Talk about an eagerly awaited album. The Wernono Family so dazzled on their debut single, Wernono Anthem, that a full studio record could not have been far behind. 10 Ideas: The Wernono Family Mixtape is the product.

Strictly speaking, this is not a true mixtape. What it is is a collation of tracks from different members of the ensemble, either as individual artists, or collabos amongst themselves. The whole family features on three of the 19 tracks, though truth be told, as an ensemble they fail to replicate the chemistry and reach the heights of the acclaimed debut single. That said, Wernono Anthem aptly opens the album, though family songs such as Fast & Pray as well as Amen might as well be skipped.

Where the mixtape shines brightest is when individual acts exit the collective shell and begin to show their true colors. As a result, the mixtape puts forward a case for some of the acts to consider solo records. Mr. Lee, who has been arguably FATMOD’s tightest MC, expands his repertoire beyond just rapping, to singing on tracks such as Wanataka and Watasema. Mr. Lee also flirts with ragga on Send Me, with mixed results, but soars on the very creative rap-salsa mishmash that is Get Your Groove On. Still, his switch is quite clever, and as the artist continues to find himself musically, nothing but good things can be expected.

SMA and Solid C both contribute rock-solid performances. The former proves that Luo is out and out Kenya’s best ethnic language when it comes to killing the mic. And while the ragga Never Let Me Down is a real stand-out, it’s the dance-inspired Songii that might have you on the repeat button. As for Solid C, he is just what his name suggests – solid. His crunk-heavy flow sits fantastically on Hapa Tu, a jam that features REACT partners Shem and Gilly. Yet if there was to be a third Wernono Family single, Solid C’s Prodigal Son would no doubt be a strong contender. With its thumping baseline and sweet hook, West Coast lovers will eat this up. And for the longest period, group member Dunco has had a near mortgage on catchy hooks. Well step over, enter Shem.

On the aforementioned Prodigal Son, Shem joins Austin and kills it. You’ll love the chorus.

Now if Wernono Family is our version of the highly rated Cross Movement, then Shem must be our Ambassador. Everything from his commanding flow to his ability to break down Scripture into bite-sized chunks, everything he touches on the record turns to instant gold. First up, we guarantee you his Tazama single featuring Krystn Ndela is likely to be the sweetest mid-tempo cut you are likely to hear in a long time. King’s Mic, featuring Ronny Ron and G-Fizz, and its remixed version are pure West Coast bangers. On One Day he returns an in-form G-Fizz, whilst Dunco finally pops up on So Divine. OK…maybe the hook really does belong to Dunco after all.

If there’s one thing this record proves beyond doubt, Shem NEEDS a solo record.

Yet for all its strong points, the album has obvious weaknesses. The ensemble is so talented that they need to be extremely cautious about collaborations. Many artists are roped in, with less than stellar results. A plethora of female acts are engaged in choruses, and more often than not take away from the record.

A huge no-no was having The Chiefs and Ngashville concurrently work on their solo records as this mixtape was in the kitchen. Alvo and Dunco are almost completely absent from the record. No disrespect to the rest, but a Dunco-less Wernono leaves the listener wondering “What If?”  Many other members are either near absent or make pit-stop appearances, and it does leave sections of the record feeling a little hollow.

Still, there’s enough excellent material on their first mixtape to justify this crew returning to the studio often. There’s 19 uncompromising tracks where they cleverly serve up everything from pure hip-hop and crunk, to ragga and a dash of salsa. Pick it up. You’ll be glad you did.

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