OLOLADE ASAKE: THE SONIC TYRANT WITH AN AFFLUENT VIBE

We have upon us a whirlwind of talent and groover whose journey to the height of music stardom did not just start with the EP that shelters his gratitude mixed with flex tendency number, ''omo Ope''. It is more of an accumulation of insightful penetration well articulated by the right study of his consumers urgent needs without the fuss of dilemma of wanting to keep his stamp on what works for the immediate success and the backlash of using predominant sound to birth variation of thoughts in his head.

Copulating your talent with an enchanting appeal of easy delivery of range to keep an economic stagnated population busy with continuous playback of your project speaks audibly of your thoughtful attention to their listening span. That's the apogee of what any A&R and music strategist should strive to attain.

Less than two years after releasing Mr. Money - his affluent moniker, he released a remix with Zlatan and Peruzzi. At that point, it became crystal clear that his style redefines how the music and the business mind should reach a compromise. You listen to Asake's quirk of Fuji and you just get the feeling that he deserves to rebirth the 2008 GONGO ASO domination. That gusto of playability so terrific returns 14 years after - a long awaited renaissance of such ambience only 9ice, and maybe Adekunle Gold possess.

We are ushered into the spiritual clubbiness of his vibe with "Dull" the first announcement that his sound is not low on energy. Not leaving any stone unturned in his music hustle, he references his mother's life of comfort as enough reason to keep his head high. And for the start of what is used as his signature quirk - crowd chorus takes over the 1:14 long intro as we soon hear its amiable reuse throughout the album. Sooner than expected, we get a destructive title that truly captures his weapon like sound. As the penultimate single before album release, TERMINATOR puts listeners in a mood of familiarity with his sonic acclaim stretch. Bloated with his pride for his lingua finesse, with a sizeable sprinkle of pidgin English, the catchy hook spells out manly assurance while giving sweetened warning to his lover not to keep him waiting for long.

As if the inventory of songs before the album release disclosure wasn't coordinated, the heaviest of reminder certainly did. "Organize" resets the album listening on a path of likeness for his choicest flogging of Amapiano. As much as the percussion assisted South African beat sounds similar with every talk rap or name extolling as he pleases, it's almost impossible to fault the difference in message obtainable from each tune.

Still a go-to for disc jockey to get the music policy job done and the divine streetness that comes with his wondrous song title pick, Peace Be Onto You replays in our head, the racy jumpstart it got early July after its release as a single. Afro-Pop finds it way in on "Dupe" - a number of thanksgiving and felicitation reenacts his hard to deny description of his schtick - "heavenly sound from the street". "Shout Halle..., Cus you no get to give no mean say e too far" showcases his smart social standpoint. "What is difficult for you is also difficult for somebody. No dey emotion better face your grind and make money" is an audacious rebellion against screamers of privilege without any meaningful source of livelihood.

A deliberate attempt to show off his lover boy persona, the outcome is an invaluable dedication to his lover on "Muse". Whether a fictional or reality figure, you can tell his topical variation is effortlessly benign to listeners.

We could have appreciated a return to music trendiness for Slimcase on a song like "Joha" with his eclectic spitting of street panegyric. Add that to Asake's productive coordination of crowd chorus with his talky call and response. It's also noteworthy that the electric drums is rife with that Fuji-esque appeal that makes him ingeniously different from his peers.

When TG Omori tweeted about the greatness of one song he listened ofc the album (unreleased at that time), I automatically anticipated another adventurous three minutes. The highly talked about spiritualuty turned out to be "Nzaza". Its churchiness grants you full access into his discernable respect to his creator and how far he has brought him to this point of fame and enviable position.

The greatest desecration of his identity is to stop his insignia of effeminate voicing of OLOLADE mi Asake. As cheeky as it sounds, it carries the weight of the joy of listening. That reminder resurfaces on "Ototo" as he narrates the variety of purpose of humans in life. Retaining that celestial embodiment heard on Nzaza, albeit more issue-based addresses the individuality of problems and the need to buckle down to get them solved without placing them on unconcerned shoulders.

To the major feature on this album, American rapper Russ melts out the nicety of real hustle well documented on "Reason". As such, you begin to lose friends because your thought process demands investment and reinvention of self.

Sunmomi reveals his undeniable sensual quirkiness. Typical of the real of owners of Amapiano, he refuses to laden the beat with any verse. Just allowing the drummy piano express the intensity of dance needed. For marketability and streaming number, Burna BOY assisted "Sungba remix" ends a business-like album.

Replay value

It's one thing to put out a song that has an easy replay value. But making the timing so short still retaining that replay value is what we should learn from Asake, YBNL and the EMPIRE team.

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Exotic Grandstanding of his Amapiano variation

We all know this is the longest serving hit maker for Nigerians is not ready to back down from producer's files. And now, this 12 song album reinstates the longevity, that a stronghold on any type of beat bellies the undeniable fact that its usage is not climaxing anytime soon.

Album Sequencing

Sequencing includes defining the silence between songs, crafting fade-ins and outs between tracks and choosing the order of music on a release. No slander of any kind will be tolerated on this debut album regards this criteria. It is about the intelligent arrangement that sustains your interest.

Enticing Street Philosophy

In the pool of competitive street cred candidates, Asake's resplendent offering is unrivalled. Marked by the health dose of deep conviction that his Yoruba dialect can do whatever it instructs it to do emboldens the advantage he has.

One Way Magic

Picking MagicSticks as his main handler of production task yielded positive results, reviews and more. And maybe, just maybe the 16th Headies will be the easiest for organizers to pick Artiste Of the Year, Album of The Year and the toughest category; Song of the Year if Kizz Daniel's Buga stand down with lower votes.

I'll rate this album 9 outta 10.