It’s been a long road to A-Reece’s third studio album ‘P2: THE BIG HEARTED BAD GUY’. Reece has been talking about the album since around 2019.
On ‘THE RUN’, the first song on ‘P2’, the Cap City frontman reflects on his journey which is fitting considering the original ‘Paradise’ came out exactly seven years ago. A lot has happened since then.
Reece left Ambitiouz Entertainment and formed The Wrecking Crew, which later disbanded. In 2020, Reece lost his dad. Last year, A-Reece formed Revenge Club Records with his brother Jay Jody and TKay 10staxx.
With everything that happened, A-Reece dropped music consistently which kept his run consistent. “Although I hate to sound cliche/ I live the kinda life they gotta write about and make a movie/ build a statue, make a hologram, even curriculums in school will have to include me,” he raps on the aptly titled ‘THE RUN’.
“Initially it was supposed to drop in 2021 but most of the ideas that I had on the project ended up on the mixtape ‘TTTM’,” A-Reece said during the album’s listening party held about two hours before it dropped at AGOG Gallery in the Joburg CBD. “It’s been a crazy three years, there’s been a lot of ups and downs and shit, so… I’m just happy that I rose above the adversity and all that.” He went on to mention that ‘P2’ was “an introspective album” and fans will hear about the things that inspire him to do what he does.
On ‘P2’ A-Reece talks his shit and does some introspection, rapping about his life and the people he cares about. You’ve already seen the ‘VING RHAMES’ video featuring his girlfriend Rickelle Jones. On ‘GOD LAUGHS’, one of the album’s standouts featuring Sjava and Shekhinah, he raps about the impact his brother Jay Jody has had on his life and career. “I mixed the poetry with the rhythm/ Had Jody never assisted, the lyrics wouldn’t be written/ I’m tryna say without him, Reece would never existed/ Wanted to be just like him, whatever he do, I did it,” he raps. The song is as special as you expected it to be when you first saw the tracklist; Sjava delivers a motivational hook with his airy falsetto before Shekhinah finishes it off with her ethereal vocals.
Sjava and Shekhinah are two of the exciting features on ‘P2’ which also comes with guest appearances from Ghanaian MC M.anifest who appears on two songs, US rappers Fly Anakin and Joey Fatts, Blxckie, who appears on ‘ONE TIME’ and of course Jay Jody whose verse on the politically-charged ‘WHITE NOISE’ touches on the South African government’s failures including loadshedding and fees having not fallen. “Politicians flying over riots in a private plane/ What a shame, empty promises all in Madiba’s name,” Jody raps.
Being the student of rap he is, on ‘RONNIE’S INTERLUDE’, Reece pays homage to Jay-Z’s ‘No Hook’ from Hov’s 2007 album ‘American Gangster’. “Tryna match that Hov flow in case you still ain’t caught that,” he raps.
Similarly, ‘BRUCE WAYNE’, the album’s second single was born from Pusha T, Pharrell and Jay-Z’s ‘Neck & Wrist’. “When Michael [Tuohy] sent the beat, he also sent it with a reference track,” A-Reece said in a press release. The reference track had the ‘Neck & Wrist’ Pusha T and Pharrell vocals on top of the beat, and I just remember Michael telling me, ‘I made a beat around this hook, from the ‘Neck and Wrist’ by Pusha T, Jay Z and Pharrell song. I left the hook on there so you could catch the vibe, let me know what you think’ and yo the two blending together sounded incredible!
“No disrespect to Push and Pharrell but it even sounded better than their original cut, no gassing. So, I just knew I had to do something super wavey, catchy, cryptic yet simple to vibe to, with unique melodies – basically something as dope as ‘Neck & Wrist’ but with a little bit of that baby boy twist to it.”
In the song, he raps about a certain rapper who switched to piano and started dissing hip-hop. “Some people call it controversy, I like to call it Hip-Hop at its best! As far as what the song’s about - I know you know, and they know what or who I’m talking about. Let’s keep it real. I’m the leader now. That’s that!” Reece said in the press release.
The song prepared fans for a sound switch as Reece raps that it’s okay to experiment with other sounds as long as you don’t diss Hip-Hop. As per Zeph Beats’ request at the end of ‘BRUCE WAYNE’, Reece gives him “something for the ladies” with the lush Afrobeats/Afro-pop-leaning ‘TOO MUCH’.
‘BETTER NOW’ is a smooth alternative R&B song where A-Reece raps about a friend who betrayed him. The song is preceded by ‘BETTER NOW INTERLUDE’ where he assures he’s doing better now and raps, “Couldn’t accept the person I’m becoming/ Became envious when I’m lustrous/ I know that no good deed goes unpunished/ And, with you, I know that no subtweet goes unpunished.” By now, Twitter should have dissected who the song is about.
The moody section of the album concludes with ‘WANT IT ALL’, the last song on ‘P2’. It wouldn’t be an A-Reece album without a ruminative album closer. This time around, the outro is spoken; Reece thanks the $limes for riding with him and believing him over the years. ‘P2’ feels like the rapper, producer and label head is ending a chapter as his last words on the project are: “I guess the question is: what’s next?”
Stream ‘P2: THE BIG HEARTED BAD GUY’ below:
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