LL Cool J f/ Lil Mo / DJ Kofi: "Cry / Ghana Gospel Feelings (Praise the Lord)"

Originally, I was going to write about Lip Lickin’ Cool J’s latest comeback, “Cry” (f/Lil Mo), but after my friend Calpin sent me this megamix of Ghanaian Gospel, that idea seemed so parochial. By the end of summer, Def Jam will have spent a trillion dollars wallpapering your American life with this duet (LL’s six-thousandth duet, and counting), so they don’t need my help. The gospel singers of Ghana could use the hype.

So, for the record, the LL single is another ear-catching barrage of stoic, fatherly advice counterbalanced by Lil Mo’s hysterical melisma, but the Ghanaian Gospel mix is better. The base rhythm is built around several variations of the dzama rhythm, itself a variation of the 3-2 clave pattern that you can find in calypso, reggaeton, highlife, dancehall reggae, and Shakira’s hips. The guitar lines are mostly clawhammer-style runs, remarkably nuanced for such a ebullient, drawn-out mix. It’s a lot to handle, so I recommend taking this one piece-meal: brave 20 minutes at a time, rest, eat a snack, swim, repeat. 54 minutes, 28 seconds in is my favorite moment: a girl’s darling lilt notes “There has never been silence for me.” That’s what happens when your voice lives in the middle of an hour-long tropical synth-pop collage of twinkling guitar runs and pattering drum synths.