Much of the accusations of monotony hinge on the sameness of Starboy's 'woman-worship'.
“Oya take all my money put am for your head oh…”
That was the saving grace of Starboy in Nigeria in 2017. Released late in the year, Starboy pulled himself from foreign alienation necessitated by his RCA deal, into local relevance and dominance. His counterpart and friend, Davido, had taken the year home already, but Wizkid burst through with that record.
Four months down the line, and two records later, Wizkid is being accused of lack of inspiration with his subsequent releases. According to conversations which have become increasingly louder on social media, there has been an alleged and increasingly noticeable monotony to his subsequent records. From ‘Soco’ to ‘Nowo’, people are of the opinion that the singer isn’t throwing his full creative ability into the record-making process.
But is it? Has Wizkid finally bitten the Apple of ‘Same-ness’? Has he joined the ranks of others who fallen foul of the art, dipped into their creative tank, and found no juice to draw? Has he?
‘Manya’ was a great record. From its conception to execution, Wizkid delivered freshness. Earlier in the year, his “Sounds From The Other Side” mixtape carried a diversity of sounds, bound together by his need to culturally experiment in the US. In Nigeria, he’s chasing a formula. Nobody saw ‘Manya’ coming, or anticipate the wave that it would create for Wizkid. Extracting inspiration from VIP’s 2003 hit record, ‘Ahomka Womu’, and infusing Igbo-driven Highlife Palmwine grooves, we finally had something on the home front.
‘Soco’ is interesting. His new record is titled ‘Soco’, and it features his new signee, Terri, alongside Ceeza Milli and Spotless. This marks the first time he is opening his platform and himself wide enough to upcoming artists.
The spellbinding Afrobeat fusion production, meanwhile, comes courtesy of Northboi, a new secret-weapon hitmaker who nobody has heard of in mainstream music, before this record. Just google his name, and you would only find this song as his major credit. This is another first for Wizkid, who is expanding his circle and sharing his riches. Why is this beat so damn perfect for Wizkid?
A heavyweight collaboration like this could easily overshadow all the lesser-known artists featured, rendering them irrelevant on the record. But this isn’t the case, as the verses allow them shine through, before the hypnotic-dance hook takes over. It’s all woman-worship, another formulaic theme. But they all come through, with the most melody-hugging flows. (“You make a man wanna smoke cannabis, now my head done reset, all I see na your waist, girl come manya make we dance oh..”)
‘Nowo’ is a different animal in sound. Wizkid and DJ Spinall found a new Latino beat to work their muscles. The entire makeup of the record draws from the percussion and strings of distant lands, fused with a local flow it’s pretty much fusion stuff.
‘Manya’, ‘Soco’ and ‘Nowo’ are different. There are two binding elements of the record; Wizkid and his thematic insistence on love, and woman-worship.
Much of the accusations of monotony hinge on these two. The relationship between Wizkid and women has been quite the fodder for much of the songwriting which Wizkid has relied upon for his art. He’s milked it through three different albums, occasionally stepping out for some new-new. But it’s been the same, for an extended period, and perhaps fans need more?
He has to listen. Sounds and melodies alone don’t make up the full product. Themes matter.