PS: #EndSARS
“I give it 100, nuh stop at 90”
-Wizkid feat. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley – Blessed
It’s crazy to think that Wizkid’s been in the music industry for almost, if not, ten years professionally now. I remember when I was in year 8 and “Pakurumo” was a popular track among my boys to the extent where we were doing our own remixes to the song (can you imagine loool). 9 years later from ‘Superstar’, his debut album released under Banky W’s record label (Empire Mates Entertainment) in 2011, Wizkid has released his fourth studio album entitled ‘Made In Lagos’. Between then and now though, Wizkid has released 2 albums and an EP: Ayo (2014), Sounds from the Other Side (2017) and Soundman Vol.1 (2019). It was ‘Ojuelegba’ on the ‘Ayo’ album, that catapulted Wizkid’s status from a continental to international superstar after Drake and Skepta made a remix of the song. * add
Initially meant to drop on 15th October 2020, the album release was delayed by 15 days due to the #EndSARS protests in which he took part in London. Nonetheless, Wizkid delivers a project which completely contrasts his former projects. Whilst previous projects had many upbeat party and dance type songs, this project brings a grown and mature Wizkid, with primarily low to mid-tempo songs centering around the topics of everything intimacy, life and love. This caught me off guard as I expected songs along the lines of ‘Jaiye Jaiye’ and ‘Pakurumo’, but in an interview with The Beat London, Wizkid says “he just wanted to make real music, nothing for the clubs”. This makes sense as in the interview he said he “hates clubbing”.
Wizkid begins the album with ‘Reckless’. ‘Reckless’ gives the feel of an opener to live band show inspired by afrobeat or any afro related genre. This is greatly due to the song’s main instrument being centred around woodwind instruments such as the saxophone. The lines of the bridge standout here ( “Some try, but they never scared nobody, yeah”/ “Badman like me, never fear nobody”). Burna Boy links up with Wizkid on a fuse of afrobeat and dancehall to make the girls feel good on ‘Ginger’. The first listen was slightly underwhelming as again I thought the track would at a much higher tempo as well as the switch up in Burna’s outro being all so sudden, but with more listens the way they bounce off each other is effortless. This is the first time Wizkid and Burna had linked up on a song in five years, which is crazy if you ask me.
Skepta represents the UK on ‘Longtime’. This is the third time the two have come together on a track. This is my favourite track on the album. With a similar flow to ‘Bad Energy’ being brought by Skepta to ‘Longtime’ along with the instrumental, the two tracks sound alike but not the same. Skepta’s relaxed flow on the verse sounds like a conversation between him and a girl he’s trying to get to know (“Smile on my face when she text back” / “Said she don’t wanna play games, I respect that”). Wizkid also smoothly boasts about the way he makes his lady feel too (“Yeah, she say badman, you make me feel so fine” / “Fine, fine”). I also liked the way Wizkid interchanged between Yoruba and English in his verses, giving the track a more African feel to a typical rap track.
Damian Marley, son of the legend Bob Marley features on ‘Blessed’. This track is easily the deepest on the album as they explore what they have been through in life, what it could have been, and how they are thankful for all they have in this time in their life. Although a typical reggae instrumental isn’t used here the rhythm is definitely felt. ‘“I give it 100, nuh stop at 90” is a standout line for me because it’s a reminder to give it your all in anything you do. Wizkid also offers life advice in the song (“So, make you live your life o jeje, no regret am”). In anything you do, people are bound to say something, so live a life which will make you happy. The reggae feels are continued on ‘Smile’ with an R&B touch. Featuring H.E.R., this song was released ahead of the album. The message is continued from ‘Blessed’ because with thankfulness and gratitude comes a smile. Wizkid is grateful for his sons and would do anything for them. (“Run inside a building up in flames just to be with my love/ (yea up in flames just to be with my love” as they also make appearances in the video, and he also dedicates the video to them. H.E.R. is also in awe of her relationship with her lover in the song as she expresses her adoration towards them.
A soothing guitar opens ‘Piece of Me’ and here is where the ‘lovemaking vibes’ start. Along with Ella Mai, the pair’s vocal tones are perfect to accommodate the beat. Ella Mai invites her lover to get piece of her as she sings “come and get it, come and get it baby”. This is undeniably one of the more sensual songs on the album which explore intimacy, a key theme on the project. ‘Gyrate’, also a song similar to the lines of ‘Piece of Me’ envisions a girl dancing in a suggestive manner. Let your mind make of that what it will.
‘Sweet One’ is another favourite and personally I feel it is underrated. A combination of a subtle saxophone, background guitar and percussion in the form of drums make the song a masterpiece from Wizkid. Wizkid conveys the way he feels, the way he feels about one girl and hopes she doesn’t leave. “Tasi wa, mo ni let nobody tasi wa o” which from Yoruba translates to “Don’t let anybody touch us” is a plea from Wizkid to not let anything or anyone come between the good thing they have going. ‘True Love’ allows the vocal talent of Tay Ivar and Projexx’s Jamaican influence to be heard very well.
‘Essence’ allows rising star Temsto display her soulful voice on a mellow instrumental. Whilst her voice is very distinctive and amazing, there feels like a mismatch of energy as Wizkid brings his naturally relaxed persona to Tems’ more passionate energy. Nevertheless, it is not a bad track. The track switch to ‘Roma’ immediately becomes more upbeat as Terri is given a chance to shine and he takes it, making this track a distinctive one on the album.
‘No Stress’ samples Amerie’s ‘1 thing’. The chorus is catchy and easy to sing along, but it might have been better if that was another project or released as a single on its own. The visuals to the song do not disappoint though. There would not have been a better song to close the album than ‘Grace’. With a complimenting afro-fusion instrumental,the track opens by Wizkid rapping, and effortlessly transitions to singing. “Dem no fi run my race/steady I dey in my lane” he says in pidgin, is resounding line that reminds people that everyone’s journey is different, and you must stay true to your own path.
This album shows Wizkid’s continuous growth over the years he has been making music. Whilst he has diverted from party anthems of his younger times (and to be honest I wish he put one or two on here), this album is a great fit for the stage he describes himself in life in his interviews. It is a more contemporary Wizkid sound and I feel this album will be referenced in years to come.
perspective of j.k.l. 