We Plug to You... Mister Rae - The Brand New Masquerade EP

Hello people! As you know, there is nothing that gives me more joy than serving you some GOOD music so it is with great pleasure that I plug to you - Underground Hip-Hop artist, Mister Rae a.k.a Rae Diaspora (real name Rinre Idris). A member of Nigerian Hip-Hop collective 'Str8Buttah', Mister Rae poetically addresses personal, social and political issues on his highly anticipated EP titled 'The Brand New Masquerade' which we are about to get into.

My favourite song  on this 11-track EP is the Teck-Zilla produced Afrobeat-infused 'Here Now'. On this celebratory song, Mister Rae beautifully details the life, times and struggles of an up & coming artist before he finds success and is in celebratory mode on the hook in reference to the later-found success.

 "I'm here now, you can rise the chair now; Pull yourself a beer, Grab yourself a chair now, I didn't write the script so don't ask me how; let's toast to the past, celebrating here and now" 

Firstly, I love the way he uses Afrobeat music as his musical backdrop on this and still makes the song sound so modern, his flow is so infectiously smooth and he totally owned the beat with some sharp clever lyrics and wordplay. The uplifting sensation of the song also serves as a major inspiration for everyone going through a hard time and the song affirm that while tough times don't last, tough people certainly do.

This next track is titled '3rd World Superstar' - a glorious and hard-hitting production laced with heavy drum patterns and lush keyboards; this beat was obviously cooked up by a lover of  80's and 90's Hip-Hop music and I think it was a perfect choice on which Mister Rae tackles the issues that he does on this song. We all know how 80's and 90's rappers were inspired to write and make music by their environments and that is what Mister Rae taps into on this track - he expresses his anger towards the current state of his country; the economical and political issues and the fact that although he manages to shine in spite of the system, it hurts that his people are still going through the same struggle. I really love how he brings the ol' school Hip-Hop vibe and sense of having a strong message to the table, not many rappers have that anymore. Honestly this song almost brought me to tears, I really love it and I hope you guys will too.

 

'Easy Lover' is the final track I'll be sharing with you from the very enjoyable EP and on this Segun Bucknor-sampled, he features fellow Str8Buttah group member, Teck-zilla. This should be a favourite for those who love the Highlife, Funk and Afrobeat genres of music. With a vocal sample of Segun Bucknor being served on the chorus, Mister Rae and Teckzilla take turns in spitting some really dope verses. The sampling on this track is what really makes it more interesting. These emcees take charge of the beat and their ability to enunciate rap lyrics in a unique and creative way, paired with poised breathe control and impecabble delivery are what make this song go down especially well.

 

This mixtape is unlike any other project I have heard this year and to be candid, I don't think anything like this will be released anytime soon. Mister Rae burst unto the Nigerian Hip-Hop scene in 2003 and instead of following the route of a lot of rappers and rapping about trivial issues, Mister Rae is bringing something to the mainstream audience; he is bringing back the essence of Hip-Hop by exhibiting powerful lyrical content and amazing song-writing. I leave you with just one word: DOWNLOAD!

Download: Mister Rae - The Brand New Masquerade (EP)