Cop @Nasty_CSA #StringsAndBling Today!

Nasty C finally delivers his much anticipated sophomore album after Bad Hair serviced him really well these past two years. Strings And Bling carries an atmosphere of growth and renewed confidence from the young king as he takes us through the strings and bling elements of his life. 

In terms of the arrangement, he opens the album on a bling note before he dips into strings then rounding the album off with a bang (bling). Upon first play, you are welcomed on a high note in the victorious Blisters where Nasty C celebrates life and all the scabs that he's acquired along the way. He's in a good space and it was important for him to set the celebratory tone with the intro. He's in top form with the bars as he asserts his "GOAT" status, on the low. From the first song, you can already tell that you're in for a sonic treat with the production on this album and you wouldn't be wrong. The title track is laced with a melodic guitar solo in the beginning before Junior makes mention of his journey from his trials and tribulations to becoming a celebrated musician in the music industry. Notice the chanting of "Kumbaya" in the bridge, he's finally at peace. 

About a week leading up to today, Junior released his twin singles, Jungle and King and later gave his fans an opportunity to get another single titled Legendary. All three tracks fit the bling category of the album quite well and find Nasty proclaiming his position as the legendary king of the jungle, see what I did there? The other day he previewed No Respect to build anticipation for Strings And Bling. He made people believe that it was a new song, the track is just shy of two minutes but sounds like he had the time of his life. Junior later shares a sad reality for some people who are convinced that they have this life thing figured out when, in actual fact, they played themselves and are in for a rude awakening. He continues his flex parade onto Do U Digg but after that, he dumbs it down for the rest of the album.

From the bling, Nasty C carefully transitions to the strings and highlights all the things (and people) that mean the most to him, i.e his close friends, his girl, and more especially, his family and late mother. Much like the opening track, Gravy is also a celebration of Nasty C's peace and current headspace. Songs like SMA will really tug at your heartstrings and you'll then realise the concept of the second phase of the album, to bring out your emotions. He later shares more details of how he met his lady on Everything and detailing his nervousness when they met. Mrs. Me and My Baby are the other heartfelt songs which find Junior praising his lady for her resilience and ride or die qualities. Another One Down finds him at his most vulnerable as he confesses to the world that he's not who they paint him to be. 

Casanova is one of the songs which spans for less than three minutes but holds weight in terms of content and production. Here, he calls himself a Casanova, comparing himself to an animal but also talks about people trying to slow his dreams down and how he doesn't mess around with snakes. Towards the end of the album, Nasty C brings flex parade back to town on Givenchy and Jiggy Jigga. The songs are bouncy and find the prince of the 031 in his element, flexing his talent behind the mic. Strings And Bling is an excellent piece of work, you can definitely hear the growth and we appreciate the structure and content. Purchase the album below and share your thoughts: