Album- This Is Not The Album
Artiste- Efya
Guest Appearances- Black Magic
Record Label- One Nation Entertainment (2013)
Duration- 47 minutes
Efya lied. This Is An Album.

One would think that Hip-Life and Azonto is all there is to
contemporary Ghanaian music. How wrong. The former
Gold Coast still holds a few surprises in the music
department. One of such surprises is the lovely singer Efya
who is a gathering storm not only in her native country but
in Nigeria as well. Her soulful voice has struck a strong
chord making her album highly anticipated. Not to leave
her fans high and dry, Efya dropped a body of work aptly
titled This Is Not The Album, a forerunner of sorts to her
official album.

T.I.N.T is made up of 13 tracks which can be categorized
as a breath of fresh air in today's music climes in West
Africa.

The set starts with 'A Moment's Notice' which is a smoky
jazz song. 'Baby you know you are my love. Whenever
you are not around, my heart skips a beat' sings Efya on the
soul drenching song. The next track is in sharp contrast to
'A Moment's Notice'. 'This Life' is a bouncy funky Latin
inspired song which has the singer asking 'what happens if
I never love again'. It's commendable that so early on the
mock-album that Efya is already showing her range instead
of sitting tight in the soul corner like most soul singers tend
to do.

Guitar strings play the major role on 'Little Things'. They
create a sound bed for Efya to sing about the silly things
lovers do when they get comfortable with one another such
as nose picking and farting. The way Efya sings about these
uncomfortable things leaves you comfortable rather than
being irritated. The love singer shows that she is a true
West African at heart when she mixes Yoruba and her Ghanaian dialect on 'Nothing' which has a neo-soul vibe to it.

Efya is much a fan of Nigerian music which is adequately
felt when she puts her spin on Duncan Mighty's hit single
'Obianuju'. The song which is called 'Falou' feels like a
different song entirely thanks to Efya blasting all the soul
she has on the track.

'Can you feel it baby? All I want is you' seductively sings
Efya on 'Weather 4 Two'. On this song she yearns for her
lover's touch as the skies become darker and the clouds
begin to gather. She employs him to come home quickly
and set her body free. The Ghanaian songstress covers
Chris Brown's 'Don't Judge Me' on 'Body' which she
uses to address the media's intrusion into her love life.

T.I.N.T is filled with layered and soulful production which
doesn't overshadow Efya's rich voice. Rather it is the
perfect backdrop for the singer to work her magic.

More of her magic lies in 'Cigarette' where she sings 'boy
why you gotta act like you don't know that you are my
ultimate high?' The song possesses an easy and smooth
exterior. It's a soul and jazz fest on 'Commot' featuring
Black Magic while 'Getaway' is one of the highlights of the
'fake' album.

This Is Not The Album is a soulful blend of songs mixed
with West African sensibilities. As Nigeria and Ghana
markets begin to merge, Efya might just be the sub-
region's first soul star.

Rating- 4/5

NET