Mufasa RKG, which stands for Rookie Kid Genius, is a Progressive Hip Hop Punk musician hailing from Springfield, Massachusetts, in New England, USA. On his latest project, “Cocoa Butta 3”, he explores a lot of ideas and puts together a one-of-a-kind hip-hop album. Keep reading for my thoughts!
The first song, “Coast Rolla”, is a complete instrumental that explores experimental production techniques, and sets the tone of the album quite effectively. The sound of the 60s and the 70s, find itself explored here, with clever use of looping and sampling throughout this track, which allows us to segue into the next track, “How Much We Saying?”
The second track starts off with some famous comic book-style sounds before it settles into a very trap–influenced hip-hop style of music, with fast and loose rhymes, that do not appear to conform to any strict rhyming scheme. However, the track still manages to sound unique and distinctive, which I suppose is a good thing and a really good one at that.
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As we move on to the third track titled “Art Trap”, we settle into a very 90s, turn–of–the–century, kind of hip-hop, with, again, clever, use of sampling in the back that really elevates the production of this track and makes the perfect foundation for the rap on top. The fourth track, “Fish N Chips”, introduces some fun-sounding synths, again, that blend into the rapping and the rest of the instrumental quite elegantly.
“Above The Artist Cafe” marks the start of the middle of the album, and this track adopts a much more chilled-out, downtempo vibe with some great brass work going on in the background, which introduces some welcome flair into the sound thus far.
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Of the 12 tracks on this album, some other special mentions include “PURPLE PLUMS AND SWEET CORN”, a more lyrically and rhythmically focused number that maintains the mojo and further evolves the themes set in the production through the song, and “MARKERS AND MICS”, a much darker departure from the tone of the album, that really lets Mufasa’s lyrical ability shine, all while the beat glues and holds the track together quite effectively.
I would comment that the production on “Cocoa Butta 3” is, coupled with the flows and the various styles of rapping explored, the highlight of this album. There are mixes of various styles and genres, and the lyricism and the themes being discussed in the songs throughout the album hold the production ideas quite well together. The mixes are well-done with good power and punch throughout the spectrum, with some clever use of the space in terms of adlibs and double-tracked verses that quite stood out to me.
In conclusion, “Cocoa Butta 3” by Mufasa RKG makes for a great hip-hop album with a lot of experimentation going on, really pushing the boundaries of looping and sampling in quite many a place– and I enjoyed listening to it. Check out the album here:
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