King Promise delivers nothing short of a ‘5 Star’ performance on new album.

After 6 singles and several months of teasing, the sophomore album of Ghanaian singer King Promise released worldwide on the 22nd of July 2022. Wielding features from the likes of Bisa K’dei, Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa, Headie One, Patoranking, Omah Lay, WSTRN, and Frenna, the album quickly rose to the number 1 spot on the Apple Music ‘Top Albums: Ghana’ chart. This album sees the singer create a new sound he can be identified with, taking several cues from Highlife, Afrobeats, R&B, Dancehall, and Hip-hop, to make these compositions. Let’s take a song by song look into how this initiation went on the ‘5 Star’ album.

Right of the bat, King Promise wants us to know three things he has love for; music, football and women. He likens his skill, composure and agility with respects to these three things to Spanish footballer Andres Iniesta on Track 1. An interesting personification to the start of an album of this calibre.
At this point we need to have a conversation, about this lady who has been able to make the ‘5 Star’ general fall in love. On Track 2, the singer questions how a woman is able to make him fall in love, going as far as asking, ‘How Dare You?’
On ’10 Toes,’ King Promise teams up with Omah Lay to deliver the quintessential ‘Ghana-Naija’ collab. This song sees the latter show his lyrical prowess with his verse, something he has become quite popular for recently.
Track number 4, ‘Ring My Line,’ has a guest verse from UK rapper Headie One. King Promise’s growth as a person is very much evident on this song. You see him drifting away from being just the ‘lover-boy’ we were introduced to on his first album, to being more concerned about protecting his energy and stacking his coins.
Before we get into track 5, here’s a little heads-up: Killbeatz used this album to also prove to us why he’s regarded as one of the best producers not just in Ghana, but on the continent. For a brief moment, King Promise switches back to default mode. Promising; no pun intended, to give his lady interest the world on ‘Put You On.’
‘Yaa Asantewaa,’ seems to be one of the songs that might turn out to be a fan favorite. That guest verse from Dutch rapper Frenna might also make a case for the best guest verse on the entire project. Everything about this song just sits right.
Now let me put this out there, when it comes to artistes who are fond of producing creeper hits, King Promise would probably top that list. Why am I saying this? We’ve all been witnesses to what ‘Slow Down’ has done ever since coming out months ago. That song in particular has aged like wine, and fits in perfectly with this album sequence.
I don’t know if it’s deliberate to have ‘Ginger’ as the next song, but that’s also another song that has aged very well. That guitar riff at the beginning seals the deal before it even starts.
Then follow up, ‘Do Not Disturb,’ is a spitting example of great production meets great songwriting and imagery. This sounds like something one will play on that late night ride through the city; one hand on the steering wheel and the other griping her thigh. Correct me if I’m wrong but, was I the only one who was expecting Mugeez to jump in at anytime?
Track 10 goes by the title ‘CHOPLIFE,’ featuring Patoranking. Also one of the singles that came out ahead of the album, this particular song possesses all the qualities of a monster hit.
Track 11 also has a high-profile feature on there in the form of British music ensemble, WSTRN. In addition to King Promise’s vocals, there are verses from Haille, Akelle Charles and Louis Rei who make up the collective.
Right after that, there’s ‘Overthink,’ a dancehall tinged track. On this song, the singer explores women’s natural affinity to riches and comfort, and what it means to the average man.
Now, King Promise and Bisa K’dei? That’s a very unlikely pairing, but they both managed to make it work. The ‘Palmwine Highlife’ feel on ‘Carry Me Go’ is enough to get anyone intoxicated and play this song over and over again. This served as the same recipe for the second-to-last song, ‘Maria.’
No better song to have ended this great album with than ‘Run To You.’ King Promise threw a flawless alley-oop to Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper; who expertly caught and dunked it. That faultless blend of R&B, Rap and Afrobeats were the exact elements needed to offload the emotions this song carries.
You know what they say about having fun, that, you never notice the time running out. All too soon, we’ve come to the end of this astounding body of work. King Promise has done a good job of introducing the new ‘sound’ he assured us he would.
You can visit your preferred streaming platform and listen to the new ‘5 Star’ album out now!