On Strife and Voice (a review of BrymO’s “Prick no get Shoulder”).. Rated 18+

By Myers Hansen (@myershansen on twitter)  

BrymO

you’re old enough to fuck
you’re old enough to know
nobody gives a fuck
 your wahala na your own

BrymO has a new CD out Tabula Rasa (the gift), it is made up of great songs. BrymO has a brilliant new song out, Prick no get Shoulder; those are the first four lines.And in the end, this is why in my opinion; every true artist should go through the valleys of the shadows.  Oh, it could be anything; a brutal accident, a sudden cancer, death of that one person who regulated their soul, or in BrymO’s case, a long sore tussle over contracts and consequences … anything. I don’t mind, as long as it provokes a return.

 Look, BrymO can sing! His voice is unpretentious; it is characterized by odd familiar truth, a root. Have you heard “Good Morning”, from his Son of a Kapenta album? Ok then!

The man can sing, but perhaps until now, it is all he was doing –singing. Now though, he has our conscience and chest…today, he’s grown into an artist and has taken charge of his craft. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m sure all his songs before his last two albums, especially this last one, were written from deepness. But God, listen to Merchants, Dealers & Slaves, his very defiant 2013 album which was obstructed largely by his prolonged public legal battle with former record label, Chocolate City Group.

There were issues of an injunction and large possible fines. Even if no one would admit completely, someone was harmed. Publicity on M, D&S was not enough, which is why this is the first time you probably are hearing of it. It is wrong for such a strong project to be that unknown. It is wrong to soul, it is wrong to art, it is wrong to life –for then, art is incomplete…and that’s not a good thing. So, listen to M, D&S, and then let’s talk.

Meanwhile, BrymO has a new CD out; Tabula Rasa (the gift), it is made up of great songs. BrymO has a brilliant new song out, Prick no get Shoulder; these are words from the bridge:

For this world
Wetin you sowYou must reap
Na true thing
Nahin I talk
We no dey chop
For where we shit…

BrymO

Usually, an artist’s best work is their first album, or when evil spirits have visited them…because then, there is a flood of emotion and story waiting to be shed or shared. That’s where we usually find the artist, for then, he has witnessed purpose and wrestled with/ for his tabula rasa, his gift. There, he has interacted with a height and awareness…of beauty, of strife, of neighbors, of little things and vanities, of secrets and prophecies…of Merchants, Dealers and Slaves. His every word suddenly contains spirituality and is aimed at the bottom of our hearts. There, let them say “Kofi is going to school”, and we can relate to it. Let them say “…prick no get shoulder/ you put e head, the rest dey enter”, and it builds a lump in your throat and invokes thoughtful smile. When an artist is at that point, their truths converse with our truths, and god is achieved. Therefore, an artist’s troubles are a periodic requirement and their blessing.

BrymO himself said in a tweet that M,D &S was his best attempt at music, but then admits that Tabula Rasa is “something sweeter”. BrymO, within a year, has given us two albums which are undisputed chefs-d’oeuvre, both containing a voice which, in my opinion, he never may have found had the last two years not happened to him. An artist’s voice is their tool, their weapon, and whether they find it with their first or third album, it is still that perfect reward for their pursuit of happiness.

Nowadays, when BrymO sings, he’s naked, he’s bare. He does not intend to impress, he only attempts to converse. He keeps it short and to the point, and has become a disciple of the philosophy “the beauty of simplicity”. He feels live and here…like you can say stuff back at him, like you can see sweat on his brows and nose, like you can tell a what point in recording the song he smiled or lifted his left hand.
You like to kiss the ass
He hit you when he fart
You take am take fat
Your wahala na your own

The people at Mikky Sounds Factory definitely facilitated that. It’s always good to have someone who can help make physical the atmosphere in an artist’s head. He too should be commended, he’s a musician too. He’s been able to listen carefully enough to hear what the artist hears in his head. They too are responsible for why nobody can rush through the album.
If e sweet o
I go take am slow slow

The album is gorgeous.  I’ll come to Fe Mi, the first official single off the album, pure love on beats we call “Agbadza” here. I’ll talk about Dear Child, divine homage to an honorable grandmother, 1 pound, something which makes you love trumpets and whistles and reminds you of hunger and Fela, Back to Love, which invokes similar sentiments you would feel for Asa,Nothing’s ever promised Tomorrow, which is what the album is about anyway – honesty, courage, love…Life and living. It’s just, reviewing art as serious as this takes time. Finding words to describe 11 true songs requires patience.Tabula Rasa, which is of Latin origin, suggests a clean slate or the fact that training and observation make us. BrymO says the expression hit him deep when used by a judge during a hearing in his recent weaning troubles.BrymO has a brilliant new album out, Tabula Rasa (the gift), it’s a great album.Brymo’s single, Prick no get Shoulder. These are the words of the chorus:

Prick no get shoulder
E no get shoulder
Prick no get shoulder
You put e head, the rest dey enter
Prick no get shoulder
E no get shoulder
You put e head, the rest dey enter
Prick no get shoulder

The writer is a freelance journalist and art critic based in Accra, Ghana.