Review: M.anifest ‘New Road and Guava Trees’
Written by Idowu Anu-oluwapo
Genreless, soulful, and strikingly honest, Manifest returns with a 14-track statement that bridges tradition and spirituality.
From the opening note of New Road and Guava Trees, it’s clear M.anifest isn’t just giving us an album. He’s giving us an experience. Blending hip-hop, Highlife, soul, Afro-fusion, and alte textures. This is one of those rare records that feels like it was made for listening with your whole body. Your head nods, your heart reflects, your feet move, and your spirit pays attention.
The journey begins with Time Catch, an alluring, almost dreamlike intro. It feels like a sonic diary entry, drawing you in like a gentle sonder. A glimpse into someone else’s internal world. Fire on the Mountain follows, and here, M.anifest’s lyricism lights up. “Flames so exciting,” he sings, giving vivid imagery to passion and urgency. It’s gratitude with rhythm, a celebration of dawn as both a literal daybreak and a metaphorical one
Eye Red lands next and shifts gears. From the trumpet-charged intro to its energetic hip-hop bounce, this one is for the streets. “Eye red,” M.anifest chants, referencing the idiom that captures that relentless hunger, the fire in your eyes when you’re going all in. It’s gritty, it’s real, it’s poetic in its own rawness. Badman, featuring Vic Daggs II, dips into dancehall and Afropop with infectious energy. It’s a party starter, but not without depth. M.anifest always finds a way to sneak reflection into rhythm. “Badman for life,” he declares, not just as a flex, but as a nod to resilience.
Wine and Blue, featuring Ghanaian soul artist AraTheJay, leans into vulnerability and spirit. The lyricism is tight yet soft, as M.anifest reflects: “Big shoulder carry heavy load.” It’s an emotional exchange between two artists in sync, carrying both faith and resilience in their verses. It’s the kind of track you return to when you need to be motivated.
And then comes Puff Puff, arguably one of the most powerful moments on the album. Featuring Flea and Nigerian highlife sensation The Cavemen, the track is a cultural celebration wrapped in groove. The title carries dual meaning, on the surface, referencing a beloved West African snack. It is also a cheeky nod to “puff puff pass,” speaking to community gathering and smoking.
With highlife instrumentation, soulful harmonies, and modern edge, Puff Puff sits at the heart of this project’s mission: to explore, to honor, and to connect. It’s a track made to be best performed for live performance. Gyename & Vibes follow, with sharp hip-hop delivery. Safe Place featuring Tobi is tender yet assertive, a lyrical love letter that doubles as emotional armor. The words are carefully chosen, meant to comfort and ground the listener, like a late-night call that comes just when you need it.
My God is a hymn, stripped down and soul-stirring. It touches on fear, doubt, faith, and the courage to keep going. It’s followed by Ease My Mind, a clever shift that lightens the mood with its upbeat Afrobeats rhythm. Here, M.anifest sings, “I have come to give you everything money cannot buy,” centering love and presence over material things. The track features Xperience and feels like the dance break after a heavy moment of prayer.
Spirit Riddim with Bien and DarkoVibes is grown-man music, polished, pensive, and playful. The alt-influenced production pairs beautifully with the reflective lyrics. It’s experimental without losing clarity.FYTD, featuring South African rap prodigy A-Reece, brings heavyweight bars and a pan-African connection that’s more necessary now than ever. Highlands is comfort music, offering a sense of emotional safety. The chorus “never die”, becomes a quiet war cry for resilience in the face of life’s inevitable chaos.And finally, Hang My Boots with King Promise closes the album with grace. It’s reflective without being sorrowful, a perfect way to wrap up a project that’s spent its runtime navigating life’s tensions with elegance.
New Road and Guava Trees in-depthly reveals M.anifest at his most expansive and intentional. Here is an artist unafraid to genre-bend, to dive deep into spirit and street, to hold space for softness and grit in the same breath.