At Just 23-years-old, Negash Ali has found himself in a position that many ‘rap veterans’ might be envious of. With three studio albums to his name; an international publishing deal with Warner/ Chappell music under his belt; writing credits that include Jadakiss and Chris Brown on his CV; and being hailed CaptialXtra’s ‘New Breakthrough Act’, the Eritrean-Dane is living the African Dream – so much so he tells the story on his latest EP.
Born to a mother who fled from conflict-stricken Eritrea for a better life in Europe, Ali called Denmark home before recently settling in London. Over four hip-popish tracks, Ali takes us on his journey from Eritrea to success.
The title track with vocalist Temu is reminiscent of a Macklemore offering but relaying a story only a ‘fugee’ with a tight rhyme scheme and picture painting ability could.
Collaborations with singer/songwriter Siff propel the story forward before the EP is wrapped up with final track What You Got, where Ali puts his skills on display, switching up his flow rapping double time and revealing a “harder” side to him.
If you are into ‘New Skool’ rap, dance driven beats and catchy sing along hooks then this EP this might be worth a listen. Maybe it’s because Ali is an international artist in the truest sense I expected this to be reflected in some kind of way, however the project sounds thoroughly American – which is not necessarily a bad thing.
The African Dream is out now on iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-african-dream-ep/id807501183
Twitter @NegashAli
