Album review: Cassidy Karon’s ‘Street Light’
• Consistently serving his fanbase
The day hip-hop lovers have long been waiting for has come. Cassidy Karon drops third solo offering today.
MICHAEL KAYUNDEWINDHOEK
Since announcing the release date of this album, Cassidy Karon has given hip-hop fans something to look forward to. tjil was lucky enough to get our hands on the album early this week - here’s what we think of the project.
‘Street Light’ offers a variety of pure, feel-good vibes coupled with songs that will get you into introspective mode. It’s not an album that is rooted in heavy themes or multilayered narratives and because of this, it makes it possible for even the most basic consumer to enjoy it.
The opener ‘Posted’ provides a strong start to the album and once again reminds us how seriously Karon takes his production. His voice is controlled and gentle and floats over the sultry keys and strings.
Kevo Maro makes an appearance on the second verse of track three ‘Ys Koud’, and completely smashes it. I think for both Karon and Kevo Maro, this sound is when they are at their best.
The track has potential as a single but it would need to be cut down a little bit because after verse two, there isn’t much going on.
Standout
Sticking with features, South African rapper and songwriter Gigi Lamayne makes an appearance on track four ‘Gigi’s Interlude’, which brings another element to the album as we get to hear Gigi go hard with the raps. She was the perfect fit on this record. Nothing about it feels forced and her verse is just great.
‘Frequencies’ featuring Showtime is incredible too. Easily the standout song on the album, it’s memorable with a bunch of quotables and Instagram-worthy captions.
It’s a track you can listen to in the morning to gas yourself up; an anthem for the squad. Perhaps my favourite moment on the song is in the second half of verse two when Karon switches flows and goes into this more rappy delivery in a low register and then concludes with the high notes again.
Sheer pace
In total, the album boasts 14 tracks, which I feel is too many.
Karon is one of the most consistent artists, having dropped ‘80s Mercedes’ in 2019 and ‘Katutura’s Favourite Son’ in 2021.
Because of his sheer pace, a lot of really good tracks get lost on albums, when they could have been better received as singles or when packaged minimally as an EP.
Rating: 4/5
Since announcing the release date of this album, Cassidy Karon has given hip-hop fans something to look forward to. tjil was lucky enough to get our hands on the album early this week - here’s what we think of the project.
‘Street Light’ offers a variety of pure, feel-good vibes coupled with songs that will get you into introspective mode. It’s not an album that is rooted in heavy themes or multilayered narratives and because of this, it makes it possible for even the most basic consumer to enjoy it.
The opener ‘Posted’ provides a strong start to the album and once again reminds us how seriously Karon takes his production. His voice is controlled and gentle and floats over the sultry keys and strings.
Kevo Maro makes an appearance on the second verse of track three ‘Ys Koud’, and completely smashes it. I think for both Karon and Kevo Maro, this sound is when they are at their best.
The track has potential as a single but it would need to be cut down a little bit because after verse two, there isn’t much going on.
Standout
Sticking with features, South African rapper and songwriter Gigi Lamayne makes an appearance on track four ‘Gigi’s Interlude’, which brings another element to the album as we get to hear Gigi go hard with the raps. She was the perfect fit on this record. Nothing about it feels forced and her verse is just great.
‘Frequencies’ featuring Showtime is incredible too. Easily the standout song on the album, it’s memorable with a bunch of quotables and Instagram-worthy captions.
It’s a track you can listen to in the morning to gas yourself up; an anthem for the squad. Perhaps my favourite moment on the song is in the second half of verse two when Karon switches flows and goes into this more rappy delivery in a low register and then concludes with the high notes again.
Sheer pace
In total, the album boasts 14 tracks, which I feel is too many.
Karon is one of the most consistent artists, having dropped ‘80s Mercedes’ in 2019 and ‘Katutura’s Favourite Son’ in 2021.
Because of his sheer pace, a lot of really good tracks get lost on albums, when they could have been better received as singles or when packaged minimally as an EP.
Rating: 4/5
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