Jovi has always been a polyglot rapper, but he serves a bigger English, Pidgin, French, Camfranglais, Limbum, Bassa and Eton bowl of salad in this album. However, there is more Pidgin and English in “God Don Kam” than in “16 Wives”. And just like its rich language mix, “God Don Kam” is also a concoction of different musical styles and influences; Mboko rap, socially conscious hip hop, club bangers, 808, nineties American hip hop, trap music, funk and jazz.
The album opens with the fourth sequel of a song which appears on every Jovi album. In the best episode of “Man pass man” yet, Le Monstre’s entrance is marked by a grand beat sounding like royalty, with a xylophone accompaniment. The Jovi sung hook is embellished by Reniss’ background vocals in Limbum and a bass note behind that bats gently like Thundercat’s. The rapper then races out of the stable with punch lines of great horse power….No son should ever live to pay for the sins of their father. I would lie if I say I never did this shit for my daughter. I space walk on the beat like Jupiter was my mother.
He also proceeds to deliver a bold and insightful second verse that traces his lineage to every corner of Cameroon. He unapologetically dissects his thoughts on being Cameroonian, and from an interlocutor’s position. He muses about identity in a way that gets the listener thinking deeply. Apart from when he’s vulgarizing or delving into hedonism, it is the general philosophical tone of the album. His verses sound more like reflective sermons, with the aforementioned paradox. Jovi also preaches peace, while creating scenic imagery through his rap lens where one can “see” the Anglophone crisis.
Sometimes, he disregards syntax for rhythmic effect…Tu est Francophone or you be na Anglophone? Tara, I be na Cameroon. Isn’t he supposed to use a single language in a single sentence? Which should even end with…Tara, I be na Cameroonian? But how can the line achieve its punch rhyme effect with all that grammar intact? Well, it is pop culture, not a grammar class, so Mr. Artist bent the rule. Interestingly, it is the line’s altered syntax that delivers its profound effect and puts it in a poetic class of its own, whether the listener agrees with the Jovi politics or not. Plus, check out the witty way he uses both languages in that single line again. Baam!
Jovi raps the refrain of the second song, “Pissam” in Bassa. He bends a few words so they can rhyme well too. The word “bangle” is sort of pronounced like its Pidgin version, “bangu” so that it will rhyme with the name, Django. He also uses word repetition to killer effect, when he rhyme-repeats the word “change” in several sentences and even the sentence opener, “Yi easy for…”. “Piss am” also flashes an undecipherable background auto tuned chant and a unique mid-tempo beat. It is one of the album’s finest songs. A fan tweet even describes it thus “a time travel tune from 2035”.
