CCTV consolidates King Promise’s appeal

How can one tell? By the artist’s previous work: 'Thank God', 'Oh Yeah', 'Hey Sexy', 'Selfish'. A strong wind announces a downpour, no?

Every record that LLE singer King Promise (Gregory Bortey Newman) has put out since he first tasted mainstream success in 2016 has been outstanding. And while he bears the specific 1990s lover-boy persona that attracts female admiration, Promise’s most prized (and vital) asset is his voice, that exquisitely tidy apparatus through which he conveys his truths—intimate emotional experiences that are just as valid to the listener.

With 'CCTV', his latest offering and now most prominent song, he reiterates via the unique silky texture of his singing the widespread assertion that he’s a leading name among the new generation of vocal specialists on Ghana’s airwaves. Evidently honed since childhood, the voice retains effortless R&B magic. Man and voice have remained allies for a significant period, and have fashioned a technique so reliable that today Promise can break into awe-inspiring a capella sessions amid running the length of a stage during performances.

When he says, “So make you no cry o, no cry o, say e go be, make you still try o”, adding that the grace of God is sufficient, or concludes his first verse with “Baba God dey for my side so no shegey”, one feels deeply. Making music is a mysterious process—the artist creates in private, but his work is for public consumption.

The balance is always chancy, but honesty to one’s self is a good place to start. 'CCTV', like most truly abiding tunes, invades the listener’s inner nerves in a manner that is both shocking and comforting because these are not unfamiliar sentiments, but again, they address the consumer’s battles which have yet to be said to anyone. “How did King Promise know I am battling such and such?"

Ultimately, that’s how you know we’re all connected beyond our skin tones and last names. The song is therapy for both its creator and user: “Make you do your best / Use your sense / I shun the stress since I put God first, chale.” A two-edged blade, Promise navigates inspirational themes as effectively as he treats love stories. In both spheres, a commanding vocal is his strength.

Production-wise, 'CCTV' retains churchy piano, violin and xylophone sounds, and features victorious drums and claps. King Promise’s regular creative sidekick, Killbeatz (who produced 'CCTV'), is a living legend—evidence of his competence as a maker of hit records litters radio locally and across international markets. Sarkodie, Kuami Eugene, Ed Sheeran, Fuse ODG, R2Bees, Wizkid, among other Afrobeats influencers, have all benefited from his wizardry. Indeed, Killbeatz (born Joseph Addison) is a major player in branding Tema as a melody headquarters. He’s sensei at marrying party and temple as shown in R2Bees’ 'Life' (2012) and his own 'Bokoor' (2016), both of which are good for dance as for spiritual reflection.

Lyrically, King Promise has always stuck to simplicity, confident in it’s psychological puissance. But the apogee of 'CCTV'—and this is not a comment on Promise’s delivery, which is flawless anyway—may have come from elsewhere though. Specifically, how (unsurprisingly) well Mugeez’s hook-making gift comes to play. The singer-half of R2Bees is respected for his genius with a chorus. That flair is displayed on the joint. Sarkodie then sprays an inspirational guest verse with the precise wit which has made him an African superstar.

Promise’s game plan coming into the industry was not to detonate abrupt hits; it was to win his way into the hearts of music lovers in a style that was deliberate and unrushed, so that, now, an organic trust has been fostered, and trending on YouTube for an entire month, and racking up a million views in that period, feels like the natural order of things.

'CCTV' became a hit the very second it was published. It is the song we had been waiting for, for though it deviates from popular subject matters of love and boogie (the trusted formula for radio success everywhere), it speaks to a prevailing, albeit overlooked situation: We may dance to music of flamboyant instrumentation and smile at overused lines which characterize Casanova pitches, but we cannot also be starved of motivational spiels. That it was instantly latched unto like ticks on a preferred host, is incontrovertible proof of the power of inspirationals. To be able to gauge social temperature this accurately, and meet it with such a masterpiece, is a tribute to King Promise’s craft.

Buy 'CCTV' by King Promise on iTunes

Artist: King Promise ft. Mugeez, Sarkodie
Song: CCTV
Label, Year: Legacy Life Entertainment, 2018