Emtee is undoubtedly one of the best artists South Africa has to offer. The award-winning trapper is lethal on hooks and has a killer track record for making dope music in general. He has put out a number of smash hits for himself and those lucky enough to have featured him. With his third studio album Logan, first independent release, Emtee aims to lay a good foundation for his newly-formed Emtee Records.
The keenly-awaited album is named after his second-born son, which is not a new form of tribute from Emtee. Emtee is a front-runner for the African Trap Movement and has done a great deal to drive the sound of African trap. He works in melodies in his music, which he has a good ear for, and a pen to match. His delivery is effortless and carries a type of swag unique only to him.
Emtee does a lot of reflecting on life from the beginning of the project. Without saying much on it, he gives a glimpse of how things have been since going independent. His determination to forge forth. Family has been a crucial support structure for Emtee, the strength behind his drive. The gratitude he passes on the first few tracks opening the album gives Logan (the album) certain sentimental value. Something Emtee has done pretty well with his previous work.
Emtee worked with his long-time producer Ruff on most of the songs. Slow-tempo guitar beats are dominant with some summer sounds worked in to push the energy up here and there. The album carries the feeling of a chilled mid-week afternoon where one can get lost in thought. There is some shakiness on the intro, Revolutionary. Even so, it evokes some excitement and anticipation for what’s about to come. The following two tracks Logan and Long Way are good songs, dedicated to his family.
The shakiness that reared its head in the intro comes back more noticeable on Pressure and becomes a stand-out characteristic of the album. Delivery is not as polished as it could be. Somewhere in putting this together, the writing fell short of what Emtee has set as his own standard.
Sonically Logan does well to claim its own identity, distinct from the other albums before it. Which is good, no two bodies of work should be the same. Emtee has not lost his touch. He still comes through proper on songs like Slide, Where I’m At and Logan. His ability to put good structure to a composition comes out more on Johustleburg, which was one of the first singles to drop.
Logan carries a sound that shows a mature side of Emtee. The music is good, a good play on organic elements. He matches that with the poise in his content. The overall strength of the project took a hit from the instances where delivery was lacking in quality, which could be more of a session production issue. This is not Emtee’s best work, it should be said, but it’s one that he needed to put out for his own healing and maybe for the motivation of others.
