Ajogu – The Therapeutic Tape (Album Review)

Once in a while, chance makes me review a rap record. Mostly it’s an American rap record, but this time I’m dealing with a 2023 project by Nigerian-born rap artist Ajogu. 

It’s especially interesting to review a Nigerian rap artist at a time when there’s a tense relationship between South Africa and other African countries, such as Zimbabwe and Nigeria. 

Of course, Ajogu doesn’t have to deal with such issues, but it is worth noting that Hip Hop music allows one to rap consciously on society’s challenges. Looking both at Ajogu’s album title (The Therapeutic Tape) and song titles, you feel that the album is going to deal with issues consciously. From the look of things, this is an album that should put one into an introspective mood, because as the artist even says, The Therapeutic Tape is a ‘deeply introspective and faith-centered body of work’.

First up on the nine-track album is ‘The Recovery’. With a title like that, a question pops into my mind: recovery from what? One of the themes Ajogu deals with in the song is ‘a porno habit’. It helps that some of the songs have lyrics attached to them, because if there’s one criticism of the album, it’s that it’s difficult to hear the words clearly.

In terms of the song’s instrumentation and vocalisation, both elements are upbeat and energetic, the instrumentation driven in part by piano, in the end leaning towards trap. However, the combination of instrumentation and energetic vocalisation makes it nearly impossible to hear the lyrics, as I’ve already noted. For a project billed as introspective, it seems to me the instrumentation and vocalisation are too fast. It’s more like looking for introspection from Busta Rhymes. 

Up next is ‘Ashamed’, a song with the beautiful, pure singing featuring Ekom Manzani. The instrumentation starts with some easy guitar, with Eko Manzani singing, ‘Hide my face’. Then Ajogu’s superfast delivery comes in, rapping about covering up his face and his shame creeping up on him.

‘Hiding’ comes up next. The instrumentation mixes drumming and trumpet to create a sound that’s half fast and laid-back. Vocalisation in this track is perhaps just as fast as in the previous songs, but the delivery seems to bring out the lyrics much better. 

The artist who comes up first in the song seems to be rapping about Moses hiding behind the bush because of the fear of God, then they seem to ask whether it is true that the knowledge of good and evil is hidden in the forbidden fruit. 

‘Father of Lights’ follows. With an enjoyable beat, the song is lyrically fascinating. ‘I’m in the dark’, we hear; and also we hear a lot of wordplay on being black – a black man – living on a black content. You have to wonder how religious the song is, as later on we hear the singer asking for the Father of Bright Lights to turn ‘these nights into Vegas/ I can make do with street lights in Lagos’. 

‘Thirsty’ comes next. It’s a track that starts with chilled instrumentation and vocals, eventually getting louder as it progresses. At one point, there are loud screams of, ‘Lazarus’. This is basically the story of the biblical parable of Lazarus. 

‘Emotional’ sports a trap beat. Lyrically, we have the story of the artist saying that nothing on earth gives them any new feelings. We have them mentioning the time they got their first pair of denim. 

‘Fela, Are You Proud Of Me?’, as the title suggests, is a song addressed to Fela, the late music icon. This is about the one track on the album where introspection plays out nicely. That means the beat is relatively pared down. 

We have the artist rapping about how these days the jungle is not really wild. Later on, we have them rapping about how they can’t air their grievances, so they’re holding their grudges. They bemoan the toxic environment ‘surrounding my dreams’; it’s a song, in part a rant against society. 

Then comes ‘Disappointments’, a song where the singer sings about growing disappointment in their heart, a disappointment which they wish the Lord would take away. It’s a short but promising song. There’s no rapping or upbeat instrumentation, just singing and worship-like instrumentation.

Last up is ‘The Story Of Process’, a song where we hear ‘Olele don’t relax’. This is motivational stuff: ‘Olele you’re the man’ is sung repeatedly. The song says it’s dedicated to everyone going through the heat right now.

SCORE/Good: If you love energetic beats and fast rapping, this should be a treat. But for a record that bills itself along the lines of introspection, the songs break the introspective mood. This is not an album for introspection. The artist has so much energy. 

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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