Blackshikisha – Sweet Melodies Ft. C-Blak, CoolKruger & Siyabonga Skhondo

That is a crowded line-up, and it tells you something before any sound comes out of the speaker. When this many artists sit on one record, the song usually becomes a conversation, with each person getting a turn and each voice adding its own colour. Whether that is exactly how it plays out is for every listener to decide, but the credits alone make it worth attention.

The title is simple and a little funny when you think about it. Nobody walks around saying they want something rough, so asking for sweet sounds is almost too obvious. Yet that is exactly why it works. Everybody has a particular piece of music they reach for after a stressful day, in traffic, in a danfo, or while cooking on a Saturday afternoon when the whole house is quiet for once.

Placing it on Music Take Control also gives it a context. An EP is a tighter body of work than a full album, so every song on it has to earn its place. This collaboration reads like one of the records meant to spread the project’s reach, since four artists bring four sets of listeners with them.

For anyone who likes their songs to feel like a good company on a long evening, this is an easy one to give a chance.

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