What a year Usimamane has been having. From dropping his highly appreciated 2023 album, titled “19th Deluxe”, to his chart-topping banger, “Cheque”, that had the whole nation in a chokehold, the Umlazi-born lyricist dropped his newest project, titled “20th: Days Before Maud”.

The gifted virtuoso has been consistently dropping music of his own or featuring over some of the biggest tunes (like “Imali” alongside Wordz and Mashbeatz) over the current year, however, he finally crafted his newest body of art blowing many away.

Kicking things off, the intro already had us prepared for what sort of listening experience we were about to receive. Titled “The Kulture”, loud 808s and kicks boomed in our ears, having the young sensation offload about his need for respect, and how he’s still maintained his status as that n*gga. Only a minute-long intro had us hyped for what was awaiting us.

What followed after was exactly what we were hoping for, with the rest of the project capturing an intimidating sort of aura, especially on tracks like “BANK” (featuring ANATHII and Tony Dayimane), the track “21”, and “Uphambene” (alongside K.O).

But that’s the catch, and it’s possibly why the nation loves Usimamane so widely. It’s his incredible range that really showcases his versatility. Not only is he a phenomenal lyricist, he’s just as good (maybe even better) when he tunes into his singing persona, flexing his impressive vocal range.

This statement is emphasized on the tracks “Star”, “Uvalo” (featuring Sjava), and most definitely the outro, titled “Kude”. Honestly, the kid is spectacular on any kind of musical format put in front of him, and whenever he attempts it, it’s easy to acknowledge how much effort he puts into it.

Another loving factor we appreciated about the album was his ease of collaborating with multiple different-sounding artists. Trying to make his sound work with a talented artist of YoungstaCPT and Shaney Jay’s level may not seem that easy (to us) but it worked, or having the legendary Skhanda World talent, K.O, hop on what we thought was an ominous beat, however, the track was fire.

It’s the little details we pay attention to, witnessing how an artist of one sound may merge with another, and Usimamane did an astounding job at that. This whole project was a joy to experience, and we highly recommend it to those who have yet to hear it.

The project is now available on major streaming platforms.