The world awaits...It's showtime!
Kai Motta comes bustling out with another slice of his comedy-rap, this time a little more polished, and with an American Agent now on board, things appear to be heading into the right direct for the High Priest Of Rap.
I admit that I do cringe when I utter the obvious comparisons to Eminem, but it is there for all to see, and to be compared to arguably one of the most talented and successful rap artists ever, really can't be such a bad thing. The flow is as smooth as a pretty female's thighs, but the song packs a punch with lyrics that will have you hanging onto every word.
First song, 'It's Showtime' is in the vein of Eminem's 'Marshall Mathers LP', with the angry-spat lyrics, which for me comes off the best. Once again Kai let's us know his feelings towards celebrities in his own comedic way. We have punchy beats on 'I Work Alone', a song that takes us back to the old skool rap. Whilst later on there is a beat-box , with the National Anthem playing over the top for a few seconds, which I'm sure years ago would see Kai Motta as a headless horseman...but without the horse. It's a slow song with nice use of a piano, and has Kai show us his posh-English accent, whilst delving into the political landslide of our country. We even have a singing chorus, and this shows that Kai has grown since his last album 'The High Priest Of Rap', which had a few juvenile songs, that although were amusing, were better suited on a 2 Live Crew album 15 years earlier!
Things slow right down for 'If You Give Me The Night', which is a strange little number. For me the verses are too slow, even with the gentle music and acoustic guitar, but this is possibly just a personal thing, however the chorus is a real winner as it shows a lot of heart and feeling. Kai will probably be the first to admit that he's a rapper long before he's a singer, but his voice is so unique that it doesn't matter. There is a little of the same for the next song, 'I'm Not The Only One', although the beats are bolder, and the lyrics have a touch of controversy to keep you gripped.
'Help!!!!!' speeds things up a bit with big beats and synthesizers, and with a beginning that has Kai suggesting that having to listen to Craig David is worse than, "Spoons in the eyes, needles through the foreskin, Chinese water torture..." It's up there as one of the highlights. This is followed by the title track, 'In The Age Of Entertainment' which as you would expect is very good. It's one of those songs that is big and ballsy, with fast drumming that is just a little slower than jungle to work, and will have you jiggering around like a retard with just one listen!
'Censor This' is Kai's song to flex his slightly childish muscle, however it is done so well that it doesn't matter. I've always enjoyed music that pushes the boundaries of censorship, however in his last album, Kai Motta went a little over the top, on a couple of songs, which is fine as long as it doesn't affect the quality of the song. This is high tempo stuff and certainly one of my favourites here! 'The Vision' tells of how people want to mould artists into what they want, and how no one is meant to be original anymore. Kai successfully manages to get himself on the shit list of even more people by expressing derogatory observations of the rich and famous. We have everyone from Jordan, Tony Blair, Oprah, Christina Aguilera, and the best one is questioning the Virgin Mary, by suggesting that she was involved in sexual act likened to that of a dog, so maybe she didn't notice that she'd lost her virginity...*ahem*. Last song, 'No More Please Kai We're British', is the perfect ending with its up-tempo romp that has a bouncing bass line that the now, er, defunked God father of Funk, James Brown would've been proud of!
All in all, I thought that Kai was a little above the rest of the field with 'The High Priest Of Rap', however with, 'In The Age Of Entertainment' he has now propelled himself into the world of rap. England was never rated that highly in the rap genre, and after some embarrassing chart acts (our Eurovision Song Contest hopeful being a fine example), I think this shows that Kai will have to spread his hip hop wings and go over to America, a land whereby rap is the most bought musical genre.
So 'In The Age Of Entertainment' is a good album, and one that will see the very talented Kai Motta go from strength to strength. It's also worth noting that Kai also has a novel entitled, 'Cinema' coming out later this year, and when he's not doing gigs, you will see Kai roaming around and abusing audiences at various open-mic sessions throughout London. Praise be!