Set against the backdrop of ’90s Kumasi, Ko-Jo Cue’s KANI: A Bantama Story recalls the popular suburb with a poignancy that feels cinematic, bringing a diverse range of characters and experiences to life. To start, the MC is grappling with what he’s been able to do for his family. “My mummy dey grow/But I still no blow enough to put her in her home,” he somberly admits over a piano-led instrumental on “Fruit of the Womb.” After that, he’s piecing together vignettes of a lost childhood, unpacking the emotional toil of navigating high school on “Next Term,” the fallout of poor academic performance and corporal punishment on “Mr Eben,” and recounting the aftermath of losing his childhood innocence on “Grew Up Fast.” The specter of grief looms large over swathes of the project. On “Mysterious Ways,” he’s disconsolate as he mourns the loss of an aunt, while the pseudo-biographical “Bantama Blues 3” deals with under-harvested potential and institutional neglect. But Ko-Jo Cue finds moments to relive joyful memories from the distant past, leaning on hiplife to translate that ease: “Abrantie” is a jolly retelling of the euphoric highs of childhood and adolescence and “Tontonte” is a cross-generational celebration of grind and resilience. The true triumph of KANI: A Bantama Story is in how firmly Ko-Jo Cue clings to his convictions, striving to be a better man having just barely emerged from the crucible of Bantama.