If you’re looking for a one-style album, you might wanna look elsewhere, because Ghanaian artist Odartei’s debut album is a diverse mix of both familiar and experimental sounds. Transitioning between tricks and tracks, the beat and emotions intensify as they please, taking you on a wavering musical journey.
Reminiscent of xxxTentacion’s genre-twisting genius.
Dreamo opens with a lo-fi progressive rock-esque song entitled Bet on You. This was a strong opener with a unique style that we kept missing throughout the rest of the album. The beat picks up significantly with Not Fazed and slows down again with Lost Memory, a song showcasing a smoother side of afrobeats with a touch of alte. The next song featuring Zacca, Outta Town, is a true standout on the album. Whereas some of the other songs’ lyrics felt choppy at times, Outta Town is a lyrical gem and Zacca’s verse only makes it shine brighter. Fight Back follows with a typical “fight back” trap theme showcasing Odartei’s punchy performance style. His rapid singing style in Fight Back along with some of the other faster beats (like Dreamo Talk, Outta Town, and Not Fazed) tend to blend too much together in the same album. Playing around with the tempo or a more distinctive lyrical story is needed to set them apart.
Another standout is Hollywood. It fuses a lot of what makes the other songs a success in one piece, showcasing Odartei’s musical range and hard-hitting raps. In our view, Odartei seems to shine in trap, a style that also characterizes his closing record, The Roof. Like its kin-hit Dreamo Talk, Cut Me makes special use of pitch manipulation to deliver an even wider range of vocals and a touch of psychedelic trip-hop.
A compliment that Odartei has certainly earned is that he is quite skilled with bending not only the genres but also the lyrics to create an element of surprise. His lyrics almost never match what you would expect when you hear a particular genre. Nonetheless, he makes his mixes adapt to diverse themes of nostalgia, anger, determination, and companionship, not allowing what’s “typical” within a genre to limit his storytelling. Take Save Myself for example. You’re greeted with a soft guitar sound that welcomes you just like an acoustic rock or even country song would, before melting into a trippy electronic sound while maintaining an overall R&B undertone.
Our verdict? Trappy and moody melodies are the strengths of Odartei’s Dreamo sound-wise, whereas lyrically, fewer songs of the same upbeat tempo can deliver crisper storytelling.
