Stripped and naked!
Now going under the name of The High Priest, Kai Motta is back again, with an album that sees him musically stripped down to his underpants, as he raps and sings over an acoustic guitar. The High Priest loves to shock and there seems to be no subject that he shies away from, however without the samples and the beats to hide behind, this is one of his boldest and most mature musical ventures yet.
The album starts off with The High Priest's own coined catchphrase of, "Let me touch you deep inside", something that he has been threatening/proclaiming since I first reviewed him five years ago with the album, 'The High Priest Of Rap' (This is the sixth that I have reviewed and his twelfth overall). 'There's A New Priest In Town' opens up a bit like a crowd warmer for the first minute before he unleashes into his political and social fun poke. There is then a nod towards Folkstone in the song, 'The Deep South' whereby we get a full understanding of what the High Priest's new hometown is like, "I'm comin' straight from the deep south // Where the girls are thirteen and know what to do with their mouths...", I think that the Folkestone Tourist Board may well have missed that one...
Now you only have to look at the brilliant, 'Close To You' to see where The High Priest has moved forward. Kai shows that he has a good voice as he sings the chorus, and earns a lot of respect proving that whilst also strumming the guitar, he is more than a potty-mouth with a yearning to shock by lyrically ejaculating over the listeners like a musical solo bukkake. That said, I should probably not put ideas in his head...The song describes the mainstream prejudges like, "I don't care if you are black or gay // a couple that want to adopt a baby // It's no sin within to be a Muslim // Still wanna be close to you." And of course we get the digs at celebrities like Katy Price and Piers Morgan, who along with Kerry Katona and Nick Clegg get many more mentions throughout the album.
The High Priest has been playing the clubs with these songs and you can find them– and I strongly recommend that you do– on You Tube. It is here that he unleashes the real showman from within, as whilst in previous recordings you hear him rant within the songs, we can now see him speaking to the crowd and interacting like he's walked up to them in the local pub. Radiating confidence he is at his element receiving back the laughter and agreeing nods to his personal gospel, and of course it is of no surprise that he chose the guise of a Priest, as he has the ability to preach without it sounding anything but a well educated argument wrapped in a dirty tissue and thrown out into the masses like a dead turtle dove– beautiful and shocking at the same time. 'I'm Not Impressed' is a classic slice of satire over a simple song. Kai gives us lines of celebrities who have sold out and thus fails to impress the High Priest: "Hi, I'm Johnny Rotten and I used to be an anarchist // But now I sell you butter // (I'm not impressed) // Hi, I'm Iggy Pop and with that new Peugeot // Would you like insurance? // (I'm not impressed) // Hi, Lionel Ritchie here, and when I'm not dancing on the ceiling // I'm selling Cheese & Onion crisps // (I'm not impressed) // Hi, we're Jedward // Fuck off, fuck off, fuck!!" Great stuff!
'Let Me Clear My Throat' has another nice singing chorus as The High Priest rants on about politics and the fact that with all of the chain stores in every town, he no longer feels homesick when away from home. Through the flippant and crass comments we get the intelligent arguments that Kai is never too readily given credit for, making him an intellectual Kevin 'bloody' Wilson...Then we have one of the best all round songs here in the clever and topical tune 'L-I-B-Y-A', which if it had throwaway lyrics about love and romance would be a hit, but Kai likes to sing about either pornographic sexuality or is like an x-rated musical version of, 'Have I Got News For You'. Then just in case you were worrying that you might turn into a pompous old genius like Stephen Fry, we get the lowest common denominating humour of, 'A Little Something For The Ladies', whereby The High Priest tells us what he'd like to do with his 3 inches by suggesting that he can make you wet like Japan...
Things slow down slightly in the more thoughtful song of 'Is This It?' whereby Kai ponders some of the strange things that fill our lives in today's world. Then there is the slightly self-indulgent muse of 'The High Priest' that's a head nod and a toe tap tune that gives him free license to comically babble on whatever subject comes to his mind first. The album finishes with another simple tune called, 'You Gotta Laugh' whereby we hear a list of things that should annoy you, but you concede it with a shrug like a gangsta version of Monty Python's 'Always Look On The Brightside Of Life'.
We then have the bonus of two remixed track's from Kai's 2008 album, 'The C Word'. The first one is, 'Everybody Wants To Be Somebody' that is a little like Eminem from his debut album, although the lyrics are certainly The High Priest through and through: "I wanna be a cunt like Peter Andre // And fuck his ex-wife in the arse all day // There's always a price for Katie // syphilis, gonorrhoea and rabies // I wanna be just like Posh Spice // Livin' on a grain of rice // I wanna be just like Jeddward // Twice as bad, and I don't mean good...". Then we have 'The C Word' which has some nice electric guitar loops whilst Kai unleashes his usual onslaught on the celebrity world.
So with "Chapter And Perverse" The High Priest has moved away from his usual brand of music and has stepped up, shed his skin and shown us his true colours, showing that he is more than an amusing musician, or a musical comedian but a true unadulterated showman. I know that he would love me to give him the full 13, but I know that whilst this is indeed his best musical offering yet, with some small tweaks there are still some better albums in him. The bottom line is that as good as the CD is, this is a small part of what The High Priest is all about. Check him out live; become a believer; be one with the rest of the congregation. The High Priest will without doubt in some way or another touch you deep inside...