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Ami Taf Ra – The Prophet and the Madman (2025)
Review:
The idea of an artist emerging fully formed from the jump is nothing new, but North African jazz artist Ami Taf Ra is something else. With no EP and no mixtape, she landed a deal with Brainfeeder to put out her debut record, The Prophet and the Madman. The past five years have resulted in this vast, celestial journey with Ami Taf Ra guiding us through opulent compositions, serving as a vessel for the wisdom which she imparts like divine guidance. It is, in the realest sense, epic, but on The Prophet and the Madman, divinity takes precedence over humanity. Modern jazz legend Kamasi Washington shares songwriting credits with Ami Taf Ra, appearing across the record multiple times in the form of sax solos and serves as a major collaborative force on The Prophet and the Madman overall. The defining characteristic his own records share, as noted by diehards and detractors alike, is maximalism. Washington’s music is big, loud and doesn’t leave much room for the notes you don’t play. This carries over to the work of Ami Taf Ra, and the result is stunning. The explosion of energy on “How I Became a Madman” that properly kicks the record off makes for one of the best moments on the entire album. Busy drums and driving bass provide a bustling backdrop that would’ve been great on its own, but Ami Taf Ra takes her time with her vocals, providing contrast to the instrumentals where she seems to simply float above it all. Her voice comfortably rests in an upper register that grants the track some grandeur, but this quality proves to be more of a hindrance as the record progresses. “The Prophet,” the album’s eight-minute de facto centerpiece, doesn’t present any singular weak link in itself, but the length reveals issues with The Prophet and the Madman as a holistic work. Ami Taf Ra is, unquestionably, a talented singer, but 95 percent of her vocal presence lands within the upper register, with little in the way of dynamics or personal expression. The longer “The Prophet” goes on, the more frequent the sense of déjà vu becomes. There are glimpses of that humanity in the song titled, ironically, “God.” As she pleads for some semblance of a sign that her creator is watching out for her, a chorus joins her, singing, “But God made no answer,” at the refrain. The power in this moment not only hits on its own, but it puts into perspective how distant the vocals have felt up until that point. As hinted in the album’s title, Ami Taf Ra was inspired by the work of Lebanese American author Kahlil Gibran, who wrote both The Prophet and The Madman. Her writing features allusions to Gibran’s, and like his books, Ami Taf Ra is communicating fables—a type of roadmap to navigate life. Sometimes, her words are so simple as to become profound; On “Children,” she sings, “Don’t seek to make them like you/ Strive to be like them.” Ami Taf Ra communicates real feelings, and lyrics like this are a reminder that this album isn’t grandeur for its own sake, but as incredible as the compositions are on The Prophet and the Madman, the question of who Ami Taf Ra actually is remains a mystery. — somethingelsereviews.com
Track List:
01 - Speak to Us (Intro)
02 - How I Became a Madman (feat. Kamasi Washington)
03 - The Prophet
04 - God
05 - Love (feat. Ryan Porter)
06 - My Friend (feat. Brandon Coleman)
07 - Children
08 - Gnawa (feat. Kamasi Washington)
09 - Gibran
10 - Khalil
11 - Speak to Us (Outro)
Media Report:
Genre: jazz
Origin: Los Angeles, California, USA 
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.3.0 (UTC 2013-05-26)
Note: If you like the music, support the artist.
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