On his sophomore album, Ice Prince continues his fine display of pop sensibilities. The Fire of Zamani is made up of finely crafted rap/pop tracks exclusively created for radio. Panshak Zamani’s strength is in crafting sweet choruses and lines that easily stick. On his second outing he upgrades his skills.
The album starts with ‘Stars & Light’ featuring Ruby Gyang. In the uplifting track Ice Prince discusses about the things he has seen while on the rise. On the song he states that he wants to achieve more even though people think he has reached the pinnacle.
His desire can be heard on several tracks on the album. Some of the standout tracks on the set include the narrative ‘Whiskey’ featuring Sunny Neji, the pop concoction ‘Jambo’, the highlife oriented ‘Person Wey Sabi’ and the spiritual collaboration with Sound Sultan.
On Fire of Zamani, Ice Prince enlists the help of his fellow J Town brethren Chopstix to come up with the beats. Their combination is smooth judging from already released singles ‘Aboki’ and ‘More’. In ‘Kpako’ the original Choc Boi cast reunites with M.I starting with a French flow while Jesse continues his rejuvenated run with a solid verse.
Rap wise there are tracks on this album to keep rap heads satisfied. The Don Jazzy produced ‘N Word’ has Ice Prince in a raw and aggressive mode never heard before. Wale, the American rapper of Nigerian descent spits one of the most memorable verses of his career on ‘Tipsy’ featuring Morell. Ice Prince and French Montana turn things up on ‘I Swear’. For the dancehall lovers Ice Prince drops the jam ‘Komotion’ featuring his buddy in arms Wizkid. It’s a full house on the instantaneously likeable ‘Gimme Dat’ featuring Burna Boy, Yung L and Olamide.
The album wraps up nicely with the lighthearted ‘On My Knees’ featuring Jeremiah Gyang. Overall the Fire of Zamani shows a rapper who is growing into his own as a bankable rapper. His second album is an accommodating and friendly album that aims at pleasing everyone’s needs.
Rating- 4/5