Artist : Cassper Nyovest
Album : A.M.N (Any Minute Now)
Label : Family Tree/UMG
Release Date: 11 September 2020
The fifth album installment from Cassper Nyovest, is an insightful, expressive, and bold project. With a fusion of different sounds and elements, it has something for everyone. An epitome of “wearing your heart on your sleeve” with his expressive nature at the heart of this project. The titular “Any minute now” is a dedication to the birth of his yet to be born son which could be born any minute from the moment the project was dropped. This project brings into view a reflective Cassper exposing everything and everyone out in the open.
Each feature brings on board a different component, ”Nokuthula” ft Busiswa is a dance orientated record, coupled with meaningful lyrics. Guest appearance by Samthing Soweto on ”Friday Nights” which pays homage to the legendary Brenda Fassie’s classical hit ”Weekend Special” fuses a soothing vocal tone with beautiful melodies. ”Amademoni” ft Tweezy has an enticing reviving hook, underlining how being resilient and not easily shaken off culminates in triumph, with his success testament to that.
”Good For That” is fractionally a replica of ”Tito Mboweni” , a typical contemporary Cassper Nyovest sound we’ve become accustomed to. Being in his element and unrestricted, he blatantly confronts unresolved issues with some high profile figures with lines like “I never called you out when you tried to cheat the game, I stood by you, now you treat me like a b**” on ”To Whom It May Concern” and “So now I’m forced to smile with nighas like Scoop” on ”Thoughts ” , which somewhat sparked controversy. The appearance of musical maestro Zola 7 on ”Bonginkosi” culminated in a heartwarming, gospel themed, and moving jam which a vast majority of music listeners in general would resonate with. Casper continues to forge relationships with international acts as evident with features from Boogie and Anthony Hamilton to give the album an all round cross over appeal.
Following the success of his platinum selling albums Thuto and Sweet & Short , A.M.N has its work cut out. Each album highlights his individual growth not only as an MC but also as a person in general, A.M.N is no exception however, this time his soon to born son is his muse.
Despite his level of success and influence, the undertone of the majority of the songs on this album feel like he is still looking for approval and acceptance.My instant reaction to this project was of mixed feelings, one part of me feels it’s an insightful yet controversial album another part of me feels it’s a beautiful lyrically crafted piece of art with so many quotable lines. Well it’s a combination of both. If there’s one thing I’m utmost certain about though, is that this album caters for just about everyone’s preference. There’s dance, trap, rap, gospel themed songs and even a dose of motswako magic. For that i’d deservingly give it a rating of 9/10.