Style 43

“There’s a sweepstake, pon my EP release date” - Kyza knew we were all waiting for him to release something solid, even back then when he dropped that verse on the Itch FM mixtape, one of many sick verses that gained him a lot of respect from heads, both in the crowds at his shows and amongst his fellow hip hop cronies.

He did release an album a couple of years back, “The Experience”, but I didn’t think it was all it could’ve been, given the amount of skills Mr Sayso has on the mic, but now he is back with the much anticipated LP, “Shots of Smirnoff”.

Mixed by the Foreign Beggars’, DJ Nonames, and featuring the production stylings of Chemo and Bless Beats among others, this album showcases Kyza’s lyrical abilities and it’s not all rapping, the man’s got a decent singing voice too.

After the first offering, “Love and Music” (which got some crazy airplay from DJ MK, Westwood, Sarah Love, Ras Kwame, the list goes on…) and the second single, “Sin City”, were released, there were high hopes for the full album. And now it’s here, I think it was worth the wait. Kyza is lyrically on point on the majority of the album - spitting in doubletime on “Go!”, getting his croon on with the summertime joint, “Zonin” - and the production is tight throughout with maybe a couple of low points, but that’s probably down to personal tastes.

Tracks that demanded my attention kicked right off with the opening, “Murderman Intro”. I’ve always been a sucker for a decent intro, none of this comedy skit shit, just a tight 16 bars or something. I’m enjoying, “Zonin”, too; definitely going to be pissing the neighbours off with that one. “Puzzle”, is also one to listen out for, as well as, “Deal With It”, and, “Problem Kid”.

This could be the start of a very good run for Kyza. There is talk of another album appearing next year along with a nationwide tour coming up soon, which will see him hitting the stage with a full live band, Focused Few.

This album is definitely worth a listen and I truly believe his fanbase will not be disappointed. There will always be those loyal Klashnekoff followers, who will bad mouth him for whatever might have caused the rift that led to his split from Terra Firma, but this album proves Kyza can hold his own and let’s face it, he was always the better emcee anyway. “Shots of Smirnoff” drops 16 July.

www.myspace.com/saysoseddso

Tags: DJ Nonames, hip hop, Kyza