ALBUM REVIEW: Mauru Unit - Sewersydaa Mkadinali
Sewersydaa
Mmenipatia hii sifa yote hata sikuwa nahitaji,you are far too kind.
Sewersydda, 2023.
Just for starters, this will go against Sewesydda’s own gospel, who said in Top Scorer: “Review yako hata kama ni star tano siitaki” but I am not the best at following advice as good as it is. Anyway, Church, this is the Gospel According to St. Bervon ,welcome to another one of my village Barazas, let’s talk Kenyan Music.
Mauru Unit by Sewersydaa
Released on 19th December 2023, Mauru Unit is the 4th Studio solo Album by Mr Mawada After “Jeshi Ya Katululu” “Wada (Healing Of A Nation)” ”Nocturnals” a collaboration with HR the Messenger (spotify). This is a crazy stat for an artist that is part of a trio that has their own share of albums.Mauru Unit just like WADA/Healing of a Nation, is a conscious album, Conscious rap is a subgenre of hip-hop that focuses on creating awareness and imparting knowledge .Sewersydda is effortlessly the best conscious rapper in Kenya right now, learning from the likes of Kitu Sewer ,who he has been working closely with lately.
This is a 24 song Album, now you know the artistry is serious. I give my flowers to HR and Ares66 for the production, the beats and mastering in this Album is bonkers, the lyricist and his curators agree on every level. Just as a btw, Aress released his new Album “Gangsta Points“ last week, check it out. The collaborations in this Album are the usual suspects; Wakuu Music, HR the Messenger, Kitu Sewer, Wakadinali , Skillo, Sudough, Katapillar ,Virusi as usual ,Hassano from Afrocentric, Mnabe and Dynna Codds. Everyone delivered in their set, I have honestly not heard a single bad song in this Album.
Mauru Unit Tracklist
Below I am going to sample a few of the songs whose message stood out (Extra) The songs that have hit home so far. The joy of an Album is that it’s a journey, you don’t just hear it once and get it, it’s a process.
This is the poster song of the Album for me, it’s two friends reminiscing over a phone conversation ,one in Eastlands and the other one relocated abroad.They talk about life experiences since, Skillo tells him he should never have left and Sewersydda admits saying “me nawish huku, manze hata singewai fika,nilikuja kujaza mfuko siunajua bado me ni mziza(Parent)“. He goes ahead to compare GBV, Drug abuse abroad, corruption , GMO foods, Infrascture and Racism.Skillo explains that life in Eastlands in still the same, but the hustle has gotten serious. People got rich in Eastlands, some moved upstate ,got cars, Vayo got married,life progressed.He closes it off by saying “Green card haimaniishi green pastures”. The production, the message, the harmony in beats syncing is top.
2.Waliniambia - ft Kitu Sewer, Wakuu Music
The blunt interpretation is that this song is about weed (pun intended), the effects of weed and how everybody advices against weed smoking, “waliniambia niachane na we,utanifuck sikuskia“ .This however can be streched to the other vices that plague Eastlands: Crime, alcohol, drug and substance abuse. Wakuu music were the perfect artists to collabo on this jam, remember their song “Gwangi” back in 2019, Wakadinali maybe gangster but these dudes are Kibera gangster, they appeal more with the message in play.Roller and King are maestro rappers and their days of starshine are coming. Waliniambia will be a smoke session anthem, I loved that we were able to hear yet another Kitu Sewer latest.
3.Unatakaaje - ft King Wakuu,Virusi Mbaya
Unatakaaje is a cry for help to God by an Eastlando youthman forced into crime due to struggles in life in the East. King begins by narrating his ordeal when he faced mob justice, his mother worrying about him and police calling “ahame mtaa“. Trust me, more than 100,000 youths in Eastlands relate 100% to this song, Wakadinali don’t just make songs,they speak to and for the people in their environment. Virusi Mbaya is top 5 the most underated rappers in Kenya right now, but that’s just for the mainstream fans, real ones know that Virusi has been underground king for so long. In terms of message, this one hit home, kwani mungu unatakaaje manze?
If you haven’t listened to the song, you are probably wondering, Cry Baby 2 ? where is cry baby 1? well it the first song in the album and we will get into that. The reason why this song comes first is because I want to Highlight the singing prowess of Dyna Cods, that girl has a voice, she can sing. The way she jets into the song “…haiwezi bye bye baaaby….nlikushow usijaribu kufallia msanii…” She makes this song 100% better, then she goes on to rap like prime Lil Kim. If you are not familiar with her game, She has an EP called “Late Night Kneeler“ released in 2019 with songs like Agula Agugu. You will not be disappointed, it is time we listened to Dyana Cods religiously. We need an RnB collabo album from Cods, I swear it would break the Kenyan scene, it’s something different but just imagine a BBoyz X Cods album where she hits the harmonies with passion. Just listen to “Senseless“ on her EP, you will understand what I am driving at.
An album is a story, properly curated as a journey , from the first song to the Interlude to the end, balancing the story in songs is a skill. Cry Baby is the Intro song for the Album “Mauru Unit“ ,it sets you for what you are about to experience in the Album. “Cry baby ,kulia lia sipendi…“ we are not here for jokes, “unafaaga kuwa tu stress free..“ if you are a wakadinali stan you know they don’t care about anything.
In Eastlands slang I have no Idea what Yaye means , but in Dholuo Yaye is something my grandmother says when you do or say something unbelievable. For example “Yaani mimi nawekea wewe ugali na unasindwa kumaliiisa, yaye bervoooon“ This is not the important part, the first reason I highlighted this song is because of the production. HR the Messenger did a masterclass on this track, you can feel the chemistry with Ndugu ya Suleh . The beat starts off as a slow Latino beat but after the producer tag, everything goes Haywire. The second reason is how Scar raps in dholuo (that grandma story was build up for this) ,the last time scar rapped in dholuo was in “Hera“ in his Album #Easy.
In the song I think Sewer throws shade at Zzero Sufuri when he says “kuna rapper akona kinyambis,aliacha mic na sahii haichapi“. I remember I read somewhere that Zzero bought a bike plus he has been silent on the mic for a while. Sewer also shouts out KOX (Kenyans on Twitter) by using the slang “tuma za kabej‘ real ones know that is DCIJUJA.
Lastly on 1:09 - 1:11 Sewer says “Mzigo hutoka Keja Ya Capo ,ikifika eastlando tunazi double… “ I’ll leave it at that.
Wakadinali T-Shirt
In other news, every Wakadinali Release has always sparked a friendly competition among us: who can download Wakadinali's latest songs first? Nani alidownload Sewersydaa songs latest, cause he releases music almost every other week? Who can get Wakadinali merch before the rest?
That's why we're incredibly honored to collaborate with Wakadinali on this exclusive T-shirt.
“nasafisha west, nasafirisha east east east east east“
This is a peddler anthem, sewersydda is explaining the art around weed peddling.Weed is not just sold by anybody, for you to peddle you must be a MAURU. Ki’Ding is slang for a knife , the song explains that in a weed transaction and you become cocky you get stabbed. He explains that they have nobody to blame for being in this business ,it was all intentional. If you listen keenly you will get the message if at all you know anything about weed and weed peddling. Ajay brings the BBoyz vibe in the song, he tries to be gangsta but there is just too much elephant in the room via Sewersydda.
This song was released a while earlier than the album, so I have had time to listen to it. I have picked it because of some lines that I know will most likely get past some of Wakadinali fans. On the first verse he says “Tulishatengana sahii tunakufia kisimani,sahii sisi ni mayai kwa waziri wa mayai“ ,this top notch wordplay with the titles of setbooks he probably did in high school. “Utengano“ “Kifo Kisimani“ “Mayai waziri wa maradhi“ are swahili setbooks done a while back, that was genius.
“Baptised with gold sikuhizi naitwa brother paul“ you might remember the Kamlesh Pattni gold scam in Zimbambwe, he later changed his name to Paul, hence the line…
This Album is full of clever bars, listen keenly.
Verdict
There is no verdict or rating for a 3 week old Album, just discovering. 2024 we listen to MAURU UNIT ,we will judge it by December, for now enjoy the music. Interested in how Sewer’s & His label made 2023 one of their most pivotal years in music, check out Zozanation in 2023: The Rong Year.
