Nonso Amadi, Nasty C, Omari Hardwick and more
feature.
On November 13, 2020, Cape Town singer,
Rowlene released her long-awaited, highly-
anticipated debut album. This was over a year
after the album was initially announced and teased
to a horde of fans. She's a core member of the
new wave of female R&B currently permeating
South African pop culture. Some of the others are
Shekhinah, Elaine and Ipeleng.
Often referred to as Nasty C ’s protege, she is
signed to the Def Jam artist’s label, Tall Racks. In
a 2018 chat with Sunday Times , she discussed
how she’s wrongly perceived by people.
✕
She also said that, “ [Nasty and I] are friends before
anything else and he understands me like nobody
else does. I won't say that he found me but he was
one of the people that have been pushing me. He
believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. We
are all a family at Tall Racks and push each other ."
IM EMOTIONAL RN ... MY PROJECT IS REALLY
TIMELESS IDC. NO SKIPS. VARIETY. A PLAYLIST..
I CANT WAIT FOR MY GROWTH FROM THIS ...
YOH YOH .. YOH ALSO THE PEOPLE I MET
DURING THIS PROCESS YAWL FOREVER...
— 11:11 (@Rowlene_SA) October 9, 2020
Since she featured on Nasty Cs’s debut album, Bad
Hair, they have collaborated a few more times. As
part of a build up to her debut album, she released
singles like ‘Stop,’ ‘Sunday Morning,’ and
‘Hypnotise’ featuring Nigerian Afro-fusion artist and
producer, Nonso Amadi.
On the day the album dropped, she wrote on her
Twitter page that, “I’M EMOTIONAL [Right Now]...
MY PROJECT IS REALLY TIMELESS IDC. NO SKIPS.
VARIETY. A PLAYLIST.. I CANT WAIT FOR MY
GROWTH FROM THIS ... YOH YOH .. YOH ALSO THE
PEOPLE I MET DURING THIS PROCESS YAWL
FOREVER…”
Speaking on the album, she has also said that,
“ 11:11 is connected to being in sync with yourself,
your divine timing and purpose. I feel like music has
been my purpose. I've allowed myself to be
vulnerable and just to trust the process," she said in
an interview recently .
“I'm manifesting the best for this album without
being attached to an outcome. I have a couple [of]
themes that's discussed and performed, but I truly
wanted to showcase my versatility.”
While the project dropped on November 13 [13/11],
most people would naturally link the album title,
‘ 11:11 ’ to November 11.
But during a chat with John Maytham on Afternoon
Drive, she speaks on the album title, “With this
album, with COVID and everything that has happened,
I had to mentally be in a great space to be in a
great space; emotionally and mentally so that I
could finish this project and what I want it to sound
like. And that’s my divine timing and what 11:11
means to me… ”
The album is led by themes of infidelity, feminism,
love, heartbreak and willpower. Divided by an
interlude, it seems like ‘11:11’ contains two
episodes of woman’s rollercoaster affair with love.
Both parts are created around the end of a
relationship. On the Zooci Coke Dope -produced
R&B beauty ‘Creepin, ’ Rowlene’s character
discusses how infidelity led to the break up. While
the song sits at track three, this album is still
beautifully sequenced - it feels like peeling an
onion.
She sings, “I had all of my energy, all of my
intimacy focusing on you, but you had all of your
intentions on her and introduced her to our room.
Now you're nobody, to me…” Her soprano is cutting
edge as she even references the ultimate infidelity-
inspired break-up song of the 2000s in Beyonce ’s
‘Irreplaceable.’
She sang, “You got me over here packing while I'm
packing all the boxes to the left…”
Throughout the album, Rowlene is a modern
woman. She doesn’t cower to masculinity, she
embraces her power and wears her femininity like a
badge of honour. On the opening track, ‘Stop ’ this
is exactly what Rowlene is as she gives a leeching
lover a telling off. He is in a class below her.
She flaunts her class and sings, “ I’m a star player
and you’re an exchange...I've been thinkin' 'bout
them boys. You're not one of them, boys, boys… ”
Towards the end of the song, the drum-heavy
Trapsoul flips into an Ambient episode on 2:06,
with the aid of two layers of vocals. One
harmonizes while the other is a looped, effect-
ridden voice.
If she was separating herself from a lover on ‘ Stop,’
a lover seems to be holding on to her and the love
that was once shared on, ‘ Even.’ While she was
more aggressive on ‘Stop ,’ she is calmer and
considerate on ‘ Even’ as she advises the lover to let
go.
She sings, “I'm not in a position of holding on but
you cling to me, and I keep praying till I find the
one. It's plain to see that sometimes love ain't
enough… We should walk away, while we still got
our dignity… ”
By ‘Danger, ’ it seems the relationship is finally over.
On an uptempo pop record, Rowlene hits ‘the
streets’ in search of a fast-paced, fleeting romance
- like a modern woman. She proudly sings,
“ Everybody needs a little bit of danger…” as she
plans to live on edge.
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The night around town leads her back into a ballad.
She’s a warm blooded human being with emotions
and she’s on the rollercoaster like any 20-
something around the world. She catches feelings,
but due to where she’s coming from, she doesn’t
ignore the ‘ Signs.’ She sings, “ I won’t be just
another girl that you’ll be adding to your list… ”
She refuses to be a hot mess and blatantly refuses
to get carried away and ignore the red flags. ‘Signs ’
is by far the best record on ‘ 11:11 .’ Such an
amazing, substantiated record. With Sauti Sol -esque
guitar chords and slowed down Afro-pop
percussion, Rowlene and Nonso Amadi play lovers
who are sprung with each other on ‘Hypnotize.’ They
even liken the love to hypnosis.
omarihardwickofficial
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Proud to present to you all the official
@poeticspodcast trailer. Thank you @billboard for
the kind words. #Linkinbio “I’m asking rappers to
come in and sit down and recite a poem,” Hardwick
tells Billboard. “Lose the machismo. Poetry has a
vulnerability that rap and MC'ing doesn’t. You gotta
For interlude, Power actor Omari Hardwick delivers
blistering spoken word on ‘ Omari’s Interlude. ’ It’s
both chilling and suspenseful. On ‘ Piece of Heaven ,’
Rowlene uses a guitar-based ballad and Christian
symbolism of the all-encompassing power of
heaven as a metaphor for the kind of love she
wants and needs.
The looped Electronic effect at the start of ‘You and
You’ is as eclectic as the Ballad/Dancehall record
itself. The happy moment of ‘Hypnotize’ didn’t last.
Rowlene is then back to where the album starts.
While the relationship at the start of the album
crashed due to infidelity, ‘You on You’ seems to be
due to a problem with distrust and doubt.
Rowlene sings, “You always say "I love you" but do
you really mean it? Would you like if I did a you on
you…” The record is a conversation between two
lovers who seems to be on the opposite ends of
what’s required in their relationship. The woman
seems to be struggling, but the guy’s offence isn’t
exactly clear.
For the second time on this album, it ended in
tears on ‘ Sunday Morning .’ Aided by Manna,
Rowlene feels, “ Heartbreak, it's better on a Sunday
morning…” The pain is so much that they duet the
part, “Savе me from myself. How long will it take to
hеal?”
‘Make A Wish’ is a sentimental record with wishes
and butterflies on a piano-based ballad. It’s not
exactly related to the album, but it’s a nice touch
that speaks to the realities of Rowlene’s actual life.
This album is simply amazing!
Ratings: /10
• 0-1.9: Flop
• 2.0-3.9: Near fall
• 4.0-5.9: Average
• 6.0-7.9: Victory
• 8.0-10: Champion
Pulse Rating: /10
Album Sequencing: 1.5/2
Songwriting and Themes: 2/2
Production: 2/2
Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.8/2
Execution: 1.7/2
Total:
9.0 - Champion
Rowlene addresses emotions and sparkles on ‘11:11’ [olahypes Album Review] » Hottest
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