Here we have the sophomore effort from Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee Kofi Stone. Coming up battle rapping in the schoolyards as an adolescent, he would eventually put out his debut single “Stories in Pyjamas” in the summer of 2017 looking back at the lives of individuals close to him & his challenges growing up in an inner-city community. His official full-length studio debut Nobody Cares ‘Till Everybody Does came out a couple years later months prior to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic & has returned after 5 long years to drop A Man After God’s Own Heart.
The title track subtitled “Life Won’t Kill Me” produced by former Low Life Records in-house producer Harry Love kicks things off with a rich boom bap instrumental refusing to let the hardships of existing weigh him down whereas “May Sound Crazy” featuring the late Benjamin Zephaniah talks about raising consciousness from 1 generation to the next. “Black Joy” leans towards a chipmunk soul vibe delivering a celebration of African Americans across the entire globe leading into “Lavender” talking about his belief in love.
Joe Corfield brings in these jazzy piano chords during “These Years Are Golden” encouraging everyone listening to simply be themselves just before “Made for This” talks about holding onto the affection he has for a woman he met in Paris in 2021. “Closer” hits the midway point of the album treading the soulful boom bap waters carrying over the romantic subject matter while “Colours in My Mind” replaces the soul with more keys thanks to Talos expressing his gratitude for still being alive.
“King David Flow” likens his cadence to the biblical monarch of the same name cautioning that anyone going against him will automatically lose once Kofi steps inside the ring over 1 last Harry Love beat & after the soothing “You Deserve Love” runs it back with Joe Corfield talking about giving this individual everything he feels like they’re lacking, “You’ll Be Okay” assures anyone who’s going through something that everything will be fine in the end.
The song “I Owe It All” winds down A Man After God’s Own Heart’s final moments talking about owing every single good thing that’s ever happened to him to God while “A Mother’s Love” pens a heartfelt love letter to Kofi’s mom. “People” finishes up taking the orchestral boom bap route instrumentally courtesy of Pitch 92 talking about the population making the world go round, suggesting they keep things peaceful going forward rather than turning evil.
Kofi Stone’s guest appearances on Truemendous’ debut The Misdiagnosis of Chyvonne Johnson as well as Eva Lazarus & Pitch 92’s respective sophomore efforts Brandy Kisses & Intervals had me hoping for him to come back & A Man After God’s Own Heart feels like it hasn’t even been 5 years. The production puts more emphasis on the jazzier, lo-fi elements of it’s predecessor compellingly confronting topics ranging from love to religion & politics.
Score: 4/5
Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!
