Hillzy has become a major household name in the music industry, and this EP shows that he’s well aware of it. The songs on this record are all of a high calibre, and even those that fall short, they do so in a way that doesn’t threaten the durability of his career. Chisikana generally has a calm and clean energy, a feature that we’ve always associated with Hillzy.
WAY OUT
This opener immediately commands our attention with its searing and affecting trap soul production. It’s as if the Hillzy of old finally came to the phone; self-assured and as spirited as he is soulful. Hillzy has been at it for a considerable amount of time now and it shows. “Way Out” is charged with subtle nuances of a capable man who has cracked the code and is now living in a future that is brighter than Sirius. And above all, this song shows that the picture is never really complete without that one baddie at the center of it all.
HEAVEN
The song is titled Heaven but its production and content are darker than several combined moonless nights. It starts off with a somewhat serene instrumental that immediately morphs into something on the other extreme of the heavenly scale. And on this song, Hillzy’s aggressive side comes to light, but in the most laid back kind of way. In the thick of all, there’s a line that goes like “school these rappers with my single degree”, but from where we stand, it’s more than just a single degree (Celsius); it’s mid-October up in here and Heaven’s heat is unrelenting.
TAKE YOUR TIME (FT.YCEE)
In a room full of beats, you can easily single out a Dakari beat, mainly by its uncomplicated but ever so sophisticated nature. Dakari’ s beats always have the air of having come to him without much strain. He makes it seem too easy. If you’re listening to this EP by tracklist order, then Take It Easy is the first collaboration you hear, and for some of us that immediately peaks our expectations. And although the song doesn’t exactly match up to our hopes, we do not hold that against it, as it is a fairly passable joint. Ycee is calm and refined in this song, and for a lot of us, he has made a very good first impression.
NAKUPENDA (FEAT. GARRY MAPANZURE)
Garry and Hillzy are a combination that has been tried, tested, and approved. Individually, their music surpasses that of most names in the industry, so it’s almost as plain as a pikestaff that they’re a pairing that works. Nakupenda is the kind of song in which you get absorbed and it sets you on a path of positive emotions. Nothing was compromised in the making of this ballad; the pristine vocals, the sensible lyricism, and the vibrant afrobeats instrumental are all of a high rank. Or maybe that’s just what you get when two stars collide.
WITHOUT A DOUBT
Nothing is as conspicuous as the acute pains of heartache carried by Hillzy on this song. His hurting is both captivating and saddening, but his vocals and delivery are top-shelf. Love can be cruel, and Without A Doubt is just a receipt for when Hillzy had to learn it. It’s almost obvious that this song isn’t based on a conjured up imagination of what lost love looks like; one definitely has to experience it firsthand to be as adept in telling the story. Hillzy is at his most vulnerable on this song, and one can only imagine the amount of healing it’ll take to resolve his traumas.
PREMIERE (FEAT. GEMMA GRIFFITHS)
Prior to the composition of this masterpiece, Daniel Tailos was on the verge of laying down his tools and giving up his music ambitions altogether. Had that happened, the world was going to gain a brilliant engineer but not get this song – or at least this version of Premiere. Premiere describes an elusive kind of love that is only awarded to a selected few. It surpasses the reactionary feelings that we’ve wrongfully dubbed as love, and it never falters. And both Hillzy and Gemma narrate it in a very beautous and convincing way. Premiere is deliberately affecting, and we’re here for all of it.
GOODBYE (FEAT. SHA SHA)
Goodbye is packed with contradictions but still makes perfect sense. The song explores the depths of the dejection and the agony that can arise from within a relationship and from without. Every component of this song has been well thought out; the vocals are crisp, the production is thrilling and has an untroubled finish and Hillzy and Sha Sha are just the pair to write home about. The way Goodbye evokes superior emotions is not fortuitous, but it’s definitely intentional.
