Review By: Lisa Diedricks

Artist/Band Name: Pharaoh Swami

Track Name: Capsize

Release Date: 15/05/2020

A few years back, you guys might remember a piece I did about the up-and-coming Auckland boy Mez Tekeste, a humble soul with a strong spiritual background. With so much heart and talent to give, Mez, taking the stage moniker Pharaoh SWAMI, is back, ladies and gentlemen - bigger and better than ever.

As we celebrate New Zealand Music Month, we are fortunate to have a bounty of Kiwi kings and queens that share with us the opportunity to hear their music. Pharaoh SWAMI is part of this elite.

Pharaoh is a commanding performer and lyricist, and is known for wooing a crowd with heartfelt raps and seductive singing. He can plant that lyrical spark in you from the moment you hear those first few words. He is formerly a member of Died in 69, a hip-hop group whose track ‘New Wave’ featured UFC Champion Israel Adesanya in its video and received over 200,000 plays on Spotify.

Pharaoh has performed as an artist three years consecutively at the country’s leading music festivals - Rhythm & Vines, Northern Bass, SPLORE, Mardi Gras, as well as both Springbreak Fiji and Springbreak Rarotonga. His high-energy sets have landed him opening slots for international acts such as A$AP Ferg, Tory Lanez, and Peking Duk.

To Pharaoh, the best music is written in dark places - when your world is upside down and you’ve lost sight of the horizon.

‘Capsize’ is his first track to be released in a few years. The lyrics tell of a philosophical paradigm where he would find himself to be a distraction for lost souls who were experiencing trouble in paradise. This in turn would only fan the flames, spread negativity, and create inner turmoil. Looking inward would reveal he was simply “looking for someone to love him, the same way those girls loved their man”.

The track fills the room with intensity. Even with its subtle approach and beautifully simplistic production, it’s hard to ignore the emotion the song provokes within. ‘Capsize’ gives you subtle hints of Khalid and Blackbear, as well as inflections of new-school hip hop. The whole song comes together with off-kilter electric guitar lines. If you’re like me, you listen to the music first before lyrics, and let me tell you - I was hooked from the first pluck.

Pharaoh SWAMI is a deep and spiritual thinker who has a series of releases set for 2020. Each one represents another chapter in what has been a very interesting journey towards self gratitude.