Rap don’t even make sense no more / All you Rappers got no respect no more / All you do is talk about Cheques no more / Friends don’t even come check no more – Omari – Live Free

Artiste(s):- Omari
Mixtape:- No Mans Sorrow [ Extended Play ]
Record Label:- Independent
Distributed By:- Soundcloud/Online Media Platforms
Guest Appearances:– Preye and Coded
Producers:- Unlisted

Critical Breakdown
When Omari dropped Rap Is Deep, Poetry is Deeper, last year, I connected with him on a level, and penciled him down as an MC that had imbibed different pillars of Hip-Hop, was committed to his craft, and had a burning passion to make a mark on the Nigerian Hip-hop scene.Though it was clear he was a green horn on that project and had quite some improving to do, the artistic direction of the mixtape was on point, and different songs stood out to me.Tracks like 1000 Miles Featuring Preye, Words I Write Featuring Rhye and the title track Rap Is Deep, Poetry Is Deeper were all good enough to warrant him a place on my list of young rappers to keep tabs on up until he resurfaced in June with his sophomore project, a 7-Track Extended Play compilation which is titled No Mans Sorrow.
The EP starts off with Time and Sorrow which sets the melancholic, dark ambiance of the project as he rapped with a sombre tone over hypnotic chant sample,Featured Artiste Coded also added input by singing an appropriate bridge to begin the musical experience.The next song God Of Self features Preye who appeared on his previous mixtape, on the chorus and has Omari doing his best Kendrick Lamar impression.Though his lyrics on here are not to be compared with the aforementioned Compton Rapper, his cadence,delivery and rhyme scheme on this one are all similar to K.Dots’.Victorys Victim Comes next, on this one Omari continues his “Kendrick Lamar Flow” spitting rhymes like “I hate the Rap game / I hate it but love the challenge / I hate it but intuition tells me I go to manage / I hate my insecurities tell me that all the damage / Can never be Undone, I’m never beyond done”,I particularly felt the third verse on this song which was honest, heartfelt and well delivered.
 “This is how the story goes, tell me what you’re living for / Tell me what the problem is, I will never tell you more” he raps on the opening lines to the next song Addicted which once again featured Preye, on this one , he speaks to a broken, lost and confused young girl offering words of encouragement and hope in an extended verse which you cant help but feel, Preye delivered a heartfelt serenade which encapsulated the theme on the song and made it one of the powerful joints on the tape.On Dear Pain, he writes a break-up letter to the feelings of distress which he experiences, severing all ties from his emotional demons with a multitude of heartfelt lines.I feel like the song serves more or less as a lyrical exorcism and a determination never to let feelings of pain get the best out of him ( The trumpets/horns on this one were quite intense ).Live Free encourages human existence without inhibitions and had him spitting bars like “They want to tell you how to be yourself / You aint gotta listen, just be yourself / I know you got a vision how you see yourself”.The EP comes to an end on Forrest Gump, A fitting closing song which samples from the classic movie of the same name, and has him rapping feverishly over the instrumental to create my favourite song on the tape.
This is a solid EP though it has it’s own shortcomings such as the overtly obvious Kendrick Lamar cloning, the audio quality of the music ( which could have been better ) and his sometimes rapid “rappity rap” flow which doesn’t give neither him nor the beat time to breathe,nonetheless, It is clear that 21 Year old Omari is a student of Hip-Hop, and a talented Poet who is still growing and is still developing his inane ability to pen abstract and intricate pieces of Poetry, however I feel there is a disconnect between his vocals and the production which he uses, and sometimes his voice is out of control and all over the place.While Rap Is Deep, Poetry Is Deeper was a “Friendly” debut project, No Mans Sorrow is more dark and hollow, on this he was able to successfully channel his feelings of depression, sadness and darkness to suit the theme of the project.Omari did well, but leaves room for improvement and perhaps more soul searching and self discovery.This project adds to his discography and is definitely something that he can look back on after some years in the game, to gauge his growth and development as a bonafide Hip-Hop superstar

Beats/Production:- 7/10
Lyrics:- 7/10
Flow:- 7/10
Composition/Arrangement:- 7 /10
Best Verse:- Dear Pain Verse 3
Standout Track:- Forrest Gump
Mixtape Moment:- Preye Impressed On Both Featured Songs
Overall Rating:- 7/10

DOWNLOAD AND STREAM No Mans Sorrow EP By Omari HERE