16 DAYS AFTER SON OF JACOB

By: Prince Nutifafa Letsu.

On the fourth day of April, 2022,Emmanuel Kwesi Danso Arthur announced that his much requested and awaited album Son Of Jacob would be released on 22nd April, 2022 after being in the works for four long years. Anxiety was built up amongst fans eager to hear what new music the young talent from Tema was going to be able to offer them. The day finally came and SOJ was released on all major streaming platforms exactly at midnight and it immediately broke boundaries. The album was at the summit of countless charts both locally and internationally. Within a few hours, SOJ was the number one album on Audiomack, Boomplay and Apple Music. It’s been 16 Days after SOJ and in the span of the first five days, the album charted in 27 countries worldwide on Apple Music alone. Son Of Jacob became the most streamed new album on Audiomack surpassing BOJ’s “Gbagada Express”, Wiz Khalifa’s “Taylor Allderdice” and Pusha T’s “It’s Almost Dry”. For an album to be a number 5 in Iceland, #8 in the UAE, #32 in Sweden and the Netherlands and #61 in the US, Kwesi did outdo himself on this one.

With tracks like “Drama”, “Disturb” and “Silver Spoon” being the most popular, it is obvious we are all amazed by the talent the BET nominee possesses. Working with renowned beat makers like Juicxx, Boye The Genius, RAYF, 4Play and MOG, Kwesi Arthur really made history with the album.

After the release of SOJ, the young act threw a block party to commemorate the ground breaking release and in attendance were a lot of his celebrity friends who came to support the vision. While it is still unclear which song is the public’s favourite, it sure seems everyone has taken a strong liking to “Drama”, the first track on the album featuring spoken word artist and a very good friend of Kwesi’s, Bigg Homie Flee and produced by Juicxx. Within a few days, crowds at nightclubs and performances were able to sing along while the hitmaker performed. 

The idea of the album is obviously of great importance to Kwesi Arthur himself and little actions are most vocal in detecting that. Making reference to the bible story of Joseph, the Son of Jacob, Kwesi in the cover art of the album is seen clad in a rainbow themed trouser or a trouser of all colours as some would term it just as Joseph in the bible was also gifted a coat of all colours by Jacob his father who loved him so dearly. A few days after the release Kwesi posts shots of himself in what seemed to be the full outfit of a long sleeve and trouser of all colours tailored by SEED.

Months before SOJ would be released, a video of Kwesi Arthur’s Grandma who’s now deceased and was the inspiration for the track Silver Spoon went viral.

In the video, Cece is seen singing into a recording microphone at their house in Tema. For people who were eager to have the album released, it was easy to realise Cece’s voice would by all means be heard on the album and that was true as in the announcement video posted by the rapper, Cece is heard singing a popular Ghanaian Hymn in Twi whilst Suli Breaks, internationally respected poet is heard translating into the English Language. Cece doesn’t end there. Her voice is heard two more times in the outro of “Jungle Music pt.2” featuring UK’s M Huncho and “Toxic“ featuring Nigeria’s Adekunle Gold. Talk about Kwesi Arthur’s love and appreciation for family. Amongst the three siblings the young act has, it’s only his little brother Benjamin also known as DayOnTheTrack who takes after Kwesi’s love for making music and after a long period of fans asking for a collaboration from the two brother’s Benjamin is seen to play a pretty big role in the success of SOJ as he is listed as a songwriter for the songs Celebrate which was pre-released and featured Nigeria’s Teni, Mind Over Body and Animal in which he sang beautifully. The Arthur’s do know how to to work people’s eardrums as a killer duo. The duo now have 3 songs to their name including “Father”, a song by Kwesi Arthur featuring Benjamin(DayOnTheTrack) and JDerobie. With Mind Over Body being a personal favourite, I say a big thank you to Emmanuel and Benjamin for their amazing job on the song.  

A lot of questions are being asked and one pressing question is whether the album was worth the long wait. Even without considering the heights the production has been able to reach, creatively, I personally think I knew exactly what to expect. Being a big fan of Kwesi before his hitsong “Grind Day”, I’ve had the opportunity to listen to a number of his old songs that truly exhibit the creative prowess an artiste like Kwesi Arthur possesses. Songs like Register, “Nostalgia”, “Trotro” and his cover of Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar’s “Pick Up The Phone” give you a different view the rapper and would surely impress you if you gave them a listen. Another concern the public has expressed is the non existence of fellow Ghanaian acts. I personally don’t see how Benjamin Arthur, Vic Mensa and the numerous Ghanaian producers aren’t Ghanaian enough. Seriously speaking however, it looks like the Superstar himself and the album did just fine without them. There might be various reasons why we do not see some of the big names we expect on the album and there’s a reason we’re kept in the dark about that.

In Track 14, “No Regrets” Kwesi Arthur amazingly spoke into existence delivering the line “Next time you see my name on billboard e go be Top 100” and in less than 2 weeks after the album release, Drama debuted at #15 on the Billboard Afrobeats Chart. A big win for Ghana, Tema, and Ghanaian Music at large. 

In Conclusion, Son Of Jacob in my opinion is one of Kwesi Arthur’s best projects and we still can’t wait for his collaborations with the “asanas boys” and the man of the moment “Black Sherif”.