By Teddy Otieno,
With a rollout that began with the release of the lead singles “Me & U,” “Talk to Me Nice,” and “Name,” coupled with a string of social media teasers, anticipation for WAPOA SZN 2 was palpable. Big Yasa made it clear early on: a third album was in the works, and this second instalment mattered.
I received WAPOA SZN 2 on a Thursday, exactly one week before its official release on July 30. The first file was faulty, prompting Philip Koth to resend the album, this time split into twelve separate attachments. An unceremonious delivery, perhaps, but fitting for a project that reveals itself gradually.
I have lived with this album for months. I’ve listened to it early in the morning and late at night, in a matatu on my way home, with friends, as background music, on my home theatre, just on repeat. This album has been a companion. It is for and about women, and I’ve allowed it to soundtrack my own shifting emotions toward different women in my life. It feels like a diary of moods, snapshots of intimacy, longing, bravado, reflection, and love.
The Sequel Effect
Album sequels are a double-edged sword. They give an artist the opportunity to deepen a concept or extend a narrative, but they also carry the weight of living up to a prequel that listeners already hold dear.
WAPOA SZN, released in 2024, marked a significant departure for Yasa, from raw drill into a calmer, emotionally vulnerable persona. It was as if he had revealed an alter ego. Love, relationships, and emotional introspection replaced bravado.
That softness was briefly interrupted by the release of the Mad Clan Tape in October 2024, a collaborative project by the Kibera-based Mad Clan rap unit. Here, Yasa returned to drill, flanked by Spinx Mafia, Ngovo Das, Sumbua, Madiko, and Obeezy. The tape delivered sixteen aggressive, high-energy rap tracks. Iyanah Kiragu was the sole featured vocalist, adding moments of femininity and acoustic texture.
Released seventeen months after its predecessor, WAPOA SZN 2 cements Yasa’s sonic pivot. He doubles down on emotion, vulnerability, and melody. If the first album was an introduction, the sequel is a refinement.
Sound and Bars
Produced entirely by Hatikvah Murage, WAPOA SZN 2 clocks in at just under thirty minutes across twelve tracks. I’m no expert in music production, so I won’t pretend to dissect the technical details. Hatikvah himself has shared breakdowns on Instagram for those interested.
What stands out is the intentional minimalism. The production gives Yasa’s husky voice, sometimes rapped, sometimes sung, ample room to breathe. The album carries a nocturnal, mood-heavy sound that sits comfortably between R&B, alternative hip-hop, and rap.
At his core, Big Yasa is a rapper, and experimentation doesn’t exempt him from the fundamental metric of the genre: pen game. Rap is a sport. Your writing determines how seriously you’re taken. What distinguishes Yasa here is his simplicity. It’s difficult to explain without listening, the bars are unpretentious yet effective. He writes from lived emotion, and you can feel it. His delivery is effortless, almost as if he’s strolling alongside the beat rather than chasing it.
Track list: For the Women, With the Women
The title WAPOA, slang for “fine ladies,” sets the agenda. This is an album built around feminine presence, both thematically and literally. Of the eight featured artists, five are women: N’Jiru, Osa Nkiru, Andia Sande, Venna, and Sailor Goon. Their contributions add melody, perspective, and tonal contrast. Many of the songs unfold like conversations rather than performances.
Ajay and Pappi Mulla are the only artists to return from the first WAPOA SZN. Luo trap artist Wuod Baba closes the album with the outro.
Thematically, WAPOA SZN 2 explores intimacy in its many forms, lust, dancefloor chemistry, tenderness, trust, and loss. Women function as muse, mirror, and measure of self.
I spoke with Yasa in October during the build-up to the album’s first live performance. We met in Makina, Kibera after a planned live band rehearsal was postponed. When I asked why he chose to have Hatikvah produce the entire album, he simply said, “Hatikvah anaielewa.” Hatikvah gets it.
He also revealed that, with the exception of Sailor Goon, all collaborators physically linked up in the studio. There’s an authenticity that comes from shared space, something you can hear in the music. At the time – October, he told me Concentrate was the track he had on repeat.
Conclusion
WAPOA SZN 2 is a curation of moods. It is an album of fragments, brief, intense, sometimes unresolved moments of intimacy that mirror the nature of relationships themselves.
The project feels deliberate and well thought out. Big Yasa proves that his vulnerability is not a gimmick but a genuine artistic evolution. This is an album that belongs to women in voice, in theme, and in inspiration. It also belongs to men who are learning how to feel, to admit distraction, and to love openly while still holding on to the bravado of being a hustler.