KUZIMU - Roho’s Voyage Into The Doldrums of the Self

Review by Sivu Genu

Cover art for ROHO’s third album, ‘KUZIMU’

For many of us the canvases that are our lives are coloured by many different things. Some of our canvases are toned with olfactory memory that transports you back to granny’s house where all of the cousins would congregate under the veranda. Others lean towards a window into then - excitingly drudging up shoeboxes filled to the brim with souvenirs the heart chose to frame.

Then there’s music. The primary vessel where memory lives. A safe space for us all. An eternally welcoming home where if you were to lose everything else - the songs would still know you.

In my journey as an archivist of sound - there are only a handful of artists whose art has integrated itself into the fabric of my life quite like ROHO’s has done.

Cover art for ROHO’s 2020 debut album, ‘Ephemeral’

2020’s “Ephemeral” was not merely a soundtrack to my life. The album was my companion through becoming.

A mirror that forced me to engage with my penchant to lean towards non-chalance and the glorification of being a commitment-adjacent individual through a track like “Six”.

A mirror which had me learn that escaping through the souls of others and attempting to alchemize my deep lacerations via shallow emotional and sexual validation wasn’t romantic but tragic.

While also teaching me that Roho can make anything sound sexy - and had me making sure to play the record in the background of any one of my premeditated moments of intimacy that I’d engage in from time to time.

The tracklist for ‘KUZIMU’

As much as I have built an unwavering relationship with “Ephemeral”, the arrival of ”KUZIMU” finds me at a moment of true emotional alignment, solitude, and self-assurance. This tells me that this project may prove to be another offering that narrates my days.

Similarly to “Lose Yourself” from Roho’s previous offering - ”KUZIMU’s” opening track is somewhat of an ode to confidence and an unabashed commitment to a fully realized sense of self.

On the surface “Retail Design” may present itself as a bashfully ambient Boom-Bap anthem whose purpose is to point you towards the absorption of your own certainty, but it is also a reflection of the arc of becoming. The glorious & the shameful.

As we seamlessly transition into “Disaster Artist” - it becomes apparent that we are dancing beside a reflective and matured artist who has come to distinct realizations regarding the human condition - particularly in the context of themselves.

As “Sore Throat” comes to an end & the echoes of yearning linger in my mind, an awareness & appreciation washes over me - similarly to how Scarface Panda’s production has been flooding my senses.

This is real.

“KUZIMU” carries a level of earnestness that is seldom found in the polished, faux-art world that we exist in today. Those who welcome the mirror will find a glaring truth which confronts cowardice, self-destruction, hypocrisy, pain, lust, abandonment, and remorse - a ceaseless devotion to a sincere journey into the spiritual inquiry of the self.

Not many of us have the disposition to willingly step into the shadows of being & reveal parts of ourselves that would be better off hidden between the pages of a well-worn diary.

Roho does.

As we reach “Smoking Kills V2” (a personal stand-out), I am physically and emotionally reminded as to why I fell in love with Roho’s music in 2020.

It is not just parts of his heart that he lays bear - it is the entirety of his soul.

I am reminded of my own heartbreak & battles with unbecoming, self-destructive behaviours that may have been a symptom of a spiritual curse of apathy held in a world which exalts love as this all-encompassing answer to all of life’s frailty when in truth, love oftentimes looks & sounds exactly like “KUZIMU”.

Particularly in the generation we find ourselves in.

With a heavy heart, and my ears still awash in the resonance of Roho’s gravel-kissed tone coupled with Scarface Panda’s honey-laced and beautifully textured soundscapes, I leave “KUZIMU” with every intention to come back & gaze into the tragedy that I am.

I implore you to do the same.