The most recent album of Tabi Bonney’s is The Summer Years. This album, along with the previous album Fresh, was carefully structured and proved to be a better work than those past. With the help of Ski Beats linked together by the former Rockafella CEO Dame Dash, The Summer Years cultivated into an unforgettable album.
One of the aspects that sets this album apart is the listener get more of a feel of him, of the real him, the “him” that was Born in Togo. And you get this feeling all throughout the album. Especially on the song On Jupiter that features the legend, his father Itadi Bonney. This old school song is definitely of the smooth, old school variety and it takes you back in a nostalgic kind of way to what could have been. The delivery in the song is really clean and precise, and as for the lyrics and his cleverness that he had in the album prior to this one, you see more of it on The Summer Years. “I’m so conceited, moon-walkin’ on a paraplegic, I’m the type to book the Queens daughter, then go and delete it.” I really love what he does here with his rhyme scheme and the flow of his delivery which can be heard throughout this song and others on the album.
Another quality that trickled over from the 2010 Fresh to this current album is his eclecticism. He uses a kind of electro beat in his single called Top Notch/Material girls. In this song he is influenced by the help of indie group MGMT and the European artist Lykke Li. The diverseness that I hear in this song is definitely something that we have heard in his previous work. What makes his sounds blend well together is the fact that he is not afraid to mix different beats and melodies on his albums. This kind of bravery is what is needed throughout the rap game in order to keep things original and to be fans are being entertained and interested in the music.
My favorite songs on this album would have to be Hip Hop and Love featuring Murs, On Jupiter Featuring Itadi Bonney, and finally Chasing Featuring Mat Beilis. Hip Hop and Love is the first song of Tabi Bonney’s that actually sounds as though it was really produced by someone other than himself. The sound was clear and concise and the melody of the song is smooth and mellow; almost trance like. On Jupiter, as I have already stated, it has a very calming and nostalgic vibe to it. And finally chasing, the last song on the album, is so beautiful. I absolutely love the piano and the singing on the track. The message of the song speaks heavily toward reaching your dreams and longevity in being ambitious. His eclecticism definitely came through on this song and the album as a whole, and his method of taking risks musically as far as his sounds go indeed worked out for him in a positive way.