Kamaiyah - A Good Night in the Ghetto

Kamaiyah
A Good Night In The Ghetto
2016
Spotify

From the very first moment of "I'm On", the first track on Kamaiyah debut mixtape A Good Night In The Ghetto, you know you are in for something different than what most of hip hop has to offer. This is not Miami nights, bottle service and slick beats instead it is production straight out of the 90s and callbacks to the speak and repeat classics of the 80s. It feels like someone produced, recorded and packaged this record without knowing that this style of rap came and went. If you close your eyes and take the vocals out of the equation a bit you could swear you were listening to a Too Short record, which oddly enough is quite pleasing. You keep catching yourself falling head first into these tracks that you should think are dated and weak, but they just aren't. The beats, as basic as they may be, are refreshing and match perfectly with Kamaiyah's laid back style. This music, unlike Too Short, is for chilling, laying back with you friends and family. Kamaiyah focuses more on enjoying life on reality's terms not in placing herself lyrically in situations that are not at all her day to day life. The three skits on the album Hoochie Hotline are almost a direct line to the hip hop of the 90s and although they aren't very good, having them on the track is not annoying, it's more quaint.

This style coming out of California's Bay area is a direct response to trap music and vibe rap. It is attempting to wrestle the reins back to a more classic style where lyricists could actually shine brighter than the beats boosting them up. The single of the record is "How Does It Feel" but really almost any one of these tracks could have been tapped. The style these beats are made in means that a lot of the songs sound the same but you'll never find yourself getting bored because Kamaiyah herself is so intriguing. For a 20 year old to be making this kind of music goes to show that what is old eventually becomes new again. Kamaiyah also portrays a very sex positive image for women. Instead of going into her sexual exploits, or reminding the world how much people love her ass, Her personality is what takes center stage. She may enjoy sex, like on the song "Niggas", but that does not consume her entire being or is the crux of all her tracks. It is Her confidence and swagger that push this album forward, because without her this album very well may be just another throwback mixtape. Don't sleep on Kamaiyah or A Good Night In The Ghetto, you may be hearing quite a bit of both very very soon.

8.1 out of 10