@FOCALISTIC Releases Debut Album 'Ghetto Gospel'

Focalistic has finally decided to bless us with his long awaited debut album 'Ghetto Gospel' after releasing various storytelling visuals for the lead singles 'Sjepa' and 'Tabela Hape'. This project from my perspective has been long overdue as he is mainly known for giving us short form projects each year but now he finally decided to give us his first ever long form project. The talented artist hosted an exquisite listening session in the heart of Pretoria early this week and the experience looked top tier. Unfortunately I couldn't attend but social media had my back.

The event was a Live Performance type of listening session as he performed each song on the album with a choir for backing vocals. From my perspectives it has to be the best listening session the Amapiano scene has experience as attendees saw very familiar faces from the likes of Ch'cco to Major League DJz as well as the infamous Pabi Cooper. They each delivered spectacular performances when they performed songs they are on together including Ch'cco's recent release 'Pele Pele'. The event was in partnership with the best in the game, the one and only 'Jagermeister' and they also played a very big hand to ensuring the listening party is the best from start to finish. The attendees practically received a private concert exclusively around the album before anyone else as the venue was packed with 2000 people from all around Gauteng. This is lowkey an achievement as not many artists can fill up a venue in under 2 days alone so best believe the support is there without a doubt.

Nonetheless, I woke up to a notification from Apple Music about the album finally being added to my library and me being me, I gave it a jam without a skip as each song is so uniquely crafted. You would probably expect some heavy log drums from start to finish but nope it's not that if anything Focalistic came through with the more soft instrumentals for certain singles as he expresses his love for a particular individual and he tells the story in the most ear catching way possible. My favourite single has to be 'Timana' as it speaks on how one can have friends around them as yet it would be the same people that want you to never succeed as they become jealous of your achievements. It is also those that celebrate with heavy hearts as they question why their lives are not moving at the pace yours is moving at. 

My other favourite single has to be Dipuo with the one and only 'Sjava' as they give us an infusion of the Jazz sound and afro-pop. The single speaks on how some people can speak negatively about you because they seemingly don't want to support you if anything they fear you making it past them and it is always the ones we know hence the hook, where speaks on how he fears other people's news if anything he prefers to keep everything to himself as it takes small details you share that may drive people to have weird intentions upon your life so it is better to keep your circle small and stay away from a lot of things that do not concern you.

I love this album personally because we get to hear Focalistic step out of the set 'stigma/stereotype' around piano heads and he is out here to say I am here to stay whether you like it or not and this is proven in the whole body of work. He also included the single that received high backlash from the social media trolls and honestly speaking it is just something new that many people will have to get used to as all artists are allowed to be diverse within their respective genres and further as Elaine continues to experiment. It was not that bad for Elaine's first Amapiano single and I honestly look forward to many more collaborations from the two as they stepped out of their regular creation process and comfort zones to create what I consider 'complex art' meaning that many might not understand it and that is okay as it is created for its own people.

I can't wait for the 'Presidente Wa Straata' himself to grace with fresher visuals as he continues his established movie from his lead singles but without a doubt I cannot wait for him to fill up many more arenas across the globe as he is slowly becoming a household name in various countries. Wishing him and his team the progress they deserve and all the accolades they can bag as they have worked very hard for all the good things coming their way.

You can stream Focalistic's Debut Album 'Ghetto Gospel' below: