Written by Aida Rashid
As individual artists, SonaOne and Alif both have similarities in terms of their music & sound with catchy hooks and memorable verses; hence why the collaboration between these Sony-Kartel signees sound very much seamless and effortless. In anticipation of their collaboration album “Details” that’s due next year, “Obvious” came out a week ago as a single track from the album. Aside from being simple and easy to get into, the track is seen to be a teaser or a clue as to how their upcoming album is going to sound like. Knowing those two are close friends coming under the same label, it surely is exciting to see their chemistry becoming a vessel to ensure the collaboration is fully fledged.
The song is dedicated to people who don’t realise how much they’re worth — how most of the time other people see yourself differently than you do, appreciating things you’re not able to appreciate yourself. The duo said in a statement, “We initially wrote this song as an ode to a woman’s self-confidence. The more we explored the subject, we realised the message was greater and applied to all walks of life”. The song was made to become something more than just a catchy tune, it is to also empower women and everyone else who haven’t been able to fully embrace who they are as a person.
With the release of the music video of “Obvious”, there has also been a lot of talk within the local hip-hop community — aside from a cameo by Airliftz, there have been discussions about how the duo projects are eerily similar to the legendary old-timers, Joe Flizzow and Malique. They were said to have worn the same exact thing Joe and Malique wore back in the days, probably as a way to reminisce the glorious times of the hip-hop industry in Malaysia. Or maybe there is a hidden meaning behind it — that this is truly the beginning of a new era, paving the way for more hip-hop artists to flourish and take over the local music industry? That’s for them to know, and for us to find out.
