Ghanaian hip-hop duo Ruff-N-Smooth have come out with a debut album entitled Life is Rough and Smooth this week. Those are sage words, but they create a false impression about what the album is like.

It certainly isn’t rough, ever. MCs Bullet and Akan took all funnest parts of modern R&B, reggae, club-rocking hip-hop, and afro-pop and created a sound of their own that is, well, so smooth it gleams. And, yes, that means a delicate sprinkling of Auto-Tune. There isn’t a seam on this album, but it isn’t overproduced either. The mix ends up being so perfect that you have to be careful where you listen to it. You might start dancing in really inappropriate situations.

There’s a lot of smooth (and not much rough) in the lyrics too. In their song “Naija Baby,” they sing “Give me your number” to a beautiful Nigerian girl, adding “I want to show you to my mama/Take you to Ghana.”

Wait. What? Wow, they’re totally talking about getting married. Well, there are some gorgeous women from Nigeria. But, actually, they sing and rap about getting married a lot.

Not like it’s all songs about girls and partying though. “Time Changes,” is about always moving forward in life because things get better with time. Yeah, so when they aren’t singing about girls, they’re expressing a mature outlook on life — to a beat you won’t be able to get out of your head.

They might look hard on the album cover with their shades and black jackets, but if they aren’t a couple of hopeless romantics, they are hiding it very well on this album.

Listen to a sampling of tracks from Life is Rough and Smooth right here. If you only listen to one track, listen to “Swagger.” That’s the jam.

Ruff n Smooth – Life is Rough & Smooth by Akwaaba Music

Photo: bandcamp.com