The word coloured is often associated with bright hues and vivid colours that pop out in our visual receptors. We tend not to think about dark colours when we refer to something as colourful or coloured but the dark colours provide the backdrop and the shadows for bright colours to shine. Coming off a plethora of singles, ep’s and a mixtape, Phrv ushers us into a world of varied hues, tones, shades and tints on his debut album — The Coloured Tape.
Both fans of Phrv and passersby can admit that with every drop the quality of the music has increased. Like almost every other form of growth it didn’t seem noticeable at the moment but on the back of about 5 ep’s, a mixtape and numerous singles in the mix we’ve seen these seeds produce an orchard of fruit trees with his debut album.
With a journey akin to that of Joseph, The Coloured Tape opens up with Clouds and Rainbows. The brassy feel in the Mykkel Oteh production ushers in a nostalgic feel and transports you back to a time when you saw your first rainbow. “See Your designs up in the sky, I know you have me in mind/ I see the signs that You give out, turning my water to wine”. These lyrics are echoed through the song and set the pace for the journey through the tape. The delightful melodies of Warsheep start Blindfolds which is one of the album singles even though it dropped over a year ago. It’s a solid song but stands out like a sore thumb when you consider the narrative of the album. Little Things has quickly turned out to be a fan favourite and the entire song is like an addictive drug. Eazy Bob Wizzy laced the hook, and the background vocals by Warsheep turned it into a sound of pure melodic ecstasy. Tisan, Crid and Phrv combined bars towards one goal like the prime attacking trio of Neymar, Messi and Suarez to deliver a song that speaks on the importance of community and things that look little but actually matter the most in the grand scale of things. No L’s featuring A Mose picks up from where Little Things left off. No L’s is a song about winning all the time because God is on our side. The Steve Rawd produced track is a banger and both Phrv and A Mose really let their rap skills shine on this record.
I mentioned earlier that the journey through The Coloured Tape draws parallels from the story of Joseph. The opening songs show us a world where things do not seem to go wrong, just cruising on steady seas. It’s like Joseph in his father’s house wearing his coat of many colours and just enjoying life being his father’s favourite but the dark clouds were steady encroaching and the smooth sailing was about to take a turn.
Conversations introduce the next set of songs that take us on a descent through this journey. The bright, white colours of the clouds are getting muddied and a storm is brewing and it all starts in the mind. Personally, Conversations is my favourite song off the album and I’ll tag the lyrics to the chorus as genius (maybe because I like it so much).
“Conversations in my mind, yeah I hate the things I find/ Everybody thinks I’m fine, I’ve been dining at the swine’s/ Yeah I’m dying up inside, wish I never had to branch/ Someone take me to the vine, cos I missed it as a branch”.
Phrv raps about how the thoughts in his head introduce doubt about the work of salvation that was completed on the cross and how sometimes it’s a struggle believing he is loved. This song draws parallels from the story of the prodigal son and Fist immaculately delivers the point home on the second verse of the song. There’s so much to unpack from Fist’s verse on this song and I can’t just pick a series of lines to focus on because I’ll probably leave something out from the bigger picture. The metaphors are extremely brilliant and will leave your mind’s eye with a vividly painted picture.
Broken Bottles, another favourite of mine features Oluwafemi who soulfully delivers the weighty words on the chorus.
“Walking on broken bottles/ They say the pain won’t last forever even though we’re consumed/ Because the joy awaits with open arms for us to come through/That’s why I’m on the run, that’s why I’m on the run”.
Phrv delivers a verse that you’ll have to listen to closely so as not to miss the gems embedded in it.
“Pain on the cruise, I ain’t enthused/ I feel like I’m gonna drop on the move/ The only role that I feel like I play is to pose and watch life take its shot — I’m a muse/ The bigger picture I see it, I get it…“
Lines like this and the verse delivered by Royrex who is known for expertly expressing dark emotions without dimming his light makes Broken Bottles worth the listen. Insomnia features Minkir and Oluwaf3mi and talks about a dark, lowly place where finding sleep becomes problematic because of the voices in your head. Pills might seem like a solution but it only makes it worse. It’s hard for me to unpack this song because I am featured on it and I don’t want to come across as a narcissist. *insert laughing emojis here*
Pills and a Prayer sets the scene with a sound that introduces a dark and mournful mood. The Eazy Bob Wizzy produced track transports you into a world where it seems like you’re falling down a dark hole forever, but the message of hope in the song ensures that you’ll hit a soft bed of grass at the end of the fall. There’s a lot to unpack from the verses delivered by Phrv and Vontrap who delivered one of the smoothest verses you’ll hear.
“…With my eyes on storms, thinking my head fine/ Conflicting, eulogize the Lord, drinking this red wine/ Hoping that it takes me higher, this tech in the valley makes/ Everything look bubbly, when deep down it’s probably fake — Silicon”.
This is just brilliant writing!!! Pills & a Prayer and probably the whole album is encapsulated in the ostinato Phrv echoes through the song;
“Jesus Jesus take control/ I know you done save our souls/ Yo now we’re feeling kinda low/ Hit us, hit us with your high get us on the go”.
We see that the “Pills” referred to in the title of the song comes from Jesus when we look at these lyrics. Phrv is at the end of himself and needs another kind of high to get on the go.
“Eyes to the heavens even when I’m feeling low/ Never losing sight got my eyes on things above/ Focused on the Christ can’t be blinded by the cold/ Winning got me singing ahhhhhhh”
Eyes Fixed featuring Oshey and Shalom ushers us back into a calm sea after the storm. It’s a song that describes the state of a believer when faced with downtimes. PRBLMS is an upbeat song produced by Meeklane that reinforces the message of Eyes Fixed. Phrv mentions he tells his problems to God and God takes care of his worries.
“I tell my problems to God/ I ain’t regret it at all/ Take all my burdens and put it on him/ I tell my problems to God”.
At the end of the day, God remains the constant through the storms and is the only one who can fully understand what we go through. Holla continues the race from where PRBLMS passed the baton and is another fan favourite. It features Baron Jay who kills hooks for a living and excellently keeps up his tradition. Chapta5ive came in with a different twist and disappeared almost as soon as he came in. It was like a Stan Lee cameo in a Marvel movie — brief but gratifying nonetheless. Holla cements the message in this phase of the journey. Despite life’s diverse problems, keep your eyes on the Son.
Let Me Down II is the perfect song for ending this journey. A beautiful sunset is up in the sky as the ship approaches the shore, the effect of the storm can be seen on the ship but the ship is still a beauty to behold. The relaxing instrumental accompanied by the satisfying background melodies delivered by Sal Ly teleports one to a land of warm colours.
”A lot of times it get so difficult to shoulder the pain/ So many times I wanna let go, I don’t wanna stay/ I’m getting beat up again, I’m getting fed up with pain/ But there’s a higher call to live is Christ, to die is to gain/ So I’mma get up again, each time I fall on my lane/ And keep the faith going make sure that the struggle ain’t vain”.
Phrv’s faith is what keeps him going at the end of the day. Despite the pain and pressure or the joy and pleasure with faith in Jesus, you’ll always win. This is like Joseph telling his brothers at the end that what you meant for evil was God putting the bits and pieces together for everyone’s gain at the end of the day.
I love to see artists grow and Phrv has given us his best project yet with The Coloured Tape. Surely, there’s still room for a lot of improvement but Phrv gave us a solid piece of work. Apart from Blindfolds which I feel doesn’t fit into the narrative of the album, The Coloured Tape is a cohesive piece of work. The production by Mykkel Otteh, SteveRawd, Eazy Bob Wizzy and Meek Lane served as a beautiful backdrop for the story of the tape. I feel the producer tags were kinda distracting on some of the songs and some of the mixes weren’t clear enough though. Overall, the growth is evident in Phrv’s music and The Coloured Tape marks the start of better things to come.
Listen to The Coloured Tape here > https://phrv.fanlink.to/thct
