Fally Ipupa – Mo Perso

Congolese rumba icon Fally Ipupa gets laid-back and reflective on “Mo Perso,” a single from disk two of his sprawling “XX: Délirium” project. This one takes its time getting to something really intimate, clocking in at five minutes and twenty-nine seconds.

Much of this album saw Fally Ipupa shifting between large love declarations and more intimate and personal moments, and “Mo Perso” is squarely in the latter camp. The title itself is personal and that intimacy informs the entire performance. Disk two also offers a welcome reprieve from the project’s bigger, more theatrical moments in the shape of this tune, nestled within pieces such as the title cut “Délirium.”

The production is still built around rumba guitar melodies which provide the backbone with layered vocals adding real depth throughout. No hurry for an obvious hook here. Fally writes with an economy of language rather than going for sweeping pronouncements. It’s like a real moment of self-reflection lost in the middle of an enormous, vast enterprise.

“Mo Perso” works because Fally Ipupa is entirely committed to that laid-back, personal tone. Nothing here goes beyond the closeness on which it is based. It is like a peaceful, contemplative halt in the grand “XX: Délirium” odyssey.