THE much anticipated third arrival of Tic Tac, Masem, has hit the market and indications are that this album will be the real making of the young hiplife artiste. Being a compilation of lessons both positive and negative that Tic Tac says have taught him a lot about life, Masem is headed for some big things if the high approval it has enjoyed since it began to be played on air about two months ago is anything to go by.

The album’s launch on two Accra based radio stations simultaneously was just a taste of what is in store for listeners.

The quality of some of the songs such as Santrofie Anoma, Menka Bio and Maame Mansa impresses one about the maturity that the Tic Tac of Philomina and Masom fame has acquired with time.

In the artiste’s own words, Philomina was a hit, Masom was a hit, so one supposes that Masem which is still being rated will enjoy double the success of the past albums.”

One song that has been enjoying the most attention is the song Menka Bio. It has got the right beat that fits both highlife and hiplife and the complexity of the beat cannot be lost on any listener.

This song features Frank Mensah whose smooth voice is complemented by the rap performance of Tic Tac. The message is that of a lover who has been given a raw deal. Inspite of the hiplife nature of this song, it still has a way of satisfying highlife enthusiasts— even die-hard ones.

Menka Bio and Santrofie Anoma are sampled tracks from ace highlife artiste Pat Thomas. The two songs are some of the recent collaborations between old and new Ghanaian music types that are doing well. Somewhere through the album Tic Tac sings that things have changed and it is indeed true for the young musician as his album seems to suggest.

Santrofie Anoma is another classical song that is enjoying a lot of patronage with strong indications of being a serious hit. The original song again lends a large amount of its past glory to the song.

This song features self confident Obuor “ meho ye huhuuhu” doing his own thing to supplement Tic Tac. It is really good when rumours of animosity between young hiplifers are dismissed as they are on Tic Tac’s album. He gives credit to Kontihene for providing additional lyrics to two of his songs.

Love is not the only subject that Tic Tac dwells on this album. He finds a way of slipping in a song on the conditions of life in the country. This is on the song Maame Mansa, a song reminiscent of an old highlife song whose chorus goes like . . .Maame Mansa wo mma ye ko. . . It echos the cries of a lot of Ghanaians with Tic Tac promising to take these problems to Parliament.

Not all the songs are of great substance. Trust Tic Tac to slip in some of his old trade mark and he expresses it in the songs Chibonde and Mr Doggie. One really wonders who Tic is trying to fool by adding a mister to the doggie to have a chorus that translates into “I want Mr Doggie’s style.”

Other songs on this album are Obi Nhuhu Ma Obi Nkeka an interesting statement that implies that one does not sow for another to reap.