With this score, he’ll be the Somewhat Happy One…
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[6.17]
Leonel Manzanares de la Rosa: This Angolan jam comes to show that an infectious beat alone is not enough if it gets lost in a sea of Auto-tuned ramblings, even when some of those melodies hit the right spots in the bridge. You can still groove, but the beat had the potential for much more. Interesting song title, though; Is it a José Mourinho reference?
[5]
Iain Mew: There’s an unusual tension in the direct and straightforward love song lyrics being matched to music which would sound foreboding even without the gun sounds. At the beginning it makes for a hypnotically intense experience; by the second distorted voice interlude there isn’t enough there to stretch so far.
[5]
Scott Mildenhall: There’s something of a disconnect between C4 Pedro’s devotional lines and his doomy surroundings, but he’s far better in this mode than a more conventionally romantic one. If he was singing these lyrics over something lighter, they mightn’t be as potent. The pitched-up vocoding of his voice provides contrast to the ominous drone in any case, and the marriage of that to incessant rhythm is something compelling upon something compelling.
[7]
Alfred Soto: The manipulation of this polyphonic vocal serves as an enticing hook, not as the skeleton of a dance track.
[4]
Thomas Inskeep: I’m typically not a fan of gunshots-as-percussion, but in “Spetxa One” the effect works so perfectly, and in a song of complete love and devotion, no less. This kizomba track by C4 Pedro is essentially T-Pain via Angola, an Auto-tuned, sweetly sung love song that gets me right here *points at heart*. And hey, I’m a sucker for emotion that rings true.
[8]
Jonathan Bogart: C4 Pedro has been a major force in Angolan hip-hop and R&B for several years now, teaming up with Big Nelo to form the blockbuster duo B4 and having been linked romantically with diva Ary. Linked so thoroughly that even though they’re both married to other people, the gossip sites still pine wistfully after them like, their US counterparts used to with Britney and Justin. “Spexta One” is just one of four lead singles off his new album King CKwa, but it’s my favorite, an azonto bounce over which his mellifluous AutoTune murmurs romantically. Meanwhile, WHERE’S THE ALBUM, ARY?
[8]