Nasty raps his way in

Ghanaian rapper Nasty Tay spent the first 13years of his life in Takoradi and has since lived in Sweden and England but it seems he has not been able to shake off the ‘hard and sleek guy’ image usually adopted by young men from the famous port city.

That’s how Nasty comes across on his second collection of songs, Ma San Aba, which has been released on the Coldeye Records label. References are made to Takoradi and being Fante on songs like Something Good, Onuhe Dani Oba, Ma San Aba, Vibrate and Taadi, all of which help Nasty to convey a portrayal of an uproarious place that he appears to be very fond of.

Information about the artiste indicate that he made an album with Ben Brako which did not fly at all.

After some reflection and research into what’s current on the Ghanaian scene, he has come up with the Ma San Aba collection which fits well into the hiplife mode. Watch video: Ma San Aba by Nasty Tay feat. Humble

Featuring other artistes like Ex-Doe, Humble, King Dee, K.K. Vidash, Yaw Richie and Odenke Warrior, a couple of tracks on Nasty’s new work show traces of some of the oversubscribed ‘beats’ heard often on hiplife albums by home-based artistes, but he manages to vary the feel in the songs and generally presents himself as a rap artiste looking for appreciation from across board. Watch Obolo by Nasty Tay feat. Ex Doe

Nasty has a style that genuine hip hop lovers, no matter their location, are likely to hail. His background paints him as a person who has faced tough times in Sweden where he fell in love with hip hop.

He also found something to appreciate in R&B and Ma San Aba is essentially a catchy blend of the two styles with his Ghanaian experience.

Nasty’s website lists American rappers Big Daddy Kane, Cool Mo Dee and Jay Z as some of his biggest influences.

It is evident from his general approach that he has listened to a lot of American rap and has learnt to, where necessary, employ mininal instrumentation to back his raps.

Songs like Something Good and Abodwe Se thrive on uncluttered bass and drum combinations to keep attention on the lyrics.

Nasty appears consumed with the topic of romantic love and some of the lyrics are rather risque, maybe an unnecessary pandering to some of the coarse antics of some of his American influences.

Several abroad-based Ghanaians have in the past come out with releases and then vanished from the music radar. Nasty is aware of that and states at his website that “Nasty’s music will never die so hate it or love it Nasty is here to stay.”

Nasty can stay but whether his music stays in the hearts of people is an issue he must always be conscious of whenever he tackles his lyrics and other components of his presentation.