After
releasing about one half of what would be his sophomore album
piecemeal, over several months; Wizkid decided the time was right to
bless us with the remainder of the pudding. Although I lost appetite a
long time ago, courtesy demands that when the Star Boy calls you to a feast, you oblige. Shall we…?
The album starts out with Jaiyejaiye feat Femi Kuti
which, in my opinion, is a good album starter; it sets the album off to
a high start, especially when the album is titled “Joy”. Groovaay.
Show you the money
is just another bland Wizkid tune, nothing exceptionally creative about
this song. From thought to execution, this song falls flat on its face.
In my bed
to me, is an absolute songwriting disaster. This song starts off, as
one would expect, with Wizkid wooing a girl into his bed, and with
little warning, quickly morphs into praise singing (names that are
not relevant to the initial issue of a girl in his bed) and then back
again. Whew! Remarkable stuff.
Mummy mi is the most
disappointing “mama” song I’ve heard in a while. The songwriting on this
song is dead lazy. You can’t say you like your mother and all you can
tell us about her is that she bore you in her womb for 9 months; I mean,
you’d expect that we knew that already, right? Surely Wizkid can do
better.
Ojuelegba: Shout out to legendury beatz, the
groove of this song is truly legendary. Wizkid, on the other hand, did
not fully rise to the occasion, as I found the lyrics of this song to be
sparse and sub par. I will take just the beat and trash everything
else. This song could have offered more.
Kind love is straight up crappy and mediocre. I wouldn’t accept this from a rookie let alone from the Star boy. This is a very weak song.
Ontop your matter: You know this one already. Nice groove. Na jam.
In love feat Seyi Shey
is, for me, the best song on this album. I love the production, choice
of collaboration and execution. This is the minimum quality of music I
expect from Wizkid on his sophomore album. I fell In love
from the very first play. Seyi shows that she is indeed, a pro at her
craft. This is a beautiful song; and Dr Frabz still has my high regard.
Great job!
For you feat Akon: At this point in the
album I’m sick of the word “baby,” unfortunately Wizkid appears almost
incapable of making a song without it. But thank God for Akon who took
time to school the on how to seize a track. Akon’s contribution
definitely saved this song.
Dutty whine feat Banky W, Omalicha, and Celebrate are just barely okay songs.
Kilofe: This appears to be a terrible knockoff of seantizzle’s kilogbe. This song has nothing fresh, unique, or interesting about it. It’s another weak effort on this project.
Bombay feat Phyno:
I never thought highly of this song and that feeling lingers. Although
Phyno delivers, he still loses some cool points from me for managing to
land on such a pointlessly bland booty song; to collabo is not by force.
Meanwhile, I still can’t make up my mind which is worse; the song, or
the video. Can you?
One question feat yemi sax: I
like Wizkid’s intro on this classic highlife instrumental; but that’s
about all. This is yet another “dance” and “baby” song, like I haven’t
had enough yet. Tiring!
Show me the money (remix) feat Tyga
is pretty much the same song as the original version with Tyga’s verse
slapped onto it. This is another irrelevant, high profile collaboration;
if one could even call it that.
Murder feat wale is
a JAM!!! I would expect to see a dapper video for this joint. Shout out
to Maleek Berry for this fantastic production. This song gets me moving
like an OG. Wizkid came through with some purpose, but not without some
of his hackneyed phrases. Wale’s ability also came through. This is
definitely one of the better songs off this album.
I fell in love with Joy
way before the album dropped. Wizkid was fantastic on this song. The
lyrics poured out from a strong place and it’s a beauty. Here is the
grown Wizkid putting in effort and I can’t get enough of this song.
Oboy! This production dey sweet like sugarcane. Lovely! I feel Joy. Oshe
Frabz!
Caro feat Lax: Nah! It’s very hard not to
move to this. This is a jam, kudos to the producer of this tune. This is
a dance song but the detail in the production is quite impressive and
we appreciate that. Sweet tune!!!
The Mob’s Take:
The Wizkid I heard on this album is a huge downgrade from the guy on “super star“;
not much learnt and little growth. I think Wizkid meant well but a lot
of the time he was simply out of his depth; I heard a zeal without
knowledge. For such a highly anticipated album from one of Africa’s most
successful acts in recent years, this album fell way short of the mark.
The topics on the album were, for the most part, too predictable and
cheap. A few of the production on the album maintained a continuous loop
throughout the song, suggesting a lack of proper liaison between
producer and artiste, resulting in poor arrangement. The album parades
international collaborations that are, frankly, more cosmetic than
musical. This album has more “babies” than a crèche; a few Ferraris and
Bugattis, and plenty “money spending” betraying a lack of serious
thought in the songwriting. Wizzy surely needs more music knowledge, and
extra hands to maintain the momentum he has attained at this point in
his career. I don’t think this album is special; and because to whom
much is given, much more is expected, this ranks among one of the
most disappointing albums released this year by a Nigerian.
This is my take.
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