Ricqy Ultra - Expect The Unexpected Album

Ricqy Ultra has announced the immediate release of his first sophomore album, Expect The Unexpected. The record is a follow-up to his 2019 Ep titled FEAR. There are loads of unique sounds embedded in this project that will entice fans to listen to it over and over again.

Ricqy Ultra recorded most of Expect The Unexpected record in his studio QRY MUSIQ based in Kano, Nigeria with sound engineer Simple Touch KefaZz.. There are other works been produced by Lt. Jon, NexceZz Beatz, A-styl and J Dot. Although the project was never intended to be dropped, it was motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Expect The Unexpected is composed of 25 tracks which  trascends from the poetic side of Ricqy Ultra in songs like Black Heritage and Casket, to conscious melodic hip-hop tunes in songs like Hard work pays, Be Like Me and bumpy hip-hop songs that include Nagari, Me Duniya, Oh Baba, Na God, Play To The Gallery among others.

Ricqy Ultra has experimented different rap styles in his 19 years of debuting in the hip-hop arena. "I never planned to drop this project really. I was working on a different project titled Mahakurci Mawadaci prior to this one. Although the name change came during the total lockdown experienced in Nigeria. It changed my perception about everything and all I had to do was call on my producer, Simple Touch KefaZz and said  "hey, I am dropping an album asap. Let's get to work", according to the artist.

There are songs that have been recorded way back as 2004/5 with the raw data re-worked upon to meet up with the 21st generation standard. New songs recorded were mostly inspired by real-life experiences which included from being a studio rat to an indie-record owner.

And while each song varies in tone and rap-style pattern, they are all originals. "Expect The Unexpected is a project for the future. With a conceptual blend of 3 languages (i.e. Hausa, English and Pigin langauges), the project centers on humanity with the lyrics focused on entertaining, educating and captivating every listener beyond the borders of Nigeria," says Ricqy Ultra.

Ricqy Ultra collaborated with 11 artists in this project with top shots like BOC Madaki, Lagos-based artist Bmeri Aboki, AB Kapon who is an Ibo indigenous rapper based in Kano, Jameek a Jos-based hip-hop head and Ill Em Boi who is a producer, lyricist and songwriter for most underground artists. Other featured artists include NexceZz, Dabo Daprof, KefaZz, Jtwice, Bigbull and the only female artist in the project L-Crusher.

TRACKS

1.  Letter of Rapology 
2.  Me Duniya ft. AB Kapon
3.  Be Like Me ft. BMeri Aboki
4.  Oh Baba ft. Ill Em Boi
5.  Casket
6.  Hard work pays
7.  Ina Son Ka
8.  1 Mic Nigeria
9.  Tsaya Ka Ji
10.  Bend It
11.  What is Hip-hop
12.  Black Heritage
13.  Xenophobia
14.  Na God ft. BOC, KefaZz & Dabo Daprof
15.  Goba ft. NexceZz
16.  Play To The Gallery ft. Jameek
17.  Nagari
18.  Bayanin Rapping
19.  Just Bounce
20.  Kcity To Beehive
21.  Everyday Is A Birthday
22.  VVF Anthem
23.  Play To The Gallery (remix) ft. L-Crusher, Jameek, J Twice and Big Bull
24.  Bulala
25.  Sauka Lafiya

BONUS

26. Ina Son Ka (Lt. Jon Mix)

Songs are available for streaming on these platforms

ITunes, Apple Music, BoomPlay, Deezer, GooglePlay, TikTok, YouTube Music, Napster, Amazon Music, Shazam, and many more. 

RICQY ULTRA - HARD WORK PAYS

Ricqy Ultra drops this exciting melodic hip-hop song off his recent album Expect The Unexpected titled Hard work pays.

Hard work pays is a conscious song that tells a touching story about the birth and rebirth of Ricqy Ultra. With a heartwarming melodic flute played right from the intro of the music, he narrates a poetic lyric that carries your mind in different phases to his present state. The hip-hop/afro-centric dimensions of the song shows a two-sided story blended with a bi-lingual flow of English and Hausa languages all tuned to produce a mixed variation.

Along the line, Ricqy Ultra dropped a rap verse to call on youths to stop eating from the crumbles that falls from the tables of their masters and rise to be their own masters. They have to embrace who they are and stop being lazy.

Hard work pays can be streamed here or downloaded below. 

Morien - Dangerous

Etins Records signee, MORIEN is out with a brand new single titled “Dangerous”. This song which is his first single for 2020, is a fusion of the catchy Nigerian and Ghanian Afrobeats vibe. “Mr Harmony” as also referred to is known for dishing out great music and “Dangerous” is definitely not an exception. The song was produced by Playlist.

DOWNLOAD

Follow on Social Media:
Instagram: @Moriensounds_
Twitter: @Moriensounds

Joyner Lucas X I Prevail- Dead On Arrival

I Prevail just dropped an updated version of the Trauma track “DOA” featuring rap phenom Joyner Lucas. The Detroit rock unit started teasing the new video last week.

The “DOA” video is incredibly powerful depicting drug abuse, homelessness, violence, death and a myriad of other issues plaguing the nation. The video includes a moving statement: “We can choose to flourish or die, But whatever we choose, We will do it together.”

Now, over a year since the release of Trauma, I Prevail have shared a stirring new video for “DOA.”

They began teasing it almost a week ago with a blurred out image showing who was to feature. A few teasers later, including one showing some behind the scenes photos and we’ve arrived.

I Prevail dropped the video today (May 28). The updated “DOA” features a new verse contributed by Joyner Lucas.

 

“DOA” Lyrics

On our knees we pray
As we waste away
And we dig our grave
Dead on arrival



I close my eyes and contemplate on why I chose to be great
I find myself trying to escape where I’m supposed to be safe (Yeah)
Maybe I should pray like I’m supposed to be saved
Sometimes I feel like getting even, but I chose to behave
I’m mentally locked in a prison and I need bail
But the internet will kill me quicker than the streets will (Facts)
And if that shit doesn’t kill me then the police will
Or maybe the refills, or the eat pills, or the lean will
I wish I was more flourished
I wish I had more courage (Yeah)



I feel like there’s more purpose
And maybe it’s all worth it
I wanna keep on learning
But I couldn’t be more nervous
When I keep looking for answers
And I gotta keep on searching, the table keep on turning
Trying to call up to Jesus but the phone keep on ringing
And I think I need more service the calls seem more urgent
And all I see is more murders
As soldiers keep on serving
And I wonder if it’s all worth it, I wonder

On our knees we pray
As we waste away
And we dig our grave
Dead on arrival
In this mess we made
Fill our lungs with hate
Just to numb the pain
Dead on arrival
Dead on arrival
Dead on arrival

I can’t breathe
Got my head on the guillotine
Slipknot around my neck, come and take a seat
Watch ’em bury me down til I’m six feet deep in the underground
Dead is the land of the free
Don’t give, just take every time you need
Don’t give, just take though it’s killing me
Don’t give, just take every time you need
Don’t give, just take

On our knees we pray
As we waste away
And we dig our grave
Dead on arrival
In this mess we made
Fill our lungs with hate
Just to numb the pain
Dead on arrival
Dead on arrival
Dead on arrival
I can’t breathe

Am I not worth saving?
Am I not worth saving?
On our knees we pray
As we waste away
And we dig our grave
Dead on arrival
In this mess we made
Fill our lungs with hate
Just to numb the pain
Dead on arrival

Yeah
Dead on arrival
Dead on arrival
Dead, dead, dead, dead
Dead, dead, dead, dead

BMERI ABOKI - JINI

Lagos-born Hausa hiphop star Bmeri Aboki has undoubtedly paid his dues in the game. But what better way to expeess himself than to drop this amazing jam titled “Jini“.

Jini literally means “blood” but in this case, he refers to it metaphorically as “money”. The survival instinct of everybody has turned to money which is indeed the new fuel.

While mentioning prominent names of people who are known for their wealth, the Agege born rapper narrates how important money is to everyone considering the situation we have found ourselves in. Recently, he collaborated with Ricqy Ultra on the track Be Like Me which was released earlier befor now.

This upbeat, afro-pop beat will make you bump and grind as you carefully dance to the melodic style of this song titled Jini. The song was produced by DannyBeePro.
Kindly download and listen to Jini by Bmeri Aboki.

Don R C-19 Beat Challenge

Don R also known by the pseudonym Arewa's Finext has been behind closed doors during the quarantine period. This gave him the ample time to discover his production skills and cooked this dope beat.

All you need do is record a minute verse on this beat, post in on Instagram and tag him (@arewafinext) with the hash tag #c19beatchallenge. The winner of this challenge will have a collaboration with the artist on a new joint alongside a video shoot.