The.Rap.Y: Worlasi looks inside for clarity

19 avr 2023 - 13:33

Published under the Creative Commons Licence

His curious relationship with Ghana’s mainstream notwithstanding, Worlasi’s quality has never been in doubt, his offerings routinely a departure from – and antiseptic for – groupthink.

Worlasi.

In its conception and presentation, The.Rap.Y (read as ‘therapy’), his new EP and follow-up to 2020’s Dios, is a striking and daring undertaking; a tour-de-force of perfect symmetry and creative balance brought about by precocious wizardry and social consciousness that orbits Afro-Cuban jazz, hip hop and Afropop realms.

All this is bound together by soulful splurging that funnels cogent commentary on the logic of love, the affliction of ambition, the perception of perfection, and the jewel of jealousy.

The EP comes in at seven songs – listening slowly and still managing to go by so fast. On the collection, Worlasi, waxing mainly in English, Pidgin and his native Ewe, is at his blatant and cynical best, touting his own lyrical acuity, appraising the work of his peers, ruthlessly giving lip to Ghana’s corrupt elite for the country’s avoidable misfortunes, and navigating questions of racism and his artistic value. He concludes that “being human is the boss of them all.”

He also brings together fellow creatives, in a podcast-style roundtable, to humorously relive childhood trauma and re-examine African parenting modules, where the biblical rod of correction is a fixture.

At the heart of it, The.Rap.Y finds its author where he has always been – at the awkward and paralysing crosswalk between underrated and critically acclaimed. Because Worlasi has constantly brushed up on his technique, tuning up his talent for epic and relatable storytelling, the EP assumes added resonance.

As must all worthy art, this collection also gives room for interpretation, so that it feels personalised to each listener’s individual experiences. This is all hardly surprising, if you think about it, particularly coming from a rapper of Worlasi’s stature – widely praised as a special and original voice equipped with a rare competence that allows him to embody a broad range of characters and perspectives, triggering frank conversations with himself and the listener.

The man himself is acutely aware of his gifts. On this project, he demonstrates poetic and cinematic genius that reminds you of the Kendrick Lamars and Joyner Lucases of this word. He’ll also have you know that he is in full possession of his faculties, clearing up on track 3, that he is “Kanye creative” but not “Kanye crazy”.