From the offset, track one of “No.1 Mango Street” manages to recapture a neo-soul feel with its soft chords and a hip-hop style beat
we’ve become familiar with. Auto-tune is evident, but subtle. The Guitar instrumental at the end of the track is a welcomed addition to the already illustrious introduction. M3NSA successfully lends a hand to align Afro-Pop with modern sounds and genres.
The myriad of influences is evident in M3NSA 14-track offering. Cultural heritage is a big deal here, although surprisingly he doesn’t flaunt it as much as one would expect. Instead, M3NSA craftily manages to carve his own identity through the album. The listener's left wandering who or what he sounds like, but can't quite pinpoint any artists to compare him to. He blends the new and the old to deliver something fresh and uncommon in today’s pop-trance-riddled album charts.
Production quality is high, none of the songs feeling disjointed. There’s evident chemistry between the music & lyrics with each track conveying its own story, taking you back to a place in the past (track 1, “No1 Mango street), present (track 3, “Adjuma”), or the future (track 9 “No one knows”).
The album is laced with ‘well put together’ tracks and there’s something for everyone & every mood. My personal top-two stand out tracks are “No one Knows” which talks of living a full life with no regrets, just living for the moment – hedonism at its finest. Secondly, “Kelewele Pimpin” speaks of a man’s pursuit of a woman who once evaded his every advance ‘calling me small boy’ with her calling him ‘big boy’ the morning after. The track encapsulates elements of reality and humour, illustrating the sudden turn of fortune a man can experience.
No.1 Mango Street has definitely made a statement, which seemingly only someone of M3NSA’s calibre, style and quirkiness could make. This is definitely one to listen to.
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