BO4Lformat: digital (Deluxe) (15 x File, MP3)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,08]
producer: Hennedub
label: Disco:wax - nationality: Denmark
Track highlights: 2. "Niveauer" - 3. "Tilbage" (feat. Hennedub) - 4. "Ik tænk" (feat. Benny Jamz) (4 / 5) - 5. "Blå himmel" (feat. Hans Philip) (5 / 5) - 6. "Snak lidt med mig" (4,5 / 5) - 7. "Baku" (feat. ICEKIID) - 9. "Forretning" (feat. Sivas) - 10. "Hygger mig pt. 2" (feat. Gilli) - 12. "Om igen" (feat. Noah Carter) (4 / 5)
3rd full-length studio album [or fourth when including his mixtape Ung Hertug from 2013 to the list of albums] by Danish rapper Kesi (also stylised KESI, aka Oliver Kesi Chambuso) released on the Sony Music Scandinavian sublabel Disco:wax and produced by Hennedub (aka Henrik Bryld Wolsing) - a usual suspect to Kesi and his associates. The title refers to and is the homage to the Danish music collective B.O.C. (aka Bomber Over Centrum) - referring to "Bomber Over (Centrum) For Life". The album is by Kesi but many of his old friends from B.O.C. - Gilli, Benny Jamz, Kimbo, and Noah Carter participate on several tracks, and apart from these also Sivas and Hans Philip are featuring artists. The standard album runs just over 40 mins and the Deluxe Version contains two bonus tracks making it a 15-track album just below 46 mins.
The whole album appears as a look down memory lane, and more so than the usual rap lyrics about sex and drugs, although, you basically find all kind of existential subjects in this broad collection, which is mostly held together in a tight yet wide style of grime and trap. The album starts off with the intro BO4L, and with an older sound clip featuring a young Oliver (Kesi himself) telling a reporter how he has just quit secondary school to concentrate on his music career and about his hopes for the future and his dream about being the best Danish rapper. In several songs, Kesi takes us back to school days, to a harder time but also to days of his musical foundation, when everything was all new, unknown and yet falling into place.
Some compositions are echoing and sound like sequels of older Kesi hit songs, some are expressive up-tempo dancepop related like many of his recent (hit) single releases and others are near ballad-like and introspective - which shows us a new side to his talent. Sound-wise, it's a top-of-the-art production and an impressively coherent collection despite the many stylistic ingredients.
In a time when Danish rap may be looking for replacements for Ukendt Kunstner, Kesi sums up his strengths and simply jumps several steps up the ladder and positions himself as the current best Danish rapper.
Highly recommendable and a strong contender to album of the year.
[ Politiken, Soundvenue 5 / 6, Gaffa.dk 4 / 6 stars ]
2020 Favorite releases: 1. Gorillaz Song Machine, Season One - Strange Timez - 2. Kesi BO4L - 3. I Break Horses Warnings
