What does a musician do when they can have everything and want to do everything? They start their own label and release their own music there. This way, they have almost everything in their hands, but also the risk... maybe it's better this way.
When you then sit as the label boss in your big leather executive chair, legs on the table, smoking a thick Cuban cigar while looking at the walls, what do you do? You think about your old friends and how they might be doing.
BOBBY FLETCHER is one of those friends. For 10 years, only a few insiders knew where he was hanging out. KOLJAH was probably one of the insiders. This is how it came to be that he got up from his executive chair, picked up his rotary phone, and dialed a number. The first step was taken, and now the result is here.
“Maybe it's better this way” offers 12 tracks, and of course, there are also a few very special guests that make the album even more interesting.
Although, interesting sounds like avant-garde and experiments, and those are not present here. This album is somewhat out of time in its style. The style offered here is not unlike that of Antilopen Gang, but softer. Somehow, this record could have also been released 20 years ago, especially when I hear groovy songs like “Ich bin ein Genie”.
There is no aggressive shouting to spew out any censorship-worthy phrases. Even “Sowas von Nichts”, which certainly doesn't belong in every nursery, is absolutely justifiable. Who doesn't like to show off a bit? One doesn't have to take the fun too seriously.
Overall, this release is a rather pleasant record that one enjoys listening to and that remains fun even after multiple listens. What is done here with words is already great cinema. However, one should not expect a milestone of historical significance. But it doesn't matter what I write, because as the album beautifully states:
“Anyone who ever reviewed me was mistaken.”
In that sense, listen for yourself.
