Edem whips up a Hurricane

Ghanaian rapper Edem is a specialist in this regard. His unique style of perpetuating this menace has always been a delight to watch—from outside of the battlefield, that is. As an opponent, it must be a nightmare. In fact, the Heyba man is so poised in his proficiency as lyrical Goliath that, these days, he directly taunts his rivals: “Hello, hi rappers / I make you no dey bed eh?”

With his upcoming fourth album, The African Answer, he looks to seal that reputation for good. Throughout his career, every time he has tendered a rap number, it has come with a tide. On his latest single, featuring rock lads Dark Suburb, Jojo Abot and Teephlow, he whips up—well—a “Hurricane!”

Produced by American rhythm dons DJ Pain and Coptic, the joint dispenses another vicious experience. If, for some reason, anyone ever derided Edem’s choice of title for the album, Hurricane, like its predecessor 'Mighty Jesus', is evidence to silence such a person.

'Hurricane' is centered on amplified electric guitar, intransigent drums, unsettling sampling and an overall loudness that is essential to fear. The song sounds off with a bold declaration via a throaty roar: “We’re here to win, we’re here to stay!”—and if that is not enough, it is reiterated in a haunted hook by 'spirit child' Jojo Abot:

Believe it or not, we’re here to win
Like it or not, we’re here to stay
Pull up on your block, no masquerade
It’s a hurricane, it’s a hurricane.

The VRMG founder (born Denning Edem Hotor), has excelled at genres outside of hip-hop, but has kept an allegiance to the form which nurtured him. That attentiveness, which is the mark of an exemplary student, has now made him a master, ensuring that he’s able to build upon it by infusing other elements to make striking new models. The song is a hybrid of hip-hop and rock, accentuated by a unique, aboriginal vibe—it, therefore, works locally, while holding a trans-national appeal.

The Pascal AKA-directed visuals which complement the number, also entrenches Edem’s videography as a repository of premium music visual interpretations. Everything you can’t make out due to your inability to comprehend the Ewe dialect—which constitutes majority of Edem’s poetic expression—is ably translated via the expert hands of AKA (who heads the Breakthrough Studios in Accra). He also worked on visuals for 'Mighty Jesus'.

Alternating between jungle scenes irradiated by the golden hue generated by fire-eating men in the background, where both Edem and Abot appear most—to smoke-filled sets off which Dark Suburb’s guitar sections echo—to an all-white one in which Teephlow recounts his music journey using clever puns, the director presents the themes in Hurricane immaculately. The video also sees GH rap bigwigs as Tinny and Gemini make cameo appearances.

Hurricane is also a convergence point for old and new. Not uncharacteristic of Edem in recent years, he lines up the brightest of burgeoning stars, feeding them energy from an experienced hand as he feeds off their green energies. He also name-drops “brothers” from his native Volta-land who are making waves: Kemenya, Kula, Keeny Ice, Agbeshie, Cano-Z, or as he puts it: “Number 9 army, Togbui Tsali soldiers, Agorkolii soldiers.”

It is a tested method, if you want to remain relevant. By all means, innovate, experiment, adapt, or—well—die. And in all your gettings, guard your originality. When you have grasped that balance, you too can declare, like he does in the song: “This be ma playing field / This be my arena / Don’t try to test me, let me manifest / Wontomi engyina!”

At the same time, the song also serves an opportunity for guest acts to assert themselves as worthy—at this point, one way to tell if an artist has washed his hands well enough to dine with elders, is if they land a spot on an Edem record. All three guest acts on Hurricane arrive prepared, with Dark Suburns possessing an unnerving mystery for wearing skull masks and dishing alternative genius.

Jojo Abot delivers her eccentric self and is currently among Ghana’s prized music exports, creating music across Afro-soul/reggae and Afrobeat. The chanteuse—who hails from Ho in the Volta Region, and is author of the 2015 EP Fyfya Woto—has performed at Times Square, toured with Lauryn Hill, and shared stages with Carrie Underwood, Wiz Khalifa and others.

Alumnus of of the 'Next Big Thing in GH Hip-hop' reality show, Teephlow is already acclaimed as a wordsmith. Earlier this year, his 2017 song 'State of the Art' off his Flowducation EP, was named Record of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards. A new exuberance is instantly felt when he gets on the song.

Edem receives the baton from Teephlow and guides it into Abot’s concluding hook, executing four bars a host of mediocre acts will dread to hear. Going by Edem’s work since 2009, those bars will ring in their ears for a very long time.