[Review] Marapara House – Gabbarzin

Preface

I am so hyped writing about this right now because at first I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, a combination of Spikey and Page would come a little awkward for a distant observer, until you maybe come a bit closer, and that you do by listening to this masterpiece right here.

Maybe I need to make a little introduction here because these dudes are pretty still trying to break into the scene and we can tell how tedious it can be for aspiring rappers in an industry infested with afro-pop and fast paced instrumentals.

Spikey is a household name in Nigeria most especially on the Nigerian Battle Rap front and has been making a killing on battle rap states for almost a decade. Clips of his battles are a hand full on Youtube most especially on the Bars Rap League channel. Now with the House of Marapara, Page on the other hand has always focused on music and has released a couple of singles over the years which sadly has not received the type of promotion that will make them worthy mentions, but feel free to search google.

So with that said, let’s get to it.

Title

Well, I feel I have to set the pace here and hopefully y’all can catch up. Gabbarzin is actually a tribute project as I have come to understand. It is of a fallen friend and a brother to the rappers., hence it is evident that these guys have or must have had plans of making this a lifelong project with actual value for longevity. As I have also come to find out, the deceased name was Garba, hence the carving of the title. Quite creative with the way they just made a word out the name.

The Project

I must say, this is a combination of everything that makes you a Nigerian rapper. The pressure of trying to bend to the sales algorithm, concept and rules; and at the same time keep the intensity of being lyrical. I detected the determination, the zeal to make sure the hood (Orile) is clearly defined as the slums who’s need for unnecessary hardcore materials is regrettably disheartening and on the very down side of the graph. Orile is not all slums I believe we all know this but as the saying goes, majority carries the vote. Now, what makes this project deserving of my opening statement is, somehow, there is a track for everyone, almost defiling every kind of limitation that might befall a marketer.

Lyrical Content

As a lover of rap, I definitely would expect myself to break this area down. Even as I have made clear in the previous paragraph the effort that was put into making sure the project was dumbed down a bit, there were tracks on the project that was meant to define who these guys really are on the lyrical side of the chart. Songs like the opening track Mo’n Rap, which literally means “I actually rap”. Even the title is filled with expectancy. I for one was hyped because I knew that even though I was going to listen to tracks that have been extremely watered down for the sake of the wider audience in the aspect of debt and wild lyricism, this was going to compensate for that. The instrumental was mad insane and in the first few seconds I was all hyped up like whaaaaaaat??? The beat swayed me but was I really impressed? The flow by them rappers was great no lies, but yeah like the typical Nigerian rapper, it was all self hype as usual, almost lacking in the major components of intellectual rap which would have included a couple wordplays and entendres. Yet again, considering the fact that a battle rapper wrote at least 50% of the lyrics makes it even more of a thing to frown upon. The raps were enjoyable, at the end of the day, it becomes more of an enjoyable than knowledgeable piece.

Production

This is one of those types lacking original instrumentals, at least for most of the songs hence the production credit is not going to go all the way here. As for the sound output I can applaud the clarity of the jams. You can almost call it an industry standard productions but nothing is past improvement.

Choice Of Beats

Like I said earlier, as you dive in more into the type, you’d start to realize it is more of a project meant to be enjoyed. Most of these tracks are laced with sweet flow raps with bouncy beats except for track number 5 (Aye Le) which got a little bit serious and realistic. Hence the choice of beat for these was clearly premeditated and I can tell the rappers knew what they were going for.

Subject Matter

I am one of those guys who wants to hear in your tracks what you are talking about on the title. Even if I get the message that this tape is already dedicated to Garba (May his soul rest on), I still find it weird that a track is not totally about him on the whole tape. The description is not online and I am certain if I had not included the idea behind the project on this article, a lot of folks will keep missing the vital point. Aside that, every other track on the tape was precise as for as the title is concerned.

Overall

I like the project, It got the replay value I look forward to in every project especially if it is coming from talented up and coming acts. Scroll down to our automatic review machine to see how well this project has done with the grades.

Garbbazin

0.00
5.5

Production

7.5/10

Lyrics

7.5/10

Performance

6.0/10

Features

0.0/10

Promotion

6.5/10

High Points

  • Great Beats
  • Flow on point
  • All in one project
  • Replay Value

Low Points

  • Few lyrical tracks
  • So many copyrighted beats
  • Watered down than necessary
  • no features

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous post Why Davido’s Album Got Heavily Criticized
Next post [Review] Payper Corleone – In Don We Trust