Disc 1
1. Diam
2. Assalamualaikum
3. Mantera Beradu featuring M. Nasir
4. OK featuring Cat Fabuloso
5. Rasta Say
6. VVS1 featuring Chi Qa
7. Kau Yang Punya featuring Najwa
8. Pergi Jauh featuring Elvira
9. Jom Cerita Hantu
10. Khayal
Disc 2
1. Masih Khayal (Bangun) featuring Zaf
2. Dalam Aku Ada Hantu
3. Rahsia
4. Layu
5. Aku Di Kuala Lumpur
6. KL Streets featuring Lah
7. OK (Chill Money Remix) featuring DJ Fuzz
8. OK (Go DJ Remix) featuring Young Arif of KLG Sqwad
9. Kau Yang Punya (5 Mic Remix) featuring Najwa, Zaf, Lah and Elvira
10. Diam
ALBUM REVIEWS
It's OK to be frank
By : RADIN SRI GHAZALI
2009/01/14
Rapper Malique Ibrahim is using his debut album OK as an avenue to speak
out on social issues. RADIN SRI GHAZALI writes.
ONE may feel intimidated after listening to Malique Ibrahim, better known as the other half of Too Phat, on his debut album OK.
Ok has converted me into a hip hop aficionado by redefining the genre as more than just blokes wearing bling and spouting lyrics that often use a woman's anatomy as the subject matter.
Malique's latest offering is bold, with gutsy lyrics, merged with a refined beat.
"I wanted to come up with something new. What's the point of producing the same old tune after two years of working on the project," said Malique during an interview recently. The 32-year-old hip hop artiste opened up about how his album came into being. "It started as a 50-page transcript of poems and short stories but the publishers were not interested. They said that it wouldn't sell."
Later, Malique converted the project to what he knows best — as an album.
Ok sees the rapper dealing with social dilemmas using constructive criticism.
"I can't produce a track like Anak Ayam. There is a need for music progression," stressed Malique.
The rapper went back to the grassroots level for inspiration and ideas.
"I met up with my friends and asked them what they would like to hear and what was on their minds. We need to make sense for listeners to be able to relate to us," he explained.
Some of the tracks in the album are Mantera Beradu (a duet with M. Nasir), Assalamualaikum, Layu, Masih Khayal and Khayal.
"My songs are open to interpretation but each song has its story," he said.
"Only the Malays would be able to comprehend Mantera Beradu," he said.
Layu sees the musician combining Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's memorable speech at the Umno General Assembly in 2001 with snippets of a song called Warisan.
"It was originally a poem. I felt that I had to do justice by staying true to its original format," he said. Layu is the only track that does not have Malique rapping to the lyrics.
"Layu is a straightforward approach to the Malay dilemma. It is as honest as it gets," he added.
On Tun Mahathir's opinion of the song, Malique said: "I sent him the poem months ago. Later, I received a letter from him." The letter, dated Feb 25 last year, congratulated Malique on his poem and his honest views on the Malay dilemma.
It was indeed a touching and uplifting reply from the legend himself.
"Personally, he is my favourite politician. A great leader will leave visible contributions to his nation and he did," he said.
"I went back to basics — rhythm and poetry. It doesn't mean that when the words rhyme, it is rap. There are techniques to composing rap," he said.
Yet, Malique faces challenges in finding the right words to describe his ideas.
"We (Malay society) find it hard to express ourselves. We rely heavily on bahasa kiasan (metaphors)," he said.
"It will end up as too wordy and we can't say what we want to say at the end of the day," he said.
Ok also aims to create a channel for opinions and fill the void of freedom in articulation.
"I think kids these days have had enough of the drama occurring around them. They want to speak their minds and are seeking the right channels to do so," explained Malique.
"They are smart and they know what they want," he added.
"I have got rid of all barriers in my mind; things that preside over what we can't, and can, say or do. I want to speak my mind."
The rapper has also included two up-and-coming singers — Najwa and Elvira — on the album.
"They are both extremely talented. For Najwa, this has always been her passion. I am merely giving her the opportunity to go a step further," he said. "The same goes for Elvira. She has always been a back-up vocal for others. It is time for her to be centre stage," he said.
D'navigator and DJ Fuzz, together with Zaf and Lah of VE, also collaborated on the album.
Malique definitely has a lot to say about his hopes for the industry.
"We have many reality shows that bring more harm than good to the industry. We are also shoving the right talents away," he said.
"We need to improvise and change the way we look at things. We can't be 10 years behind."
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Taken from Berita Harian
9 October 2008
Oleh Zul Husni Abdul Hamid
ALBUM: OK
ARTIS: Malique
GENRE: Hip Hop
NAMA yang terlebih dulu mencipta populariti menerusi gabungan bersama Joe Flizzow membentuk duo Too Phat ini turut mencuba nasib menerusi penghasilan album solo pertamanya, Ok.
Seperkara yang cukup sulit buat Malique dalam penghasilan Ok pastinya mencari lagu yang mampu menyaingi kekuatan yang pernah dilakar ketika bersama Too Phat dulu.
Namun, sesuatu yang wajar dipuji mengenai Ok adalah keupayaan Malique menyatukan elemen artistik tetapi pada masa sama tidak meminggirkan aspek komersial.
Ia tidak mudah untuk dilakukan tetapi Malique berjaya membuktikan pengalaman mematangkannya mengenal pasti apa yang terbaik untuk diketengahkan dalam Ok.
Dihasilkan sepenuhnya bersama nama seperti D'Navigator, Zaf selain komposer tersohor, M Nasir yang bersatu dengannya dalam Mentera Beradu, Ok mengetengahkan nilai artistik yang tinggi untuk sebuah album hip hop Melayu.
Harus dipuji adalah kekuatan Malique dalam memilih seni kata yang cukup indah melatari Ok. Ciri yang meletakkan Ok dalam kelas yang sangat istimewa selepas sekian lama penggemar muzik tempatan disuakan dengan lirik ringan.
Jujurnya, Ok menggambarkan sepenuhnya kekuatan dan perjuangan Malique untuk menegakkan seni dengan menjadi dirinya sendiri. Itu yang akan ditemui dalam Ok.
Kata Hip:
SEBUAH album yang melengkapi apa yang diklasifikasikan sebagai antara produksi terbaik dihasilkan ketika industri hiburan tenat dalam mencari penerbitan berkualiti.
_______________________
Written by Ahmad Izham Omar
Founder and Managing Director of Positive Tone, CEO of Monkey Bone Records, CEO of 8TV, and Head of Radio Network - Media Prima (HotFM and FlyFM)
25 July 2008
OK is one of those albums that have managed to combine superb artistry with a deliberate and focused mass appeal. And that's not easy to do.
Artists who get lost in 'trying to break new ground' more often than not lose the normal music fan in the process.
Not so with OK. Right from the onset, we are hit with infectious grooves that would move even the most-hardened and beat-weary listener. The rhythms and beats never sound forced into the fresh and new. They are made as if its a given that they will sound effortlessly progressive.
However, to me the real master strokes of the album has got to be in the poetry laid on top of these beats. Malique's words and rhyme slither effortlessly and charmingly into your ears, a most pleasing experience indeed. His choice of words and innovative rhyming meters is a work of art, as if chiselled into form from a swirling mass of seemingly-disconnected words that must be perpetually surrounding his consciousness.
The fact that this progressive approach to rap and rhyme has been done mostly in the Malay language is a landmark event in itself. I daresay that this album deserves to be studied, not just by hip-hop fans, not just by music fans, but by Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka itself.
Language, at its core, is an expression of the human form. And this studied evolution of the Malay language in the rap art form is actually a study in an exciting evolution of Malay poetry. Disguised as catchy radio-friendly hip-hop music.
Malique has gone where no Malay album has ever gone before. And with him as our guide, our journey can be nothing short of pure fun.
salam bro,achaap did vry great in cerita kdi kopi..u c malique,salam also can represent malay song.i hope i can c they performing live.And for ur OK,eventho i neve hear the whole songs,bt i love the issues n the philosophy.ure tryin to change teh mentality.salam.
salam.. hey mr. malique!! how are u?? it's been a while not hear any from u! so, just want to say that your song called 'cerita kedai kopi' is absolutely fantastic!! from the lyric to the music arrangement, everything's perfect!! Njoyed it soo much! ok bro, keep up the good work!! much respect!
macamana nak dapatkan cd too phat yang lama-lama ek? saya nak sangat cd whutthadilly? dan plan b. persoalannya.. ada lagi ke cd tu? sape-sape yang tau cd tu ad jual kat mane, tolong gtau ye...
aku suka tgk cerita hantu,tkutnya nk tgk hantu,tutup mata buka lampu.. Tanya mana hantu? Jwbnya ku tak tahu.. Huhu.. Ku dgr org cerita pasal hantu d balik pintu, ku buka pintu ku tutup pintu tp tk ada hantu hanya ada itu aku yg mbuka dn mnutup pintu.. Huhu.. Ku mlayan lagu 'jom cerita hantu' dn 'dalam aku ada hantu' ku hairan ku tk rsa takut dn tk cuba tutup telingaku.. Nak thu knapa? Tggu dlu ku nak sebut huhu.. Krna pnyanyinya brhantu wuu itu sudah tentu.. Buat lirik brhantu smpai org resah tk mnentu.. Huhu.. Tk prcaya kata2ku dgrlah dlu br thu hantu tk hantu.. Huhu..
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