Since making her debut, the Ghanaian soul and R&B singer-songwriter, Essilfie, has established herself as one of the most dynamic artists in the game. With no genre off the table, anticipating her next move is impossible, but it is always effortless to get in the groove of her latest releases; take her latest trap and hip-hop-infused hit, Prayed Up as the perfect example.
The gritty conviction in her spoken-word rap bars is only matched by the lush sultry appeal of the reverb that spills from the instrumentals in the single that breaks the monocultural could for starters and obliterates genre and geographical boundaries for a triadic triumphant exhibition of authenticity.
As luxe as a Jay Z hip-hop production, as soulful as a Sade single, and as introspective as, well, she set her own bar here, the single that speaks through an alter-ego to traverse themes of resilience and faith is one to meditate on.
Check out Prayed Up on all major streaming platforms via this link.
Review by Amelia Vandergast