3-Peat is the latest project from BlvckSmyth, a son of Bulawayo, who grew up in Harare and is now based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since 2020 BlvckSmyth has been on a run of consistent releases. His sound is a brand of hiphop that merges influences from different genres while still emphasising lyricism. He was recently featured on Pro-G's hit track "Mbinga" which carried a host new school hiphop artists and gave Pro some of his highest streaming numbers yet.
Now BlvckSmyth is here with 3-Peat. You could say it's a miniature project or a collection of singles rather as the artist describes it. The pack features 3 songs which take up about 10 minutes listening time and this is the artist's first release since his Nothing Never Ends EP in September 2020. The artist's style of rap hasn't changed but the sound on the latest project carries a lot more energy with it. The Afrobeats influence is a lot more clear to the ear but BlvckSmyth's lyricism remains ever present.
The first track off 3-Peat is Huchi. The song's title is the shona word for honey but here BlvckSmyth uses the slang meaning of the word. In the urban language huchi is used to refer to the sweet life or the quintessential good. This is exactly what BlvckSmyth talks to us about. He talks about aspirations of owning top of the range vehicles and designer labels while also talking about the elevation of the quality of life for the average citizen. Huchi is a vibrant song that bridges together HipHop and Afrobeats.
Gugu comes through with the vibrancy of Huchi but with a instrumental that has a lot more texture to it. While it's not a bad listen there wasn't something slightly off about it's sound. It talks about "Gugu", a girl that BlvckSmyth describes as overflowing with sex appeal, an independent woman and the type that's not for everyone. It's not a love song but a good time song. The chorus goes, "Batai mwana she's on fire... Gugu Gugu" and this brings more of a club music feel to the tune.
Kilimanjaro completes the trilogy and it is an ode to the African hustle. The song says there's no stopping until Kilimanjaro and that's the summit of the African continent, the point at which you can gaze upon the whole image. Tendai Chitima popularly known for her acting role on Cook Off delivers a beautiful vocal performance on the chorus. BlvckSmyth and Tendai greatly compliment each other on this song. This is the second song the duo has collaborated on. The two previously collaborated on the track Budirira and their sound together keeps on getting better and better.
Production on 3-Peat is credited to Pro-G and he maintains his high standard of work.
Greedysouth rating: 6.5/10