KC Presh ‘Appointed’ Ministers of Swag

ALBUM TITLE – Swaga Ministers
LEAD SINGLE – Ginger Ur Swaggar
PRODUCTION – J.Martins, K.Solo, OJB Jezreel, Soberikon, Soso, Waz Beats               
GUEST ARTISTES – 2Face Idibia, J.Martins, Timaya
DISTRIBUTION – DKL Records/UBA Pacific Music
The average hit song in our country revs up to 90 BPM and more in speed, measures around 2000 (discordant) musical instruments in depth and weighs a mere 0.00 milligrams in substance. While I’d be the first to admit that there are no scientific facts to back my argument up, you do know what they say right? There’s no smoke without a fire. Well, unless that smoke came from teargas but that’s a different matter all together.
STAR Quest pioneers KC Presh certainly did not start that fire I was just telling you about but that hasn’t stopped the creatively-challenged duo of Kingsley and Precious from fanning its flames diligently year in, year out. KC Presh are experts in creating eyebrow-raising slangs, piecing together random nothings and backing them up with some awkward singing. The duo have marketed this blend of music again and again and again and for the fourth time, again.
Even though it should comfortably win the award for the most unimaginatively-titled album of the year so far, the one thing Swaga Ministers’ title does do is warn the listener of the album’s content, or lack thereof. Bag of Money is a song about eerm… can you take a wild guess? ‘I get money like water, I spend money, like water… if u dei vex enter gutter’; if being rich sounds this boring then poverty must be so much fun! Fellow DKL signee Anogiri shows up on Ebengwori and even though the theme is about as stale as the news of Michael Jackson’s death (fame, getting money and spending same), at least the bald-headed crooner brings something different to the table stylistically. This album wasn’t called Swaga Minister for nothing, its lead single Ginger Ur Swaggar features a frantic K-Solo production, a standard Timaya verse and accompanying chants of ‘Chai!’, ‘Chinekeme!’ every now and then. Do you remember that average hit song I was trying to describe to you earlier? That song is Ginger Ur Swaggar.
The album does have its bright spots though, however few. J Martins continues to spread his gospel according to the book of hi-life on Baby Baby but with instrumentals very identical to most of his recent work, if you feel you’ve heard this same sermon somewhere else before, you’d be forgiven. No such confusion on Me and You Today though, Precious delivers a catchy hook and the effortlessly asinine Kingsley leads the song to a lively end. Kongo won’t go down as the best song 2Face Idibia has been featured in his illustrious career but it does provide one more rewind-worthy moment on Swaga Minister. If it had more songs of this quality, this album could have been a worthwhile listen. Sadly, whether by virtue of a lack of talent or an overly simplified approach to making music, Swaga Ministers fails to impress.
KC Presh have been able to stretch their fifteen minutes of fame into almost ten years in the game and few people will dispute that the duo are legitimate STARS. With a decent hit catalogue and a legitimate following, the duo surely must be doing something right; sadly translating all that good fortune into truly memorable albums hasn’t been one of them just yet.