Bent Joshua is a former spoken word poet who seamlessly transitioned into a rap artist, infusing his music with elevated lyricism and storytelling. His latest album, “At My Wits’ End,” delves into themes of relationships and depression — keep reading for my thoughts!
The album gets off to a rather solid start with the track, “Coffee”, with its downtempo, straight flow that immediately sets well into the ear of the listener, creating a rather nice atmosphere. Joshua tells a simple, light-hearted story with this track, expressing his love for coffee, which forms the lyrical base of this track. With its jazzy, bluesy hip-hop beat, this track forms a solid first shot into “At My Wits’ End”.
As we transition into the second track, “Open Sea”, we’re transported to a much more introspective tone, Joshua thrusting ahead with the old-school hip-hop sound with much aplomb; with the acoustic drumming and the rumbling basses, Joshua retains a warm, polished sound — and intertwined with his lyricism, delivers powerful messages. “Let You Go” takes us deeper still, dealing with themes of loss and grief.
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At this point, it seems prudent to take a moment to appreciate the lyrical versatility on “At My Wits’ End” — Joshua handles writing for any theme with expertise, and his delivery constantly evolves and changes to maximise the impact, theme and setting notwithstanding. This is especially evident on the tracks “Let You Go”, and “Nightmare”, which are both dives into more personal, raw themes that, with Joshua’s delivery, come off sterling.
The production throughout “At My Wits’ End” is a love affair between old-school boom bap and hip-hop, combined with modern synth elements that give it a rather distinctive fusion in its sound, that comes off as both fresh, and very groovy, reminiscent of the old-school styles of the genre — and while it is difficult to get quite right, I’m glad to report that it’s been done to quite a nice standard here — the sound design is natural and organic, the atmosphere is solid, and the execution is stellar from start to end. Bravo!
The album comes to a close with the tracks “All My Fault”, and “Globe”, the former of which relaxes the air a little bit, almost as to indicate clarity and resolution; with the gentle acoustic guitars and the more relaxed delivery, the storytelling is what spins the magic here — and the curtain call, “Globe”, is a catchy track that easily stands out as one of the best tracks on “At My Wits’ End”.
With so much going for it, “At My Wits’ End” is the kind of album that you throw on and enjoy every moment of. From its themes to its execution, there’s much to appreciate about this whole album — and we’re fans. Take a listen to the album here!
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