In today’s review, we revisit the world of Rebel G Society, a world that is fuelled by the inner workings of a creative pioneer who has set the dedication and time to craft a sound that is very unique, novel and true to himself. He’s been featured on this platform before, and you can get a gist of his artistry here, or read this personal one-to-one interview that will help you familiarise yourself with his world.
This time, he has come back with a vengeance with a new album titled ‘The Odyssey Of Savage Savannah (Deluxe Edition)’. This album serves as his most ambitious album thus far, being the culmination of four months of pure experimentation, late nights, and relentless creativity. Rebel G Society aimed to redefine what an artist’s voice could be in this digital era, diving deep into AI technology not just to enhance his own vocals, but to also reshape his cadence, tone and delivery.
The pivot to using technology infused with his vocals was inspired by Kanye West’s experimental use of AI on his ‘Bully’ album. However, he didn’t want to simply copy the techniques. Instead, he wanted to take this act further, beyond imitation, into innovation.
Every track on The Odyssey Of Savage Savannah has the intent to feel like a cinematic voyage through emotion, chaos, and transformation. It’s not just an album, it’s an experience through a sonic world Rebel G Society built from the ground up.
Since its inception, he has been approached by multiple companies interested in replicating this sound, but they don’t understand a central point of his artistic intent. This isn’t just technology, it’s human emotion fused with machine evolution. He feels like he is ahead of his time, crafting something that sits between the future of AI-driven art and raw human creativity.
This album was solely completed by Rebel G Society himself, from the writing to the producing and truly marks a turning point in how he sees the fusion of sound, identity and innovation.
The album starts off quite interestingly, with an artistic take spanning certain tracks that have a dark and imposing vibe to them. Nothing’s wrong at all with the production, especially with the instrumentals- they consist of lush pads and very sharp percussion. However, there are some issues with the way the vocals link together with the instrumental. For example, the echo and compression within ‘Don Gyal Scheme’ is quite apparent because of the minimalistic beauty of the instrumental. Strange issues like these persist for the first few tracks. In ‘Bodies’, there is definitely a key difference between the vocals and the instrumental. I really adore the instrumental, but the vocals have a timing issue and does not match the key- atonality is an art, but this isn’t executed like Stockhausen or the chord triads apparent with Uzbek music. Unfortunately, it almost puts me in the mind of BujuRocks’ issues with merging AI vocals with instrumentation. These issues all grow and are apparent until…
Track 5, ‘Nova Star Supreme’. From a marketing perspective, I think that’s when the album truly begins. The vocals are timed perfectly with the composition of the instrumental and the vocals are mixed really well. I’m assuming that this is his real voice, but actually, from this point on, until the last track, even the AI vocals are finally mixed really well with ALL of the tracks. It almost absolves the whole album from the issues within the first four tracks. From then on, the songs within the album play at a fusion between downtempo Afrobeats, reggaeton, and innovative techniques. It’s really truly reminiscent of the ‘golden age’ of Afrobeats from 2017 to 2022. Tracks like ‘Shiesty Diana’ and ‘Savior Omega’ tap into the chill and rhythm-heavy groove that’s palatable and soulful to most. If any form of stylistic atonality is used, I think some melodic phrases within the last track mentioned (within the lyrics: she got all high) show how one can mix a song that’s typically in key with motivic variation to excite the listener. It’s very Wizkid-esque, especially within his More Love, Less Ego album.
As I’ve said, Rebel G Society does have a way to merge the emerging technologies of AI with music, explicitly demonstrated within the track ‘Savage Savannah’. It has an emotional tone and flows really well, and could appeal to people that have a more melancholic taste in music. The addition of songs like these also give the whole album more range and emotional depth, pulsating through various different emotions and perspectives within a singular cohesive body.
‘Sinful High’ to me also sticks out as possibly one of the best tracks in the album, merging darker pads with rapid-fire melodic delivery. It’s very Odunsi and Mr Eazi-coded with hints of Rema as well. Another song that I think is the top song of the whole album is ‘Thug Love’. The percussion is tight, the chords are extremely dark but whole and all-encompassing as well. It has a way of ‘sucking you in’ to the theme of the song, with melodies littered in the edges of the song. The vocal work and manipulation also support the song really, really well. I have nothing but praise for the track, and I hope that you, as a reader, appreciate the song as well. I have to also point out ‘Dark Fever’, with melodies that reflect true Afrobeats at its core with yearning to it. I actually really miss these kind of songs within the genre.
The rest of the album is just as delightful, with tracks like ‘No Body’ tapping into the Chris Brown/Ella Mai/Jhene Aiko niche. I think you can still hear a bit of the echo from the vocal parts, but this time, the richness of the instrumentation helps to masquerade and neutralise it. Honestly, this album is really well done and I appreciate Rebel G Society for being honest and disclosing his intersection with AI in its conception unlike some other artists who are extremely dishonest. Besides the slight mixups in the first few tracks of the album, this work is a huge improvement from some of the mastering issues that he used to face with his previous releases. Everything is done to a professional standard without losing what makes Rebel G Society who HE is. It’s innovative, it’s influenced by his ethnic and cultural influences, and it all gels together really well. That in no way is meant to discredit his more experimental side though, I think if this standard of mastering was mixed with his heavy experimentation the older works could shine just as well as this particular album.
If you miss the old Afrobeats and dancehall scene and you need tracks that do exactly just that with a new breath of life and a seductive edge, this is definitely the album for you.
SCORE/Excellent to Outstanding: With a much-needed boost in mastering and technical flow, Rebel G Society returns with an album that can definitely be marketed and appreciated from a musical perspective. It has depth, vibe and rhythm mixed all into one, giving you songs that you can not only dance to but truly feel.
[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]
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