Chris Theko
This week we take a listen at Maputsoe’s very own Magnum Maestro track titled Smile.
The rap song is a slightly up-tempo track built on a 128-beats-per-minute with a time elapse of 3 minutes 9 seconds.
The tune was released in 2018 as a single but was later on included in Magnum Maestro’s EP released in 2019 titled The King.
The beat was well-produced, the song well put-together and mastered, which speaks a lot about the unsung hero that is the producer, Skream Beatz.
Smile is an Afro Rap love song where in it Maestro brings escapism for the love of his life while urging her to join him in building a new Kingdom of their own.
The intro of a base guitar followed by percussions, give the track a very African feel yet still maintaining the authenticity of being a hip-hop tune.
The tune is so classical with a rhythm that is very similar to Kwaito and Afro-house music which makes it appealing to more than just the hip hop lovers. The feel of Kwaito also qualifies the track to being a timeless masterpiece.
As I mentioned, it was first released in 2018, however, I came across it early 2021 and it sounded like a new track but to my surprise it has more than two years on the block.
The bass has a noticeable presence which can quickly catch the ear of house music listeners.
If you have been a fan of Proverb and locally Skebz D, Magnum Maestro brings that flavor of authentic but African hip-hop vibe.
He jumps straight into the hook as the song kicks off, “let’s take a trip maybe once in a while, I couldn’t really tell you’ve been out in a while been so down you’ve forgotten how to smile, been so dark now it’s our time to shine…â€
On the first verse he talks about how he has travelled journeys that helped him forget all the pain and left all the hurt. He praises the beauty that is Africa, from Egypt to Mozambique with some of the best cuisine.
His word play is one to applaud along with the flow that is clean and audible enough to captivate the listener’s attention throughout the verse.
As he jumps straight into the second verse following a second-take of the hook, he touches on various topics but still keeping in line with the core of the song which is love. He talks about the beautiful journey love can be after one has been hurt and how it can be used to find a real one and let the guard down to start afresh.
A lot of rappers will choose to rap about unrealistic things and are often not clear on what the message of the song is or what they were trying to achieve. However, one thing I have picked up from Magnum Maestro’s music, he is very clear and realistic on the topics he touches on.
The song in general references ancient African civilizations such as Kush and Kemet as well as the city of Timbuktu. It also references ocean cuisines from Mozambique’s coast which is a huge market not just in that country but the southern region of Africa.
Safe to say that the review is impressed by this masterpiece that is ‘smile’. Smile is a classic hit, for inspiration, a club banger and a chill track.
Smile by Magnum Maestro rates 9/10