Ice Prince’s ability to bounce between singing and rap or between rap and pop anchored his last project, ‘Jos To The World’. Despite its scorn and criticism, Ice Prince continues to show faith in his dexterity with his new project, ‘C.O.L.D‘ embracing more pop musical influences like funk, R&B, EDM and house.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkvBf4snnYG/?hl=en&taken-by=iceprincezamani

Conventional rap fans who have watched in disdain as he crossed over to the pop side will, however, be glad to know ‘C.O.L.D’ has more hip-hop than we have gotten from Ice Prince lately. Only this time, the queasiness of pre-fame Ice Prince is now the cocksure status heard on the EP’s opener, “Shut Down” featuring JethroFaded, a soaring mix of violin and accordion harmonies with more gravitas than a baroque painting. Though it’s a sentiment expressed through the 8-track project, “Shut Down” is the most gripping with samples from the iconic Dre and Eminem track, “Forgot About Dre”. The instrumental Remi Baggins produces is rich, rivaled only by JethroFaded’s sweet vocal that has the texture of chocolate melting in a pan.

The spirited hook from JethroFaded takes the song to uplifting heights as if to conjure ecclesiastic imagery for a church themed music video. Ice Prince takes advantage of the awe it inspires to deliver the single most egotistic line about artists/critics relationship; “Now They Asking Questions On The Timeline/ But We Only Responding on A Friday”. Though pre-released single, “Hit Me Up” featuring PatricKxxLee and Straffitti is also an Ice Prince showoff talking about his celebrity, it comes off endearingly as he shows a vulnerable side by admitting to being misunderstood.

Music is the real joy for Ice Prince, and C.O.L.D is best enjoyed as an exercise in the casual brilliance of a rapper as rhymer and pop enthusiast. The vocals are often just autotuned flow experiments, but at their best these verses exhibit the weightless exhilaration of a one comfortable with his place on rap’s metaphorical throne. “Space Funk” for instance finds Ice Prince rapping over the electronic funk groove of a Remy Baggins production with such reckless abandon that his lyrics reference Trey Songz’s “Say Ah” from 2009.

Women, money and partying may be the driving force for the EP with tracks like Kayswitch assisted “So High” and “Tour 254” highlighting the flex of being a celebrity. But it doesn’t keep the downside to success a secret either. On the closing track, “Las Gidi No. 1 Chic”, he admits his relationship problems with a love and his ego getting in the way of expressing his feelings. Though ‘C.O.L.D’ doesn’t fix Ice Prince’s biggest criticism as a rapper who sings a little too much, it does show improvement in mixing both styles as he seems to have settled into a confident Drake-esque pattern that works.

You can stream Ice Prince’s ‘C.O.L.D’ below.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/iceprincezamani

You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him @debola_abimbolu

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