Modenine's "Malcolm ix" album review

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Hype does one thing: it makes u wanna see what all the noise is about. and that's what happened with Modenine and I. I’ve heard peeps be like "this nigga is the shit in Nigerian hardcore hip hop circle". and man after finally listening to his CD (if if u see it: cop it...get it. spread the love) I’m beginning to feel the same way. honestly this rapper is fucking tight. his punch lines and metaphors are one in million. they're very much above what could come to the mind of an average Nigerian MC. no doubt Modenine got me when he said:

I kill paper when I pen punch lines with murder ink/
every cipher in my lyrics makes you scratch ur head and think/I wish I wrote that...
(from "orisuna basement freestyle" track 17)

now who the fuck said that to make it in the Nigerian music scene u must come African and use the local flavour and pidgin English thing? well to me that ain't shit. all that matters is that u come out tight in whatever style u use. and that's what Modenine has done. very unlike most acts out there the self proclaimed lyricist flows largely with a foreign accent and style, plus he swears. true to the hardcore feeling his beats are complex and involve some sampling (sampling is like what Kanye West does when he puts an old school feeling into his tracks. it's a sort of mixing).

my favourite tracks in the album (in descending order) are:

1) head ft Baron and Terry tha Rapman
To me that's one hell of a freak song, just like Snoop Dogg's "don't tell". u should put it on when u wanna fuck (smiles). cool smooth beats with pimping lyrics. check the chorus:

don't lie everybody knows u like (head), so be a cheerful giver/
don't be shy we've all heard about your (head), you look like a brainy diva/

2) elbow room ft Callen
damn I love the orchestral feeling of this song's chorus. added with tight flows by the Ninestein, the song's a hit.

3) small boy
funny song. it's one of the only songs you'll hear Modenine rapping in Pidgin English. but the production is poor. and that's because a rock feeling was added to it to make it different from the original in Modenine's debut: the nine files. u can listen to the original at: paybacktymerecords.com

4) 419 state of mind part 2
This song really captures the current phenomenon like Six Foot Plus's "millennium bugging" did in it’s time. all those sick of Nigerian scam emails will relate to this.

5) you can't fuck wit dis
a bounceable-party sort of track. I like the Hausa used at the end. makes we wanna theorize that Hausa is good for hardcore, Igbo for funny songs, and Yoruba for party.

on the critic side I think Nine has got an ego problem. a lot of the tracks on the album were just plain bragging tracks, where he's tryna proclaim his tightness and supremacy. a more mixed themed album might have been better. and Mode why u ain't hola at Six Foot Plus and Callen in the "hola back outro"? just asking though. also some of the beats could have been better along with better production.

on the whole the album's really worth ur time and cash. all em hardcore freaks might be quick to proclaim Modenine Nigeria's Nas.

shit, I can't believe I’m on this track talking about (head)/yo peace I’m out/
(terry tha Rapman in "head")...shit I can't believe I’m on the net talking about (Nine)/yo peace I’m out/

Stanclef might be Modenine's number one fan, but I’m a sucker for Terry...I don dey kolo oh!

Modenine. Call him a rapper or an MC and he’ll tell u that he’s a lyricist

Comments (7)

hey thanks to my friend Opeyemi Omilabu, i just discovered the orignal track from where Modenine got the ochestral tune for Elbow room. it's a track called Attention, by some South African cat called Amu. Featuring Pro-verb and Selwyn. you can hear it at: http://www.africasgateway.com/downloads-MostPopular.html

no its not. xzibit used it in his first album. can't remember the title now. name is bayo omisore. i like the shit you do.

ok man, whatever you say. thanks for commenting. one!

yes mr tokesy. very nice blog. good to see I'm not alone in this african hiphop thing

i have heard nigerians rap and i think mode nine is the best forget the fact he's from the south western region like me.that guy inspires me!and it takes alot to do just that.please sample the song "ogun isoye"in the e pluribus unum album or 9jarian girls am ijebu and not offended by the fact that his ijebu girlfriend used to tax him steadly and she was so stingy she wont even share her bed with him."its a goal" is also a beautiful song so is "fellow nigerians".i adore people who can speak good english,have read widely and can exhibit it in their songs.

Still bumping Head in 2016