We promise the name
D’banj will not appear anywhere (again) in the course of this album review. Everyone and their mother is aware of how the whole
Mo’Hits saga played out and it would definitely serve no purpose rehashing the whole drama here. Besides
Don Jazzy
and his Mavin crew, having individually paid their dues as recording
artistes, deserve the right to be afforded a fair listen- absent all the
drama and the side taking.
So it follows that with the launch of the newest record label in town, the companion ensemble, ‘
Solar plexus’
was put out and has quickly become one of the most talked about records
in recent times. But beyond all the hype and all the nay-saying, how
does the record stack up?
There’s good news and there’s bad. ‘
Solar plexus’
is not as terrible as its detractors would want you to believe, but
don’t get all hot and bothered just yet, it is also not as good as it’s
proponents think it is. Here’s why;
The fierce album art, alongside Don Jazzy’s previous production
pedigree set us up for a massive tour de force but the anthemic first
single, the all-star ‘I’m a mavin’ quickly shatters such misbegotten
expectations. While it is a mandatory album starter and must have looked
good on paper, it fails completely as the song that defines them as a
team. Sure the jubilant horns and lavish beats are brilliant, the
problem sets in when someone opens their mouth to sing- and it happens
way too soon. While the rest of the posse can be forgiven for their weak
delivery, it is hard to let Wande Coal, the most gifted singer of the
lot off the hook. He finds it difficult to rise above the bland material
and fails to shine where he should have done so effortlessly. They sing
lines like ‘
When we step out to the street there’s an ovation/we always ready so we rise to the occasion’. Well, if it helps them sleep better, fine but no one rose to this occasion.
The trouble with
Wande continues on “see mi ri’’ the
first of his three solo offerings. It is a dreadful pseudo-high life
number that has Mr Coal whining like a second rate
Duncan Mighty
about real and perceived enemies. By this time, those who have been
waiting for him to step up and lead the charge after all these years of
playing second fiddle to
he-who-must-not-be-named must be exasperated. We want to hear the Wande Coal of ‘Mushin to Mo’Hits’ and not that of ‘private trips’.
That Wande briefly surfaces in ‘
Forever’, a scorching number
that sees him laying some impressive vocal sprints on top of the
keyboards and synthesizers which the producer employs to superb results.
By the end of the song, when the don cameos with his gravel-coated
adlibs, we are transported briefly to those good old times.
But nothing lasts forever and the album continually struggles to hit this plateau.
D’Prince
squanders a decent, thumping beat on ‘why you over there’, a misfire
that the ladies should take particular offence at. They should however
be prepared to accommodate his
‘take banana’ as the combination
of irresistible, hard-hitting beat, puerile lyrics and a simple
repetitive chant makes it destined for club banger status. None can stop
this one.
Dr Sid tries for his own club banger with ‘
YOLO’ and while it definitely has all the components, thing is we’ve heard the better version on
D’ Prince’s throbbing ‘
Give it to me’ from two years back. He then attempts to go the euro dance route on ‘
CPR’, a song that sounds like it belongs on a
Britney Spears
dance record. He possesses neither vocal prowess nor technical
advantage to pull it off and it falls flat but still, for daring to
venture out of his comfort zone, he gets a C+ for effort.
And
Tiwa Savage? In her solo entry, ‘
Oma ga’
she doesn’t so much sing as she zips through the lyrics. We meet her as
she chides a straying cad and put him in his place. With the airy,
flutey intro, synthetic beat and lines like
toh ba ti ri mi won shiver/Omo Savage oh diva, it is the grittiest song she’s ever done and she delivers it with relish, turning up the
razzin her . It does not quite compare to her solid trifecta of radio hits but it gets the job done.
‘Solar plexus’ comes across as a vanity project for Don Jazzy to
prove he’s still got it after all that happened and unfortunately
everyone else is relegated to second place. His beats and production
values are never found wanting, easily the brightest parts of the
project but they keep getting in the way of his star performers who
appear to have left their A-game at home.
There’s something to be said for talent and hard work, a good beat
alone never made a song great. As an all-out unabashed dance record, it
works in many parts but we already know
Don Jazzy is capable of making a fierce dance record. We kind of expected more.
The female voice on the intro defines mavin as a person exceptionally
skilled in any field, a person with special knowledge or ability who
performs skillfully; synonymous with hot shot, superstar, sensation,
genius, champion. After 11 tracks of highs and lows, brief crescents and
dismal plateaus, only one question comes to mind and it is this, where
are the mavins?
Written by Wilfred Okiche
follow him on twitter @drwill20
