals on the hook. Farai’s and Shotta’s styles are different as Farai writes with a lot of space and sings on some parts, while Max Shotta used a lot more words and was flowing(even though he did use the dreaded “2020” line). For this song I preferred Shotta over Farai. The second song is “By Your Side” featuring EXL. The soundscape for this song sounds more dreamy with some techno pop sounds. On this song Farai tells us two tales of people who have been struggling and crying out asking where God is. The first verse ends in a way that could be triggering to some. The third verse is EXL playing the role of God as he responds to the pleas from the previous verses. I liked his verse better than Farai’s first two.
The next song on the project is “Glory” featuring Vikaye and Theo. This might be the best song on side A of this EP. This beat sounds great as it has the stomps and claps it could really be an anthem. Farai makes it clear that God uses the broken and makes them special all for His glory. His features Vikaye and Theo really sound great, this song could probably do well if performed live. The only part of this song that I didn’t like was Farai’s line, “Wiped clean like my nose.” I literally cringed when I heard that and it was a stain on a otherwise really good song. The fourth and final song for side A is “Oceans” featuring Vikaye and per usual the beat is amazing and really sets the mood for the song. Farai uses an example in each verse from single mother struggling, to a man in the church who is gay, and a woman in an abusive relationship. He ends the verses with “If we pray we can fill oceans.” My only issue with this is that Farai takes complex issues and does the cliché Christian thing and just prays for them. The second verse touches on homosexuality which some could say is brave but this subject is so touchy and nuanced that an album, song, much less a verse can sum it all up. There are books and debates on the subject, it goes much deeper than “pray the gay away.”
Next we go into side B of this project and are greeted by “Sticks & Stones” featuring Assiel. The song has kind of an afrobeat feel to it and Farai launches in with his typical flow. His first verse speaks about body shaming and the second speaks on racism. Farai was born in Zimbabwe but later moved to Australia, where it seems he feels like he isn’t treated as a citizen. As an African American I definitely relate to the feeling of not being treated as equal. Assiel sounded amazing on the hook and the bridge, but the biggest qualm I have with the song is the title and notion of , “Words will never hurt me.” As children we used to say this adage but as adults I believe we all know this isn’t true and Farai should know this as well. I say this because on side A he mentioned being teased because he was skinny and on the first song of side B, he mentions his weight again. Obviously, those words affected him as a child and meandered their way into his music as an adult. The next song is “G.I.G” featuring Fungai. The initials “G.I.G” stand for “God Is Good” and this song really bangs and it sounds like it could be an anthem. The first verse sounds like it’s Farai but I think it’s really Fungai. I really like the double time flow on this first verse. Farai comes in on the next verse with his typical flow but I wasn’t really a fan of his verse(wasn’t really feeling his Alicia Keys/not in key line) it was very lackluster to me. The next song is “So Young” featuring Theo and Matthew. This song is really smooth and Farai lets out his regrets over different situations. He actually sounds good and there wasn’t a wack line on it.
We are almost at the end of the project when we come to “Good Days & Bad Days” featuring Vikaye. The beat sounds very good but I’ve definitely heard it before. This is the exact same beat from Davey Asaph’s ‘Never In My Wildest’ album that came out in 2017. The beat from “Good Days & Bad Days” is the exact same beat from Asaph’s song “Notice.” Farai croons about his wife on the song and has Vikaye back him up on the hook. While I’m not the biggest fan of Farai’s simplistic sing-rap style when he deploys it, it kind of works on this song. Nothing wrong with a song about the special person in your life. Finally, we come to the last song “T.U.L.U.”which stands up for “Turn Up Light Up.” One of the most notable things about this song is that this is the only song out of nine that has Farai Katiyo by himself. The beat slaps as usual and Farai raps about being at parties but bringing the light of Christ. This song would probably be a hit at church youth groups and other events. I have no qualms with this song, it just feels good to finally hear what Farai sounds like with no one else on the song.
In conclusion, Farai Katiyo put together a pretty solid body of work, but it is not without its missteps. The first song “Shoes Off” almost made me write off Farai completely, although the beat sounds amazing, it was one of the weakest songs on the entire project. Farai writes with a lot of space in his bars(almost too much in my opinion) so he uses a lot less words than the featured rappers he teamed up with. That being said, if you are going to use less words, the words at least have to be varied. On “Shoes Off” Farai rhymed the words place, face, but then went back to the word place. It is very obvious that Farai has an excellent ear for beats and that he has a circle of very talented friends. The only problem is that most of his features out shined him on his own songs. Featured artists are supposed to compliment the song not necessarily take over the song. On side A, I was more interested in Vikaye on the two songs she was on than Farai. That may not be a problem to some but as a first time listener of Farai’s music, I found myself asking who was the feature and who was the main artist. I would suggest that for future records he use less features and gets used to carrying whole songs by himself. He has the ear, and the talent, I would just really suggest that Katiyo steps up his writing. As a rapper, words are the most powerful tool, so I would like him to expand his vocabulary and add some better lyrics. I literally cringed that in 2020 a rapper said that Jesus wiped him clean like his nose. If Farai wants people to take him seriously, then his writing has to go up a few notches. I suggest that he study other rappers, use more words, and sing less in his verses. My last bit of advice is to make sure his album or project titles are a little bit shorter, as ‘Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Forever God Is Good’ is way too long(that’s why it’s not in this article headline), he needs to consider the search engines and blogs that may want to write about his music in the future. All that being said, this was my first time listening to an artist like Farai from across the world, and for the most part, it was a positive experience. If you want something off of the beaten path but uplifting at the same time, be sure to check out ‘Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Forever God Is Good’ parts 1 and 2.
