Equally at ease over hip-hop, Afrobeats, R&B, Afropop, maskandi, and amapiano, Blxckie has a knack for exploration that resembles the fluidity of Durban, the cultural melting pot he calls home. Since chronicling his relocation from Durban to Joburg on his 2021 debut, B4Now, a string of EPs (4LUV, THE4MULA, see u soon, 4LUV2), and a joint mixtape (AURA ERA) helped illustrate how he can deftly maneuver between experiences, emotions, and, of course, genres. Loosely defined as “the one and only,” YENA appraises the five years since B4Now, including defining moments for the singer and MC, like appearances at Dreamville Fest and SXSW. “I like operating in my own little realm,” Blxckie tells Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio. “With every project, one of the main goals is to separate myself from my peers or just the space in general.” YENA achieves that via uniquely textured production, rhythms that resist classification, and the artist embracing different facets of himself. “I don’t have to be just rapping all the time,” Blxckie says. “I can get more spiritual and more cultural with it, you know? This album is just me showing that, between B4Now and where I am right now, I’ve been perfecting the skill of just being able to do this thing at the highest level.” Project opener “mama, it’s all good”—a sequel to B4Now intro “Mama It’s Bad”—affirms Somnyama’s growth in both sound and feeling. The wistful “take me back” leans toward R&B, its sensitivity juxtaposed against braggadocious bars on the bass-heavy, A-Reece-aided “bonkerz.” On “cover me,” Dreamville MC Bas spits, “Closet is full of your skeletons/You like to bury them all in designer,” as luxury fits represent both protective armor and personality chinks. Gucci shades block out distractions on “brady’s interlude.” Frequent collaborator K1llbrady pitches in on “brady’s interlude,” while the melodic, L.A.X-assisted “lonely” offers a serenade across tropically infused Afropop instrumentation. Blxckie acknowledges his proverbial village on “die tomorrow,” rapping, “Everything wasn’t planned by me alone/I been tryna get to the bag and bring it home.” And yet, it’s he who leads the way, an inarguable fact he points to in the very next line: “Every time I step in the scene, I change the tone.”