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8/29/2020 Comments

Thank you, Chadwick Boseman

Chadwick always seemed larger than life. His infectious smile lit up the screen and sort of just warmed your heart. His work inspired us to dream, to dare, to be more. 42 was the first film about black history in America that I ever saw, and when Black Panther was released in 2018, I had never been more proud to be black.
Chadwick was the epitome of black excellence. He showed us that being black is a gift long before the world said it was okay to be black.
Chadwick, thank you. It was a privilege to watch you. We will miss you on our screens. We will miss you in our hearts, but I couldn't be more thankful that you are in a better place where colon cancer can never hurt you again. You're with the One who loves you more than life itself and that makes me happy.

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8/25/2020 Comments

Afropop Vol 1: AG Baby is Our Baby

Adekunle Gold's transformation from Adékúnlé Gold of Gold, his debut album, to AG Baby of Afro Pop, Vol. 1 is a curious case of Benjamin Button syndrome. You know...because he aged his image backwards. He even has "baby" in his new moniker. 😂
But this transformation, this reverse-aging, is not necessarily a bad thing. I loved the Adékúnlé Gold of Gold and so did my parents. His sound transcended generations such that every time we were on a long drive, my dad would request his album with excitement. However, his new sound is transcendent, in its own way. After all, it is very telling of Adekunle's talent that he is able to transform so radically and yet, remain quite relevant.
Let's see what he packed into this album, shall we?

"AG Baby": This song is a perfect, perfect introduction to this new Adekunle Gold. It's a new sound, yes, but beneath the backing track, you can hear stirrings of sax that remind you of the agbada-clad Adékúnlé Gold and it's heartwarming. One can't help but join Nailah Blackman to encourage him: "Eh, eh, AG Baby, don't stop."
"Sabina": The track production on this song is breathtakingly innovative. I cannot say the same about the chorus, though. We kind of see Adekunle descend into his usual, repetitive chorus strategy and it works against this song. In the verses, though, especially verse one, where he decides to take a risk, it pays off and his lyrics land perfectly.
"Pretty Girl" : This song is MAD! Patoranking's hook kind of sounds like the beginning hook of Burna boy's "Ja Ara E", but I'm not even mad because this song takes it to the next level. The girl power in this song is Beyonce's "Brown Skin Girl"- level and it warms my heart. I can't help but compare this to the disaster that was Burna Boy's "Comma" (read more here). My only issue with this song is that it gets a little repetitive about three-quarters into the song and it starts to drag, but only a little.
"Okay": Okay, Uncle Kunle, I see you. When I was listening to this song to review it, I kept trying to type, but the song won't let me. It was like, "I'm not done with you yet. Vibe some more." This is my favorite song on the album. It's so beautifully Adekunle Gold, especially those lyrical rhymes in the chorus. Hmmm!
"Here for Ya": One of my favorite things in the world is when an afro song has a beat drop. Please, which smoothie is Pheelz drinking to fuel his creativity and do they do international shipping?
"Exclusive": This song is the most pop-sounding on the entire record and it does not do Adekunle justice. At all. We all know this: Adekunle Gold's voice has a melody of its own. So when you mix it with a very pop-ish, melodic production like the one on this song, it legitimately sounds like choir practice gone wrong. Especially that chorus. If you don't believe me, compare it to when Olayinka Ehi comes in on verse two. See how well her voice falls in with the melody of the backing track? The song is dope; I just really wish they let her sing the chorus. I feel like it would have taken this track to "AG Baby" status.
"Firewood": This song is okay. It's one of those songs that you either really like or just don't really care for. You can't dislike it because it's not bad. It's just...there.
"Something Different": This song has over 3 million streams on Spotify and I understand why. Everything in this song just lands: the beat, the melodies, the lyrics, the message, you name it. In some ways, one could argue that Adekunle Gold's transformation has not allowed for the deep messaging of songs like "Ire" or "Fame" to shine through. But in "Something Different," we see a glimpse of that soulful songwriter and it's satisfying.
"Water Carry Me": This song is so satisfying. It's like eating rice and stew from a buka. It's not some fancy gourmet dish, but it's classic and it's sweet and you hate when it finishes.
"My Ex": Sometimes you don't have enough words, so you rely on emojis to convey your message: 😁😁😁😁

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8/23/2020 Comments

Twice As Tall? It's Your Call.

Before Twice As Tall began streaming, I had read quite a few reviews - all of them brimming with praise for Burna Boy's latest body of work. Then I listened to the album and I couldn't quite believe my ears. This is it? I wondered aloud to myself and my brother as the album played loudly on the car stereo. But I swallowed my disillusion and decided to listen again. This time, I sat with my headphones and my fingers poised above the keyboard:

"Level Up (Twice As Tall)": This track is nuanced: everything from the sampled Pat Boone's "Twice As Tall" intro to the track chorus sang by Youssou N'Dour to Burna's verses. As different as these parts are, the production does a great job of transitioning one to the other with the seamlessness of an orchestra directed by a masterful conductor (in this case, Diddy). With headphones on and genius.com open, this track is an experience, one that leaves you feeling contented.
But without headphones, the seamless transitions are lost. The track plays like a kaleidoscope of sounds and not in a good way. And without Genius Lyrics, the message falls flat. Burna Boy's enunciation is buried so far beneath the melodic quality of his voice in this track. While he might have gotten away with that on a song like "Ye" or "Anybody," enunciation matters here, and for the first track of the album, "Level Up (Twice As Tall)" could have been better produced.
"Alarm Clock": The transition from "Level Up" to "Alarm Clock" is production quality at its finest. But then "Alarm Clock" begins, and it's just weird until Burna shows up around the 35th second and saves this track from being a waste of two minutes.
"Way Too Big": When Burna Boy says he is way too cool, way too smart and way too big, you actually believe him, against your better judgement. Maybe it's because he believes it, so it sounds more like #facts than bragging. Or maybe it's because this track lands perfectly with a cool union of Burna's melodic voice and a sweet blend of afro-infused beats and electronic sounds. And oh my gosh, what was that incredible saxophone/guitar solo at the end?
"Bebo": This has been proven over and over, but once again, "Bebo" shows that no one brings the vibe like Burna does. If Burna Boy is trying to pass some deep message in this track though, it is lost beneath the vibe.
"Wonderful": This is, perhaps, my favorite song on the whole album. Although Burna boy has many songs that make you want to dance, "Wonderful" makes you want to twirl around in reckless abandon. There is a kind of breezy, weightless delight to "Wonderful." These are not adjectives one would typically attribute to Burna, but there you have it. There is an unaffected joy that this song brings out, and it's infectious.
"Onyeka (Baby)": I have mixed feelings about this track. I really want to like it, but I don't think even Burna likes this song. It feels just a little empty, except maybe at the beginning of verse two.
"Naughty by Nature": Perhaps the most inspired decision of this entire album was to feature the hip-hop band, Naughty by Nature, on this track. The production blend of hiphop and groovy afro beats was such a pleasure to listen to. But maybe someone should tell Burna Boy that it's okay if someone does not gbadun him. (P.S. Did you guys peep that nursery rhyme addition in the post-chorus? Masterful!).
"Comma": Is it just me or is this track hecka problematic? No, you know what? I don't care if it's just me. This song is so problematic, it's not even funny. I'm a little upset that no critic mentioned the misogynistic undertones of this song. Burna Boy claims to be so enlightened and all about "black power," but I guess that power is limited to black men. Because, you know, black girls can have "comma."
Maybe I won't be so mad if the examples that he gives in the song, girls with enhanced breasts and unevenly bleached skin, do not stem from deep insecurities and unattainable Western standards of beauty. Burna had a chance on this song to uplift black women, but he goes the opposite direction.
Two guys writing, producing, and singing a song about the physical flaws of a hypothetical woman who (obviously) cannot defend herself is so indicative of our real world power dynamics that you can't help but wonder how anyone thought this track was okay for release. I could write a whole epistle but let me come down from my soapbox and review the rest of the album. Also, just...thank God for Genius Lyrics. If not, that's how someone will be dancing to rubbish lyrics.
"No Fit Vex": This is one of the most moving tracks of this entire album so far. When Burna sings from his heart, everything changes: The song goes deeper than the vibe. Even his voice changes and you can hear him enunciate almost every syllable. It's human. It's deep. It's liberating and it's Burna Boy at his finest.
"23": This album is chock-full of lyrics in which Burna Boy proclaims himself as the best, larger than life, and you know, "twice as tall," but on "23," it's different. He's expressing himself and it's beautiful. Plus, the track production is set up so beautifully around his voice that it makes you wonder how good he'd sound on a ballad.
"Time Flies": Sweet, sweet music, period.
"Monsters You Made": If "Comma" is a misogynistic mess, "Monsters You Made" is a woke work of art. Every time I hear this song, I shiver at the pain and anger in Burna Boy's voice because I know he is merely echoing the pain and anger of a billion other people.
"Wetin Dey Sup": I just...I don't really know what to do with this song.
"Real Life": The richness of Stormzy's tone is undeniable, but the message of this song is the loudest and most stunning part of this track: an encouragement to really live.
"Bank On It": Wow. Just, wow. Everything about this song is a hit: the touching intro, Burna's amazing rhymes, the seamless transitions and that sweet harmony at the end. What a great way to end the album! I can vibe to this song all day and I will.

Twice As Tall? You decide.

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8/20/2020 Comments

APOLLO Review: Fire hasn't dimmed just yet

Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps is a tough act to follow. I didn't actually review it, but I don't think I needed to: we were all kind of in awe of Fireboy DML's genius.
APOLLO is miles away from Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps and I have mixed feelings about that. In some ways, that's a great thing because #growth, yet I can't help feeling nostalgic for the magic and, dare I say innocence, embodied in his debut album. Let's review the album track by track, shall we?

"Champion": I don't want to take away from the beauty of this track, because it is, in fact, beautiful. At least the beginning melodies. When D Smoke comes in, the vibe changes and it almost feels like a different song. But that is not my main beef with this track. It is the lyrics. Perhaps if another artist was singing verse one, it would sound like self-empowerment, but in Fireboy's voice, it just reads like self-importance and it doesn't land. Sorry.
"Spell": I had high expectations for this track as soon as I saw Wande Coal was featured on it. But I have to be honest: nah. The lack of depth in this song is its main problem. Perhaps the idea was to do something fun and lighthearted, but ko werk, especially when they both go into (strained) falsetto as if they are singing about a deep something.
"ELI": The level of artistry in this song is very, very cool. The flute sounds, the electric guitar, and the drizzled topping of afro-beats makes this track a very, very smart choice for a single.
"Tattoo": I hate how cool the arrangement of this song is because I can't sing it. It's so vibey but the lyrics are very explicitly sexual. So, not for me.
"Favourite Song": This track has my favourite production of the entire album. Ironically, it is unlikely to be a favorite with die-hard afro-something fans. But this song is the first on the album to show me the Fireboy DML I've been waiting for. There is a little bit of Michael Jackson, a little something of Marvin Gaye and even more surprisingly fun, a Macarena chant subtly playing in the background. "Spell," please take note: this is how you do something fun and lighthearted.
"New York City Girl": I didn't think any song could top the feels that Fireboy served us in "Need You," but "New York City Girl" is everything and more. I'm not from New York City, but if I was, I swia, no one will hear word.
"Lifestyle": I hate to say it. I hope I don't sound ridiculous but I think Fireboy could do much, much better than this track. Sorry to this track.
"Airplane Mode": This song is so Fireboy DML, it takes my breath away. His voice soars on this track. When Fireboy is singing from his heart, when he is not putting on the "I'm-the-best" airs that artists feel like they need to put on, that's when he shines. That's when his light is so bright, it almost hurts your eyes. Fireboy's light shines so bright in "Airplane Mode." It's deep, it's Fireboy-lyrical, and it's dope. Everytime he says "on my own" in the chorus, his voice breaks a little and it's one of the best things I have ever heard.
"24 (Interlude)": There's a message here but I can't seem to figure it out. Is he talking to himself? Is he talking to young twenty-somethings who are still trying to figure life out? I don't know, but maybe that's the point. Either way, it's a perfect interlude.
"Dreamer": How beautifully produced, how lyrically moving, how heartbreakingly perfect is this song. That's not a question. It's a statement. Fireboy DML makes a statement all over this track and leaves us begging for more.
"Afar": Early 2000's feel, anyone? I will only say three things about this track because we'll spend the entire day here if I don't limit myself: Uno, I'm pretty sure I have never heard Olamide rap in English and I'm kinda in love. Dos, the depth in this song is unreal. Tres, Fireboy's voice sounds so good in this track, it's like spicy noodles. Sorry, one more thing, Fireboy, ma pa mi nau.
"Go Away": How can one song make me want to dance and ugly-cry at the same time? What can I do to make it go away? I guess I could skip to the next track, but...I think I'm addicted. Everything about this song is so well thought out. Even "ye," the ad-lib chosen for the chorus is the same sound one makes when in pain or when you love someone who doesn't love you back.
"Shadé": What is it about Shadés/Sadés that makes Nigerian artists sing for them? There are other names in the world (like Ronke, for example). Just saying. 🙄
"Friday Feeling": Perhaps the coolest sequence on this album is the transition from "Shadé" to "Friday Feeling." This is obviously a dance track, but it lands in that magical way that only Pheelz and Fireboy DML know how to create. "Pheelz, ma pa mi nau" is the best line of this entire album, period.
"God Only Knows": I just want to listen to this song over and over without having to come up with words to match how it makes me feel. But... must be nice to be a muse.
"Sound": The verses in this track sound like the first verse of "Feel," yet it still sounds fresh. Guys, guys, guys, I think that Fireboy is telling us that he can regurgitate the same sound and we will still vibe to it because he is the APOLLO of sound. And um, he is not wrong...yet.
"Remember Me": Deep lyrics, check ✔️. Crazy beats, check ✔️. You guys, there is an actual beat drop in this song. Talk about ending the album on a bang!

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Thank you, Chadwick Boseman

Afropop Vol 1: AG Baby is Our Baby

Twice As Tall? It's Your Call.

APOLLO Review: Fire hasn't dimmed just yet

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