Celebrating The Roses with Pdot O’s ‘Under The Sun’
On his latest album Pdot O provides an offering for those looking inward and extends his hand to his listeners. He does this over a combination of RnB, boom bap and bass-heavy joints. And also a left field country cut.
The album plays like the soundtrack to our collective germination, blooming and occassional wilting. The Reason-featuring Celebrate The Roses is built upon ponderous piano keys, juxtaposed with a searching bassline. It best encapsulates what Under The Sun offers as a whole. The allusion to Tupac’s 'Rose That Grew From The Concrete is a nod to a great that is also apparent on 'Angels' that samples Sade’s magical voice from 'Pearls’. The line "You can try these shoes on but it gon' hurt to walk" touches on the artist’s burden and how his "passion is apparent, I live to let grow". This is quite literally gospel of Pdot as he struggles both in the game and his personal life. Through it all he centers God such as on 'The Love Ballad’, a minimal song that contains the lyrics "I love you like you love your god". This is in keeping with his motto "God bless the god blessed".
Throughout Under The Sun, the rapper symbolically strains his voice and remains at his emotive best. Pdot O’s sound is stripped of any frills and driven by the message in his lyrics. For him the booth is the pulpit, but it remains to be seen if South African hip hop is ready to form a devoted clergy. It’s a tempting preposition enhanced by the fact that Pdot is not preaching down to us, but walking us through trials and tribulations. One such would be the death of his father and it’s effect on him and his music On 'Darkness’. "Yeah we know your pops died get over it now, you sing the same song, recycle the sound" is a relatable line for the grief-stricken. Apart from relatablility he shows his versatility on the folky 'Time Waits for No Man' with Donovan Borne.
If South African hip hop is a broad church, inviting any and all Pdot stakes a claim as the mature pastor guiding his audience. This album, though, lags along perhaps like a sermon would. At an hour 18 minutes it’s a sprawling record with its replay value mainly based on its comforting tone. To keep the tempo up the RnB joint 'Bedroom Tales’, with Angie Santana, reworks tge hook of a catchy throwback. With its reggae tinge, the song feels out of place. This may just be the ear refusing an artist their pleasures whilst simultaneously taking some of that from their pain. In contrast, The Fraternity-assisted Pholas has a radio friendly vibe that works. It’s a welcome release on a dense body of work characterised by proverbial bleeding.
Catharsis, if this isn’t clear yet, is embodied on this project and Under The Sun works well as a collection of lessons without being preachy. Pdot’s skills as a rapper is one of the things that come to light and gives some gravitas to his line "somebody please put the lights on, I’ve been wrestling with demons in the darkness for too long" on "Darkness". Pain is productive rather than debilitating for Pdot O. He draws from his experiences and owns up to his faults, which is refreshing. A rapper grappling with life’s curveballs rather than bemoaning imaginary haters is a necessary respite.
Hip hop with substance is a characteristic fellow Cap City rhymers Blaklez and N’veigh, share as residents adjacent to the blingy sounds oft coming out of Joburh. That gives them a unique perspective of being close to the City of Gold where dreams are fulfilled, but somehow remaining on the fringes of the music industry. "I’m No Vulture" is the sonic embodiment of this; a song affirming Pdot O’s goal of reaching the 'other side' and cracking the mainstream. Probably the best line on the album occurs here: "my pen bad, it’s pitchfork music. God damn".
Bars and grit underpin Under The Sun’s emotive landscapes and tales of survival. It’s representative of what seems like a soul wrenching experience: getting so close, but having your success consistently delayed and recognition deferred. If that’s not relatable content I don’t know what is.
