Slikour – VV3

Slikour is a musician who has a lot to say and is not afraid to say it. He is one muso who refuses to conform to the status quo and would rather go against grain to make himself heard than settle for mediocrity. In his album Ventilation Volume 3, he tackles a lot of relevant issues in a non-invasive manner that has you bopping to the tunes while leaving you enlightened.

His execution of creative music ideas often set a new path that many soon follow. Slikour, like Kanye West is a visionary. He is that guy in local hip hop that is bold enough to finance his own music projects without the assistance of majors, because like any other true entrepreneur he believes in his product.

A constant in all Slikour’s projects (Ventilation Volume 1, 2 and 3) is that he not only uses music as an instrument for creative expression but as a vehicle to carry some very important messages across. E.g. In ‘Blacks R Fools’ he expresses his concerns about the ignorance of black people as a potential demise for the race.

His album also talks him being in love in ‘L0>3’ and being a first time father in ‘Awaiting Slindokuhle’; both heartfelt and beautiful. As if that wasn’t enough, he does a classic remake of Kabelo ‘Bouga luv’s’ old School hit ‘Dubula Dubula’. This remake is simply titled ‘Dubula 2.0’ and is a club banger. We cant talk about the project ‘VV3’ without mentioning the ever popular ‘Phum’ Elayinini’. The song is a continuation of the track ‘Umsindo’ from Ventilation Mixtape Volume 2 and is a massive club hit, ironic since he talks about the nightlife in the song.

All the other tracks on the album are evidence of Slikour’s experimental nature, he toys with a new sound that has washed over hip-hop at the moment, I call it electro-hip hop. Circa Black Eye Peas, Tinie Tempah and ‘Timbaland’. This sound can be heard on tracks such as ‘Going Wild’ and ‘Hell Yeah’. Judge for yourself but I can honestly say they were executed well and deem this conquest a success.

In the words of the man himself: ‘I wanted to challenge myself to test the extent of my growth and progress in music’

VV3 is an album that exudes the creators self-expression and isn’t that the root of great music? Go out and get yourself a copy and you can tell me whether my analysis is accurate or bias.