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With a music that strikes a perfect balance between traditional hardcore Hip Hop and appealing mass-market elements, Ice Prince is a super cool rapper whose music, style, and persona took Africa's Hip Hop to its greatest commercial height.
Several after releasing the first installment of his 'Trash Can EP,' Ice Prince returns with a second installment in which he shows his unique touch of making rap music that connects with listeners who crave easily digestible music.
'To Be Continued' is Ice Prince's continuous effort in keeping up with the changes in Afrobeats' landscape while also delivering enduring pieces of himself.
Famous for his easy flow and catchy wordplays, Ice Prince's style of rap combines elements that might appear simplistic to the sophisticated rap consumer but are sufficient and appealing to the average listener. These lines add up in this EP as Ice Prince explores his pains and desires.
After spending over a decade in the mainstream and reaching the heights anyone in his genre on the continent could possibly hope for, Ice Prince has garnered enough experiences to appreciate the lessons he picked up on the way.
"Everything happens for a reason," he says in 'Bless' as he acknowledges the role of providence. He also alludes to his recent experience with the police which culminates in short detention at a correctional facility. He takes these experiences in good faith while celebrating the blessed life he has as he switches between English and pidgin.
He blurs the line between his sexual desires and romantic feelings in the mid-tempo Pop record 'Disco'. He talks up his no-stress fly while flaunting his bedroom abilities through a very quintessential flow that rolls back the years. His ability to switch between singing and rapping is a thread that runs through his catalog. In switches to singing in 'Disco' and delivered a mumbled chorus on 'Get At You' where he essentially makes a refreshed version of a type of song he has been making for the better part of a decade.
Ice Prince is an artist that keeps up with the time. He has recorded popular singles with Oxlade and Tekno in the past two years as he showed a willingness to stay up to date. He offers Amapiano in 'All Day' which suffers from the generic nature of its composition and the over-familiarity of the delivery.
He explores his emotions on 'Holding On' as he flowed steadily on a meter in a moment of introspection which delivered the best track on the project at least from the perspective of a rap fan. The introspection extends to 'Jah Bless Me' where he accepts his imperfection and shares his faith in God on a Raggae-inspired record that combines elements of gospel music.
Final Notes
'To Be Continued' appears to be a glimpse of something to come, especially from the title. However, the EP to a large extent is quite predictable of what to expect from Ice Prince and while this doesn't hurt its gratification, it doesn't elevate either.
At any rate, 'To Be Continued' gives what attentive listeners would expect from an Ice Prince project and it just might be enough from an artist who has done it all.
Ratings: /10
• 0-1.9: Flop
• 2.0-3.9: Near fall
• 4.0-5.9: Average
• 6.0-7.9: Victory
• 8.0-10: Champion
Pulse Rating: /10
Album Sequencing: 1.4/2
Songwriting, Themes, and Delivery: 1.5/2
Production: 1.4/2
Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.4/2
Execution: 1.4/2
Total: 7.1 - Victory