SriBuO DOUBLE Album Review - Abodam + Ma Kwan!

"Abodaaaaaam" ... it is Mad Time and this weekend we will be exploring the creative genius of Ghana's MADDEST Hiplife artiste ... the man who i also known as the man insane, head knocker, king of hiplife - Kwaw Kese. First of all there is something you should note about Kwaw Kese, he is one of the very few rappers who I know raps in Fante and does it effortlessly.

Let us start with what I believe was his debut album from Mad Time Entertainment - Abodam (literally translated to mean Madness):

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This album garnered Kwaw Kese several Ghana Music Awards and established him as a force to be reckoned with in the Hiplife industry. One of the really popular tracks on it "Na Yaa Tan", is a Fante rendition of Fat Joe's "Lean back" with a Ghanaian twist. Many a night club rocked to this joint and you can see why for yourself in the video clip below:


Another landmark track from the Abodam album, which made waves largely in part due to its video clip is Odiem. Odiem is an interesting track. It has the same tempo as Na Yaa Tan but talks about something completely different. Kwaw Kese is basically telling suitors out there that if they "chuck" (stop) the girl, "yorb" (sweet talk) her and check her well enough, they will "nyim" (impregnate) her and hit the jackpot (Odiem). I think the intent of his message is that the faint heart never won a fair lady so guys, go all out when you trying to win a woman. What a video to demonstrate this though!


One of my personal favorites from this album is Kwansema. On this track, you get a taste for Kwaw Kese's mellow side when he sings and raps about his long lost love - Kwansema, who he has missed so much. He wants her to come back soon before his heart breaks. The song also provides a nice change in tempo from the other club tracks that grace this album. Listen to it and judge for yourself:


Abodam has 7 more tracks and is currently available worldwide from iTunes, Amazon and other online stores. Odo yede (Love is sweet) and Makuma (My heart) are two of the other tracks where the "Romeo" in this artiste is again unleashed. There is a remix to "Na Yaa Tan" featuring 2Toff that is also featured on this album. It is similar sounding to the original, however it is a more upbeat and faster paced version. Finally another very interesting track on this album is "The world (Monkey dey work, Baboon dey chop)" which features Castro Destroyer. The title of this song is pretty much self explanatory. Kwaw Kese is asking a simple question in this track - Why do we have to struggle so hard in this world only for some fool to reap the benefits?


At this point I'm sure you have noticed that in addition to his trademark Abodamness, Kwaw Kese is an *extremely* creative artiste. The question I keep pondering is that did the Abodamness give birth to the creative genius of Kwaw, or did the Creative genius have as its consequence, the Abodam trademark.


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Now if you thought Kwaw Kese's first album was crazy, think again. His sophomore debut - Ma Kwan! is completely on another level of artistic flair. The sound engineering footprint of Hammer is distinctly noticed on the title track for this album. The track also features Ayigbe Edem. Kwaw Kese launched this album with a much fanfare and a street parade in Accra, where he gave out copies of the album for free. I'm not sure if any other Ghanaian artiste has done that before. Check out the video clip for Ma Kwan below. Be aware that this song has a very interesting effect on its listener. After listening, you keep hearing the beat in your mind's ear, crystal clear like it was playing live; another testament to Hammer, Edem and Kwaw's collaborative artistry:


Ma Kwan is a versatile album that touches a lot of different topics. The album starts out by giving thanks and praise to the Most High on the track "Thanks & Praise" featuring Stone Boy. Abodam then preaches world peace on his next track "WAR" which features Wyclef Jean and has a beat produced by Skillions Records. He also has two interesting tracks that deal with environmental cleanliness and sanitation; namely, "Obul" and "Ma Samenyo".

The man insane has one track on this album "Wole Wope" whose lyrics are basically a long chain of Oxymorons: You like ice cream but have bad breath, bad teeth and bad dreams, You like high heels but have bad legs ... and the list goes on and on and on. How he managed to cram so many of these into one song, only God knows; but it is well worth the listen.


A personal favorite of mine on this song is nursery rhyme like sounding love song whose title "Wonkoaah" translates to "I will give all my heart to only you". Kwaw Kese pours his heart out to his lover on this song ... and then sings with so much fervor that even though his voice isn't silky smooth, you can hear the full emotion behind the song. Here is a full preview of this song for your listening pleasure


By now, I am sure there is no doubt in your mind as to the creative genius of Abodam. Your Ghana music collection certainly won't be complete without
copies of your favorite songs from his albums. Check out http://sribuo.com for more stores to get this album from. Also, Kwaw is hard at work on his next album. He has already released some singles from it and you can find them on SriBuO's facebook page


Contact us at sribuo@gmail.com if you want your album to be featured online.
- Credits George Armah