Phyno’s ‘No guts, no glory’ as the album of the year

The man of the year, Phyno, who hails from the Eastern part of Nigeria, is known as a producer cum rapper. He produced Ill Bliss’ ‘Anamachikwanu’ and ‘Ghost mode’, and has worked with rapper Olamide. Both singles were powerful, unflinching documents that not only ushered in a major new talent, but also carved a niche for him as the serious rapper cum producer with a deep bias for hard core hip hop packaged in pulsating, fore boding but downright appealing beats. As a solo artiste, he followed up with the power singles ‘Man of the year’ and ‘Parcel’. He had this slight dislike to dance floor music, but created different and unique hip hop rap music culture. This was an artiste who discovered his own style of music; a genius willing to walk the road to success. When his debut album titled ‘No guts no glory’ was announced, expectations built up instinctively. This young man from Abakpa Nike in Enugu state still goes hard in rap music. As a matter of fact, ‘No guts no glory’ delivers the best intro recorded this year so far. On a banging beat, and with a superior assist from Eastern underground queen Stormrex, he lets audiences into the man behind the cotton. People like Fatboy, Azubuike Nelson, Slow diggy and Chidi White featured. Drake’s ‘Worst behaviour’ and Olamide’s ‘Sitting on the throne’ were the hand work of the rap mogul. His great run continues through the previously released singles (Man of the year, Parcel), to high powered anthems like ‘Aju’ with soul mate Olamide (who does not quite match up), Kush music, ‘Anamachi Versace’ with Runtown and climaxes with the standout ‘Good die young’ a tour de force that samples the late great Marvin Gaye. He reveals his vulnerable side as he pays tribute to comrades lost to disease, accident and armed robbery. Although he raps in Igbo, the painful emotions are passed across and non-Igbo speakers will gladly relate. What do you have to say about Phyno? Just give your comment below. You have every right to express yourself on this blog. Say your mind so you won’t be hooked up by unreleased comments.