Album review: http://sribuo.com/2010/09/11/music/iwan-my-time

I Win Always Naturally .... coming from the camp of Bullhaus Entertainment, IWAN has brought a breath of fresh air onto the Ghana music scene. His first few singles - Still Love Me, That Day and Thanks & Praise have been well received worldwide. This week, we are proud to present to you IWAN's maiden album - My Time. Join us as we meander and journey through the story of this inspirational Ghetto Youth.



For those of you who don't know who IWAN is ... we will start off by learning about him from the rest of the Ghanaian music industry. The trailer below says it all:



We hope that gave you a clearer picture of who IWAN is and how diverse his music talents are. As mentioned earlier, IWAN had quite a few previous singles released that did extremely well in the Ghanaian music scene. The first of these was Thanks & Praise. This track was a clarion call to people of all religions to give thanks and praise to the most high. The video was shot at a cemetery and that made for some very interesting back drop to the message the song conveyed:



The second big single from IWAN was Still Love Me which features Natural Face. Zoom lionists, tro tro drivers, shoe shine boys, street hustlers and many more decent humble working men all took inspiration from this hot track. No matter who they were they could still find a woman who would still love them. Da Lyrical Gunshot again used the perfect environment for the video for this song ... straight from the hood of Adabraka and even went as far as to feature the Ghetto Youth of that area. Still Love Me is definitely one of the most boogieable tracks on this album. Enjoy:



Last but not the least from IWAN's music video collection for his My Time album is the club banger - Who's Bad. This particular track made lots of waves overseas especially in London. The video features the whole Bullhaus Crew and has a really simple video concept. Since the actual music is heavy and upbeat, it contrasts nicely with the video and lets you focus on enjoying the music whilst feasting your eyes on the sexy dance moves in "Who's bad":

In addition to all of the above, My Time has much, much more to offer. In fact, 14 more tracks which clearly leaves something for everyone to enjoy. El Shaddai, That Day and Jah Bless Me are the most religiously inspirational tunes on the album. That Day is an especially interesting one, reminiscent of Buju Banton's Boom Bye Bye track. It specifically calls out to committers of various socially abhorrent acts and reminds them that "That Day" ... the Judgement Day is surely going to come. I can't help but bob my head to this beat every single time I hear it. JMJ's arrangement and IWAN's voice go especially well on this track:

THAT DAY

IWAN also has some tracks in local dialects on his album where he goes back to his Ghanaian roots. Nangban Yini, Aben Wo Ha and Nyin Ka Man Bora are three such tracks. Each has their own unique message and you will have to listen to them individually with astute attentiveness to decipher their meanings ... of course you will also need to understand the dialects he is singing in. In an era where music has become all about the bling bling, the women and cars it is really encouraging to see IWAN blazing the trail for positive inspirational messages in good music. Independent Lady and Mprewa Nyinsen are two such songs from his album. Don't be mistaken ... you will still be able to thoroughly shake your hips to these tracks, its just that they will have a very meaningful message behind them.

My Time also features a lot of other artistes from the Ghanaian music industry: Irene Logan, Tinny, Okyeame Kwame, Richie, Efiya and Lil Shaker are a few of such acts. My favorite of all the collaborations is the one with Okyeame Kwame and Richie - One Life. The beat for this song is produced by Richie and morphs into three different songs in one as the song progresses. First IWAN blesses it with his dancehall / ragga lyrics, then comes Richie with his R & B feint and then finally, the Rap Doctor finishes it with his Twi rap where he paints a lucid picture of someone's life in reverse chronological order. Certainly one of the best collaborative tracks of our time. You should listen and judge for yourself:

ONE LIFE

I can go on and on about this album but really, by now you should have heard and seen enough to be convinced that this is an indispensable addition to your Ghana music collection. It truly is IWAN's time and is the year of the Inspirational gentle ghetto youth who Wins Always Naturally. If you are in Ghana, be sure to attend the album unveiling on 12th September at 6 pm at the Aphrodisiac Forecourt. If you are outside Ghana, don't feel left out. you can buy the album from iTunes or Amazon via the links below. Enjoy and lets help support IWAN, Bullhaus Entertianment and Ghana music. http://sribuo.com/sribuolinks/iwan/mytime/itunes http://sribuo.com/sribuolinks/iwan/mytime/amazon

Selassie Ayyiieeee!!

Credits - George Armah