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Music News - Mazbou Q reveals EP 'The Future Was'

Mazbou Q reveals EP 'The Future Was'

16 July 2021 - 0 Comments

Aotearoa’s socio-political hip-hop heavyweight Mazbou Q today reveals the final piece in the puzzle that is his debut album The Future Was, which delves into concepts of time and communication across time.

Get the album HERE

Deviating from the ‘standard’ way of releasing an album, Mazbou Q has been dropping a single a fortnight for the last few months, culminating with today’s release of the final track Best Of You feat. Cee Blu - a hip-hop-meets-pop and R’n’B track, which sees Mazbou exploring rhythms of Kizomba music.

Listen to Best Of You HERE

“I decided to release all 10 tracks as singles every fortnight in order to give each a chance to shine. The traditional model of releasing an album, especially when you’re a smaller independent artist, means you run the risk of having much of your hard work gone unheard, especially now that we are in the age of streaming where algorithms and playlisting is the normal way to consume music,” he explains.

The album deals with a number of themes but the unifying one is time.

“The Arrival (intro) and Don’t Stop Regardless imagine myself as a time traveller from the future who returns to the present to speak to Africans in the diaspora. Just Let It Go and The Fire of Time deal with how time is limited and how we ought to make the most of what we have. G.O.A.T Problems and Letter to My Future Self, Pt. II envision a future me who is greater than I am now. Best of You, The Get Up and Beat Up, Bullied and Dunked On, all talk about the past and what I had to go through to get to where I am now. Deserter and Pour One Out deal with the running out of time; the end of a friendship, and end of life respectively.”

Also worthy of note, is Mazbou Q’s involvement across all aspects of the record, from writing, recording, to producing, mixing and mastering.

“Each element was recorded, produced and engineered in my home studio with the exception of a couple of feature verses that were recorded remotely and sent in. I love producing my own music because I am free to let the instrumentals and vocals bounce off each other in creative ways that I mightn’t be able to do if, say, I had beats pre-produced for me. Since my musical background is quite strange (punk, metal, afrofunk and highlife) I enjoy including elements in every song that are different and unexpected.”

The tracks on the album have also been accompanied by powerful imagery, including a mini documentary with the release of Don’t Stop Regardless. Watch here.

Today’s single Best Of You comes with an official video made by filmmaker Gal Hochman. It sees Mazbou and Cee Blu becoming the best versions of themselves represented through their superpowers.

Watch HERE

Mazbou Q is a UK-born, Tamaki Makaurau-based rapper and producer. His unique musical background of golden-age hip-hop, West African highlife and heavy metal forms the backdrop for his non-formulaic style of hip-hop inspired by the likes of Fela Kuti, The Roots and Oddisee. He frequently confronts his listeners with an unapologetic style of socio-political commentary.

Follow Mazbou Q:

Apple / Spotify / YouTube
Facebook / Instagram / Website



Next: Shihad Releases Music Video For 'Tear Down Those Names'

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