K. Flow’s “Vintage D Tape 2012-2019” is an Audacious Sonic Experiment

By Emmanuel Daraloye

Majority of artiste record music almost everyday yet only a fraction of these songs get released to the public. Some major artiste released this song as lost tape, untitled or give it one simple title. Most times, this is the period that they are no longer in vogue, or they are trying to free up their hard drive,or to obliterate leaks from their associates or foes.

Kelvin Mongor, known in the Nigerian music industry as K. Flow recently released a new tape. A long play of old songs recorded between 2012 and 2019. The music producer and sound engineer released the project on January 10, 2019 under 2024 Yard Muzik. The project is titled Vintage D Tape 2012-2019, such a long title you would say. The twenty six track album features the likes of Femi Satoshi, McCarthy, Shakur and others.

From the opening track “Whats Up,” to the closer “Conqueror,” K.Flow exhibits his brilliancy as a singer, rapper and record maker. His switch between becoming a symbol of hope for his generation to a lover boy, church boy and more. This project is a compass to his persona, with his brilliance, talent, skill and perseverance oozing on each track. “Whats Up,” welcomes the listeners to his state of mind, it also shows his romantic side, as he sings on how his girl makes him feel. The Afrobeat spiced “Grantitude,” is all shades of greatness as K.Flow submits and adores God’s name for the love and protection over him. “Leave Me,” is a plea for help with the singer levitating on the production.

A hard hitting thumb drum kick starts “Baby Walakolongo,” reminiscent of 2010s Patoranking. It is an unstructured sonic expression. Just like the title states, “Blessings & teaching,” encourages the listeners to search inward for wisdom and knowledge, this serves as a form of enlightenment considering where the world is at the moment. “Real Power,” is a Reggaeton themed song marinated in coitus. The album snazzed into a high tone on “On Top,” it finds the singer in a braggadocio state of mind. Most of the tracks on this album are experimental in nature, it finds the singer flexing his vocals on genres, styles, he switches his vocals at will

On “Vintage D Tape 2012-2019,” K.Flow painted a different picture on the canvas. One time, he is grateful, the next minute, he is throwing shots at enemies, even when he talks about his struggle, he sings it from a positive perspective. A song like “Suffer & Smile,” is a pristine social conscious type of song. For an artiste of his caliber, this is unusual yet he chooses to lay his voice to the clamour for social change. On the second half of the album,K.Flow keeps the song short and simple, perhaps for emphasis sake, he bounces on popular instrumental, interpolates classy songs and at the same time restates his originality and his dynamism. The myriad of sonic instrumentation he explores is laudable, likewise the angles he comes from.

On this body of work, K.Flow shows off his mastery as an artistes, his innate talent and more essentially, his knack for creating ear pleasing tunes. At more than one hour long, he makes the track short, ear warming and memorable for the listeners. With just one month deep into 2019, the fans should surely expect more music.