T-Mech: The Console mixtape review

by

Ngoan’a Nts’oana

Personal preference aside, this is a well-thought out, near-perfect offering from

an emcee who has been on and off the Lesotho hip-hop radar since the early
2000s when, as part of Anonica - the three-man offshoot from then four-man
outfit Hipnotica – Thulo Monyake (alias T-Mech) got his first taste of wide-scale
airplay. This was through a competition which had been organised by a radio
station that, at that time at least, tried its darndest to support that dreaded
word, 'up-and-coming talent'.

Fast forward to 2010. The World Cup is upon us, South Afrika has tightened its
borders with our dear beloved country, and T-Mech is sure as hell not slowing
down for any man. No, not since deciding to take up sound engineering as a
profession and also figuring out that experience and dedication does actually
bring one the results they desire. With a host of prior releases, all of which were
bogged down by inaudible vocals (a feat which can be comfortably attributed to
a bad choice in recording equipment), it seems Mech has learnt way more than a
thing or two. In fact, as evidenced on the mixtape, he has learnt thirteen tricks to
keep one entertained from beginning to end.

Thirteen is used loosely as a reference to the number of songs on the mixtape.

Featured artists abound, and Mech does not seem too intent on taking up all the
production duties upon himself either. Occasionally, he lets others paint
soundscapes which complement his witty flows and overly-addictive melodies. It
is the latter that makes this an even more memorable listen. On the Dim Light-
produced 'Falling', T-Mech talks of the all too familiar tale of a relationship gone
bad with lines such as 'at that point in time I'd have told them to lay off me/ but
that all changed the day you decided to play me'.

The sombre mood of 'Falling' is carried forth on 'Imagine', a song abound with
reflective undertones concerning the craft we all love so much, hip-hop. He
enlists the help of a relatively unknown - yet effective - Skull Grey, along with
Core Wreckah, whose presence on the Lesotho hip-hop sphere has been
minimal at best.

T-Mech (aka Count Mech-ula, aka 2lo) is as much at home with soothing
melodies as he is with energy-fuelled beats. Album opener '2lo', produced by
Rev Raven, sees him bringing wordplay onto the table, relentlessly exploring all
the facets, angles, and fringes until he literally exhausts all references which can
possibly be made to his name in a three-minute song. Basically, he is 'too low to
get under/ too big to too much/ too large to fit in your two hands, so hold up'.
'Cumthuze', a song which was originally done by Emcee Conundrum, has
Mech's signature flow on it, resulting in a fan-fare of party-boy lyricism.

Conundrum and Mech collaborate again on 'Ba re ke mang', a tune which fits
very well for a mellow Sunday evening as much as it does on the deejay's playlist
as a Saturday night party-starter. The ever-so-thoughtful and entertaining
Conundrum drags the listener head-first into his endless valley of antidotes:
'mahipinyana ka li-beat nyana/ bo li-kick nyana le li-snare with no flare/ that's
why ba sa le feele bana'. The party-loving side of T-Mech is exhibited further on
'Chesa' and 'Ha ba re bone', the latter featuring a collaboration with rap
extraordinaire Skebza-D.

The lack of T-Mech's crew members (former or current, one can never know
when crews have split up) leaves a void which shall perhaps be filled should he
decide to release an album in the near future.

Excellent as the songs may be, there exists moments when one finds themselves
edging towards the skip button on their remote controller. This is because of two
reasons: one being that the song is just plain uninspiring. 'Tell me', with its
brilliant composition and poet to complete the line-up, is very much out of place
on this mixtape. The second reason concerns the overly-playful, sometimes-
unfocused subject matter of other songs; this is purely a matter of preference on
my part, and shall put no dent whatsoever in what proves to be a worthwhile
listen. And by the way, the mixtape has re-play value, meaning you shall not be
playing it once then forgetting all about it afterwards.

Perhaps one may ask how I feel about the album, in which case that person
needs to go back to the very first line of this review. Recommended listen!

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