Reefer Tym = No Games [Pulse EP Review]
The EP is a lush treatment in the beauty of contemporary Afro-pop, rich in melodies and adorned with beautiful spirits of lamba.
In August 2020, Ghanaian new kid on the block, Reefer Tym released his six-track debut EP, 'No Games.' Just a few weeks later, the EP set a record after had the biggest opening for an album so far this year in Ghana.
Pulse Ghana reported that the pop superstar’s first EP opened with an unequalled 3M+ streams. The 23-year-old Reefer Tym also surpassed Sarkodie as the artist to have a chart-topping album for the longest period of time in Ghana. His EP topped the Ghana Top 100 Apple Music Charts for more than 113 days - a record.
The EP is a lush treatment in the beauty of contemporary Afro-pop, rich in melodies and adorned with beautiful spirits of lamba. Primarily, the project addresses all the elements of your average pop project; love, sex, party, the good time and more.
But what really stands out across the six tracks is Tym's technique, dynamism and the timing of his cadence switches. He also deserves credit for how he switches between English, Pidgin and his Patois leaning, for Dancehall effects. Sometimes, he sounds like Shank, other times, like Patoranking or Samini.
A few times, he also sounds like Kuami Eugene or even Burna Boy, with Magasco's voice type. It also shows that what ties West African contemporary pop sounds is way more than what divides us. If anybody were to tell the average ignorant listener that Tym was Nigerian, there would be no argument.
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On 'Naked' he has similar adlibs to Yung L. On 'Carry Go,' he says words like "Jogodo," and his Pidgin comes without an accent. Like Durella, he also has a song titled, 'Wiskolowiska.'
An interesting allusion to that fact is Tym's 'Naked,' which uses the same beat as Fireboy's 'King.' Like Fireboy, Tym's thematic base is a woman. While Fireboy discussed the woman from a love angle with PG-13 effects, Tym is more vulgar like he was throughout the EP.
He's like an Omah Lay equivalent, with his love for vulgarity, brazen sexually-charged statements and fearless use of expletives. A moment that really seals tis similarity is on 'Wiskolowiska' when he says, "Wiskolowiska... Monday to Monday we hustle or maybe get dimple for nyash..."
If that doesn't sound like something Omah Lay would say, I don't know what does. With very Nigerian features like Femi Johnson, this writer also wants to argue that Tym's Pan-African approach to this EP is intentional.
Moments like his allusion to Abena on 'Back It Up' and the overall feel of 'Give Them' retain his Ghanaian nationality, but Tym's music will easily cross borders if it's marketed properly. More importantly, this EP shows that we need to stop fighting amongst ourselves, as Africans.
Ratings: /10
• 0-1.9: Flop
• 2.0-3.9: Near fall
• 4.0-5.9: Average
• 6.0-7.9: Victory
• 8.0-10: Champion
Pulse Rating: /10
7.9 - Victory
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