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 Zuby The Demo (demo)
I really want to be critical. I really do. Zuby, a 19 year old rapper based in Oxford has already had so much praise heaped on him, you’d be forgiven for assuming him to be mildly big-headed right now. He certainly exerts confidence in his lyrics, and to be honest I think he knows that, and probably doesn’t need me to tell him.
So, I’m going to try and be critical. I’m going to try and pick this apart. There’s a wealth of potential here and it’d be a shame to miss the finer points.
First and most important to remember, we’re listening to a very eclectic sound. There’s going to be a few UK purists in the rafters right about now yelling taunts of “Yank voice, yank voice!” Well, Zuby was born in England, but in fact grew up in Saudi Arabia, educated in an American school, then moving back to the UK to finish, beginning his study of Computer Science at Oxford. So, we can establish he’s bright, and by his short but strong development in rap, pretty determined too. He knows his cosmopolitan style is his asset and only someone particularly closed-minded would disagree.
This 3-track demo serves well to introduce us, but I can only assume is the tip of the iceberg. On first listen there is something that instantly strikes you – how well produced and mastered it is. I’m no studio technician but I’ve heard enough demo-tapes to know this is of high quality. The first and last tracks, “Steppin’ to Me” and “Worldwide”, share some similarities. Some deep-voiced lyrical aggression over very Dr Dre-style beats, heavy organs and electronic samples. The real stand-out, however, would be the beauitfully soulful “Before (Tell Me Why)”. Zuby’s voice rides an uplifting bassline just as well as the more grimey ones, and lyrically he really shows his maturity here.
I couldn’t say there isn’t room for improvement. Interestingly, it’s because of a rather truncated period of honing his skills that we see his raps are, essentially, a little simple. He doesn’t often stray from rhyming end-of-lines. This, of course, is by no means a bad thing. However, the elements of a learner-writer are identifiable. That said, he knows how to ride a beat, is aware of the varying placements of multi-syllable rhymes and shows great confidence in his voice. So on the flip-side, if this is all possible in a rather truncated period of honing his skills, then with even more practise on paper and stage, we could be looking at something big in the making.
Zuby says “I don’t listen to hip-hop anymore, I essentially study it” and this is exactly the attitude that could take him high. My advice to him right now would be to start mixing some new, unexplored styles together and see what comes out. He has a good command of language, conscious lyricism and excellent potential to build. Now he just needs that extra something to set him apart, and if his learning curve is anything to go by, that shouldn’t take long to establish.
- Jonathan Bright
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