Selassie – “Agua” [Song Review]

Ghanian-German poet and artist Selassie releases his new single/music visualizer, “Agua,” a conscious rap song.

Selassie explains, “The song is about how you are the coolest kid everywhere, but your ego is too big, and it burns you out. Sometimes you just gotta fall in love or someone might just throw you some water to burn down the ego. ‘Agua’ is the feeling of you having it all yet love humbling you with water; purity, like a flowering plant, being set to grow into a better version of yourself.”

Riding a heavy, measured rhythm, “Agua” blends subtle African melodic hints with underlying tones of jazz into a slow-rolling hip-hop tune. Selassie’s deep, spun-out flow imbues the rhymes with intimate rumbling tones, simultaneously nonchalant and ambling.

Self-describing his style as “a transparent conversation with himself,” with “Agua,” Selassie delivers casual flamboyance pregnant with thick, sonic symbolism.

Run Time: 2:29
Release Date: October 28, 2022
Record Label: XYZ123