Ghana in recent times, is seeing an increasing number of young talented artists especially in the Hip-Hop space. Even though the music industry is not so great; in terms of what artists make from their efforts, these young and vibrant artists are putting in a lot of work.
Meet S.M.O, a soaring Hip-Hop act who promises to be Ghana’s most enigmatic artist yet.
Music for S.M.O started in Senior High School where he began to take his rap skills seriously. He hit the studio right after high school to work on a cover track of Jay Z and Kanye West’s Otis with Ball J (of Skillions). He later worked with Shaker also from Skillions (New Generation) on a cover of Meek Mill’s Imma Boss. S.M.O released his first official single in 2013 titled, ‘Till I Can’t Breathe’. This was very well received by Hip-Hop enthusiasts and the likes thus, inspired his yet to be released LP dubbed, ”The Odd One”.
With The Odd One LP, S.M.O seeks to do something rather unusual with Ghanaian artists and album releases. He plans to release only 48 copies. Now hold it. I know you might be thinking why an upcoming artist whose main goal at this point is to be heard do that? Well there seems to be a method behind the madness.
First of all, the idea behind The Odd One LP is to do something different sonically, and ”everythingly” if there’s even a word like that. S.M.O experimented with two singles from the album titled ‘Voodoo’ and ‘Village Party’. Voodoo is your everyday Hip-Hop groove but with a mix of African drums and chanting acapella samples. Village Party on the other hand is a refreshing unique sound with a bit of almost every genre of music.
Yeah a bit of exaggeration nevertheless, it’s a breath of fresh air.
To the main reasons why there’ll be only 48 copies of The Odd One LP; this is his debut thus he wants it to be special and also to create a core fan base of 48 people. Now that is not to say the LP won’t be available in digital stores and also up for streaming.
The 48 is only limited to hard copies. This is for people who’d like to show support to the artist by purchasing it. Its hand numbered and comes with a limited edition of t-shirts. www.thisissmo.com
In conclusion, in this part of the world where art and music is appreciated but not patronized as it should, I think artists coming up with creative ways to put out their music should be encouraged and appreciated. This is how we grow the industry; by supporting upcoming acts and giving them the needed push.
Social media handle: @thisisSMO everywhere. To pre-order hard copies, visit: Click HERE to pre-order on iTunes. Or you can stream it on his SoundCloud for free when it drops on February, 26th.
iTunes link: https://itunes.apple.com/gh/album/the-odd-one/id1204636346
