Review: Sarkodie’s No Pressure is a prolific rapper’s curse

6 Aug 2021 - 23:36

The premise of Sarkodie’s new LP No Pressure is that he has nothing else to prove. To press this home, he re-directs his gaze from Afrobeats, which dominates his previous album Black Love, back to substantial hip hop, swanking his way through the 16-track collection into a new chapter of his career, which, this week, began with a new Sony Music Publishing UK deal.

Sarkodie.

The rapper’s disposition is more than justified because he possesses gravitas in this subject area. For more than a decade, the musician has maintained an unprecedented run at the top of Ghana’s musical heap. He boasts an inexhaustible catalogue of smash hits, instant brand recognition in Ghana, a cabinet crammed with trophies and top-of-mind awareness across Africa. “You go fit skip all the moments in music, the Sarkodie story gotta be told,” he roars, three songs into the album, on the blustering ‘Rollies and Cigars’. “If you're ever looking for the best emcee, just post my picture with no caption”, he doubles down on ‘Married To The Game‘, the same record on which he proclaims that he will retire from rap at 80. A bit overdrawn, but you get the point.

Insofar as it conveys this sentiment, the collection – which guests everyone from fellow Ghanaians Medikal, Kwesi Arthur, Benerl and Darkovibes, to Nigeria’s Oxlade, South Africa’s Cassper Nyovest as well as Vic Mensa and Wale from the US – is a cogent submission. It was preceded by the singles ‘No Fugazy’, ‘Coachella’ and ‘Vibration’.

And yet, there is a good chance that that is where it ends. As far as albums go, Sarkodie has turned in better, in both conceptualisation and delivery (see Mary, the magnificent 2015 live LP inspired by his grandmother, and then highlife). As far as hip hop albums go, 2017’s Highest is a stronger, more compact offering; a brazen folder that reaffirmed his dominance as leader of the pack.

It is imperative to better situate the above thought, lest it is misconstrued. No Pressure is efficient, starting with its production. Often, for an album to work, that department must be air-tight. Hip hop’s sonic relish largely stems from the vigour of a record’s boomy bass tones. Overdo this, and it muddies the overall listening experience. No Pressure displays an impressive balance of tone colours, notably with the first seven hefty hip hop numbers, which are characterised by bold bass motifs, as well as the Rexxie-produced ‘No Fugazy’. Sarkodie has had many years of practice, down to lyrical braggadocio, which, apparently in this place, also includes acquired New York accents thus shouldn’t leave listeners open-mouthed. Like his previous works, No Pressure benefits from hooks by today’s leading merchants. However, on this occasion, and for whatever reason, female voices like his regular collaborator Efya are absent. Still, collaborations like the Kwesi Arthur-assisted ‘Coachella’ that samples famed highlife guitarist George Darko’s ‘Odo Colour’, ‘Whipped’ featuring Darkovibes, and the Oxlade-powered ‘Non-Living Thing’ possess lingering qualities as does ‘I Wanna Know’, which features silver-tongued Tanzanian Harmonize – only this time, invoking tired nursery rhymes.

Additionally, because Sarkodie’s shiny career has seen him frequently take on every flow, cadence, style, rhyme and rhythm possibly known to man, his new submissions become duplicative, inviting comparison with the man’s old work. Put differently, he has bragged, flirted and doted better. Needless to say, nostalgia always allows one set of songs an edge over the other. So, ‘I'll Be There’ featuring gospel singer MOG Music induces spiritual sobriety, but also listens like a replica of ‘Brighter Day’ featuring Obrafour. ‘Don't Cry’ and ‘Anything’ feel like they are vestiges of Black Love and Highest, respectively – leaving the notion that the rapper is merely recycling his music, which is the bane of a high calibre rapper such as Sarkodie. In the history of rap in these parts, hardly any artist has grabbed the stage as long as this BET Award winner has, or unleashed a more extensive catalogue, or has had as much impact on the artistic direction of the next generation of rappers. His creativity is his strength, and music is his sustenance. Nonetheless, this is precisely what warrants such scrupulous scrutiny of a new Sarkodie release. The champion has become a legend, but his blessing is becoming something else.

It is in the temper of hip hop to be competitive, even if it can be unhealthy for creativity. Ergo, that this year has already seen a critically acclaimed rap album from fellow countryman Omar Sterling, and expecting another from M.anifest – also a highbrow – doesn't favour the argument for No Pressure as a singer rap album in 2021. Omar Sterling's Same Earth Different Worlds is steered, not by unrelatable chest-thumping, but by personal stories and pertinent dictum. The Nowhere Cool man also swears by this module, which is the tincture for classic albums however they perform commercially.

Sarkodie’s panacea to the aforementioned? No pressure! He argues that it is the only way to keep creating, especially at this stage in his career.

It’s how he has arrived at album number seven, and inadvertently, standout pieces like ‘Non-Living Thing’, the incisive record ruing infidelity in romantic relationships and sailing on unhurried tempo and Oxlade’s toothsome falsetto runs. The album’s hip hop ubiquity notwithstanding, it is this record, one of two songs that see out No Pressure, that actually knots the LP together.

Pressure births diamonds, but when you are Sarkodie, you play by a different rule. In the man’s own words: “Don’t you let nobody put the pressure on you/ Cuz they’re always gonna criticise what you gon’ do”

Stream No Pressure here.