Asake- Work Of Art
An Album Review by Phiwe
Asake is bold, proud, talented and dangerous.Â
At first glance at the album tracklist, my instinct was to look for features. Which American or European artist did he drag along with him? To my surprise and as a chastisement to my preconceived notions of shallow belief in his individualistic prowess, there was only one feature, a fellow African who goes by Olamide. It instantly felt like a punctuation to Davido’s sentiments —that the African music scene has changed and there's no need for the big guns in the West to validate them— following the release of Timeless, his fourth studio album. These sentiments are self-evident in the African music status quo and echo throughout Asake's Work Of Art.
The rise, growth and popularity of Amapiano in the world has been beautiful to witness. Asake cannot exist outside a conversation that speaks to the contributors of that wave. Although he is an Amapiano fanatic, he has managed to transcend the genre beyond its original South African identity. Something that he does effortlessly. I'm tempted to say he is a born Afrobeat artist on Amapiano instrumentals, assuming there was any need to view him in isolation and label him. However, who cares for labels? His Amapiano and Afrobeat fusion is exquisite, well, at least for a man with an exquisite taste like me (insert: laughs at his own joke).
The songs range between 2:15 and 3:00 minutes, something I found interestingly strategic. It's akin to a very flamboyant dancer, who, although still has the crowd enchanted, knows when to leave the stage. It's also a transition that leaves you yearning for an encore. Unlike the original Amapiano, his deliveries don’t take time to drop. The beginning is an instant vibe as is the end. He incorporates a lot of instruments like the violin, saxophone, guitar and piano keys which create a harmonious blend with the Amapiano log drum signature sound. Kelvin Momo, one of my favorite artists in the Amapiano space, delivers an Amapiano dish served with jazz elements and complimentary, spiritual and soulful vocal toppings. Mr Money With The Vibe does the same with his incorporation of the classical violin. I believe it shows the growth and malleability of Amapiano as a genre, or rather, its flexibility when it comes to dancing with other genres. All this stands as a bold proclamation of African music to the world.Â
Of course, I have to pick favorites. The whole body of work does not keep me nodding and tapping away to its rhythms until it ends. Contrary to many who have celebrated the success of Amapiano, the single released before the album dropped, I failed to find the song as enticing. It took me back to the initial argument that lovers of the original Amapiano often raised; some Afrobeat artists have loosely washed down the original Amapiano and gotten away with it. While this is not bad in essence, because music is dynamic and genres are ever-evolving, I found the argument necessary in this context. The Olamide featured song could pass for an overdone freestyle. It is too simple for the sophistication that Asake possesses. If you are a big fan of the original wave of Amapiano, you know: the Scorpion Kings, you would be justified to call him out as doing a disservice to the genre here. That's also if we decide to juxtapose his artistry against metrics of the traditional Amapiano, which may also be too shallow of an assessment. The song might grow on me. Who knows? But, as a self-proclaimed Amapiano connoisseur, I reserve the right to hold him on that high critic. Go fight your ancestors!
Track number 4, Sunshine, stands out for me. It became an instant favorite. In most cases, ironically, when I listen to Asake, I’m often there for the vibes. The lyricism comes secondary mainly because sometimes he misses me with his Nigerian Yoruba. The jam sounds like a motivational piece; a typical every-little-thing-is-gonna-be-allright assertion. The feeling is encapsulated in a unified choral of backing vocals. I Believe is a sister to Sunshine, another personal favorite. I listened to the whole album while getting in a shoulder workout at the gym, and the melodies of Sunshine are pure bliss. As if that was not enough for a testimony that Asake is a menace with the vocals, in Track 5, Mogbe affirms his greatness. If you listen to the songs with a fade-in effect, where Mogbe fades in while Sunshine fades out, you would be convinced it's almost the same tune. Mogbe is a love song, a rendition that has a simple base of tap tap tap tap tap tap, to which I found myself uncontrollably tapping my foot too. With Basquiat, track 6 on the album, Asake challenges the notion that Amapiano always sounds the same. You can feel the same elements being used, but you can hardly point to where they were also used and how.
2:30, Awodi and Olorum are other notable mentions. Olorum is the peace needed before a late night's sleep after a long day battling demons in this physical world. Olorum is silence that speaks. It is a journey of hope. There's an allusion to his struggles, which makes him human, separating him from the big-time superstar image he has and making him relatable. It is the heart behind the Vibe in Mr Money with the Vibe. It speaks of the grace that abounds in this life and the goodness of the God he serves.Â
To put the icing on the cake, Mr Money gives us Lonely at the top, a fusion of traditional elements with recognisable, default, afrobeat instrumentals. He enters that terrain more profoundly with Yoga, Track 14. Track 14 is a unique, never been done feel. He transforms from his Amapiano proclivity and showcases his origins. In the song, he shifts you to where he's from and probably the sounds that influenced him from his tender years. It is a showmanship of versatility and proficiency. If music was a job, which in many ways actually is, he is the best man for it. Yoga is spiritual and a great way to close out the whole project.Â
Suffice it to say, in fear of being redundant, Mr Money is bold, proud, talented and dangerous. He is at the upper echelons of modern-day artistry. Protect him at all costs.
I hope you enjoyed the album as I did. This is my first-ever review of any piece of art and just things that I’m into. I would love to do more. Should I do more? I have always wanted to review even the books I read. Should I do it? Please let me know and don’t forget to leave a comment. Share this with anyone who’s jamming to the album.