Atumpan (aka The Talking Drum) unleashes an energetic variation of musical genres on new offering The Thing. Hooking up with one half of fellow Ghanain Hip Life duo Bradez, Atumpan has no trouble entertaining us with ‘The Thing.’
Tunneling through the underground scene for more than 12 years, Atumpan has captured Ghana’s attention with his eccentric take on the very popular music genre, Hip Life. On The Thing, we are taken through an excitable collection of Reggae, Dancehall, RnB and Highlife vibes, in addition to a touch of Rhythm and Bass/Urban Electronica. Atumpan has already shown his diversity within the Urban game by jumping on Jamaica’s Gyptian for Hold Ya and Nigeria’s Ice Prince and Brymo’s Oleku for mixtape tracks Mediocrity and Shame respectively. Therefore testifying to his underground buzz.
Beyond the base of things, what actually presides over the beat is much less imaginative. Expressing a whole load of sexualised lyrics: “You are playing with the thing/I say push it up, push it up” leaves very little to the imagination, whether simple or complex. Indeed his teachings of “Biology” and “Chemistry” on the track reflect Atumpan’s real life current pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts program in Linguistics. However, without this educational backdrop, it appears we meet a mere display of filling in the lines. By the time Stone arrives to dilute The Thing’s simplicity (both lyrically and musically), we appreciate his proposition to “Take a ring, before we do the thing.”
Thankfully this will blow up to be a dance beat that will have our rump “things” moving if we find ourselves in the club listening to Atumpan’s latest.
-Maria Okanrende
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
