Hit or Miss: Ask Dem – Aidonia & Di Genius
Aidonia and Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor have been collaborators since the mid-2000s, with the former providing the toasting over the latter’s instrumentals. Ask Dem, however, marks the first time that the two have collaborated as artistes.
Ask Dem is a song aimed at the detractors of both Aidonia and Di Genius. The track rhetorically asks their naysayers why they constantly critique negatively of the two without warrant. Both Aidonia and Di Genius were able to deliver this theme without the track feeling like a generic “badmind” and “hater” dancehall song, and this is a welcomed change.
For the instrumentation, Di Genius employed a mid-tempo soundscape, filled with dark synths and a shadowy piano pattern; perfect for the song’s subject matter of addressing negativity.
Lyrically, Aidonia provided heavy offerings relevant to the song’s theme, and Di Genius commendably was able to keep up with his verbally savvy collaborator.
Ask Dem is a solid song that unfortunately won’t get its deserved media traction due to its mid-tempo construction in the midst of pre-summer.