Song: Motromodwo
Artiste: Trigmatic ft. A.I.
Producer: Wei Ye Oteng
Author: Kwame Dadzie
‘Top’: Trigmatic is out with a new single titled ‘Motromodwo’ which literally translates in Twi as ‘luke-warm’ attitude or ‘hypocrisy.’ He features a talented yet unsung musician Ayisi, known in music circles as A.I.
I rate this song 93%. It is one of the classic music works that has been produced this year and as I ‘drop’ and gets deeper into the song, you’ll appreciate what informs my rating.
Instrumentation: Thumbs up to Wei Ye Oteng for the classic production for ‘Motromodwo.’ I am sure he put in a lot to have had the final product. The song done in key A Flat Minor is a mid-tempo high life song. However, I personally think whichever wind instrument was used for the intro, sound too thin for an intro.
The beauty of the instrumentation stems from the brilliant fusion of Alhaji K Frimpong’s ‘Kyenkyen Bi Adi Me Awu’ with some indigenous highlife variants particularly the palm wine guitar strums and vestiges of Fela’s Afro-beat groove.
Rap: Played by a wind instrument, the song starts with a melodic phrase (.d.r.r:r.:r.r:l,:-:) which is common in the intro of Rex Omar’s ‘Dea Ne Me,’ a song that also has traces of Kyen Kyen Bi Adi Mawu.’
Trigmatic then comes in to spit crazy bars of thought-provoking rap. Of course, Trigmatic’s stature in the rap game is undisputed and on ‘Motromodwo,’ he proves it more. However, I wish he did two verses of rap and left all the singing for A.I.
Vocals: The singing in the song was predominantly done by one of the fastest rising ‘alternative music’ gems called A.I. Those who usually patronise music activities at Alliance Francaise in Accra may have come across this artiste.
A.I. released his single, “Anger Management”, few years ago and later won its first place for the R&B/Hip Hop category in the 2013 International Songwriting Competition. For those who know him for his inclinations towards R&B, Hip hop and other alternative forms of music, his performance on ‘Motromdwo’ may have come as a surprise.
He really sang the highlife song the highlife way. His diction and flow was traditionally highlife. I mean that style that Obrafuor is noted for. They sing words with notes that correspond with the tones and stresses of syllables of the Twi language – no ‘brofolisation’ of Twi through ‘shading of notes.’
Trigmatic also comes in to sing few lines in Pidgin English. Of course, Trigmatic sings so well too but he did not do too much of the singing on this song.
Language Variation: There is a blend of Twi, Ga and Pidgin and English on ‘Motromodwo’ and that gives it an appeal to a cross-over of music lovers that relate to songs better when they understand the lyrics.
Message: ‘Motromodwo’ talks about people who pretend to like or not to like certain things. It basically speaks against ‘luke-warm’ attitude. Hypocrisy is a disease that has ruined relationships and has caused people a lot of troubles. As Trigmatic puts it right in his rap, “Judas na ekuum Yesu, Nea okuum wo no ɔno a nso na osu [literally meaning it was Judas that ‘killed’ Jesus, and the person that kills you is the same person shed crocodile tears].
‘Drop’: Can you imagine how you would feel when you are served a potpouri of a delectable Ghanaian meal, comprising locally indigenous and ‘continentally’ delicious dishes, with a calabash of palm wine filled to the brim on standby?
Click on the link below, listen to ‘Motromodwo’ and experience such great feeling.
