Release of the Week 22/4: Citizen Kay ‘Ego’
Ghana-born Citizen Kay moved to Australia at the age of six and in his subsequent musical career has blended these two cultures through music. This has led him to three studio albums and two ARIA nominations for albums Demokracy (2014) and We The People (2015). His energetic hooks and catchy beats represent the new wave of aurally diverse Australian hip hop. It is upbeat, fun and includes a wide variety of genre influences.
The music video opens up with Citizen Kay’s declaration of war, “The mission: weaponise music to defend the soul”. With music as a weapon against hate, his ammunition is funk, soul and jazz. Blending traditional hip hop with elements of pop and rock, he creates a playfully eclectic sound to accompany his verse. There is a heavy drum beat, forcing the listener to dance, a fast-paced funky bassline, giving this dance some infectious rhythm, and a bright guitar melody and synth work, imbuing the track with an upbeat and joyous tone.
In sum, this music is fun, easy to listen to and hard to hate. The hook has a pop sentimentality, with Citizen Kay’s smooth vocal performance filling the high-end, but leaving the dance-ready beat intact. The verses highlight Citizen Kay’s growing talent as a rapper. He delivers some thought provoking ideas on ego and a love hate relationship with fame and fortune. His gentle flow never interrupts the beat or distracts from the instrumentality. The resulting track is not only comprehensive in its lyrical depth as a hip-hop track, but overwhelmingly fun and positive as a dance number.
The music video is a treat, showing Citizen Kay is just like the listener. He just has to dance to that beat.
