Gorgeous diva EMMA NYRA drops the long anticipated video – Everything I do featuring one of the most sought after artists, Iyanya, presented to you by Triple MG. The Everything I do musical video leaves you with one feeling… making you fall in love over and over again. Awesome performance from label mates Emma Nyra & Iyanya as this is
one of the biggest love music videos released this year. The location,
scenes, costumes… Brilliant! Video directed by Mr. Moe Musa
CAUTION: You might hear the word/name ‘Ronaldo’ in every song
on this album, do not be offended. Apparently Iyanya Mbuk is a desperate
fan of the soccer star.
We will not waste time debating about the angle
Iyanya and his
team had in mind when creating his sophomore album. We’ll go ahead and
hit the nail on the head by labelling ‘Desire’ a near-monstrous
disappointment simply because the Project Fame winner refused to push
his art, making the LP feeble, unfulfilling and far from adventurous.
Notwithstanding
‘Desire’ might be the most commercial album of
the year, if caution is not exercised. The LP not only houses the hits
that catapulted Iyanya to the top of the music food chain, it also
features celebrated producers and guest appearances from international
pop act D’banj, Mavin beauty Tiwa Savage, high-life prince Flavour to
star-boy Wizkid. Is it all hype? Digest this track to track review:
Badman (feat. M.I): Interestingly, Iyanya’s debut album ‘My
Story’ opened with M.I on the R&B/Hip Hop track titled ‘Gbadun You’.
Yet again, he employs Mister Incredible to kick off the ceremony on his
sophomore album with the daring
ragga tale about
surviving hate tagged ‘Badman’. Iyanya proves he is indeed the leading
man as he rides the Mr. Chido beat like a hot knife slicing through ice.
The track which is complimented by M.I’s bars will surely leave tongues
wagging.
Ekaette (feat. Tekno): Ekaette loves to dance, and so do we.
The chorus of the song sealed the destiny of becoming a moderate club
hit at least despite the very
blonde lyrics and production similar to Kcee’s ‘Okpete’.
Gasegbe: Iyanya refuses to leave the corner of the box he is
thinking in and it results in another production driven number.
‘Gasegbe’ might be catchy when you are under the influence but on a
regular day, it is simply unmemorable.
Marry Me: The lyrics of this mid-tempo romantic ballad are a bit controversial as the vocalist sings;
‘Do you remember the way dem they criticize our matter for Twitter? For you love my dear, girl I surrender…’ Tonto
Dikeh or Yvonne Nelson? Well the much-desired singer belts to his lover
to marry him regardless of observers’ opinions. Lovely tune.
Flavour: Retouched for the album is the third lead single off
the album ‘Flavour’. D’tunes magic fingers are to be blamed for the
strength of this number. It’s a fusion of highlife and francophone music
showcasing ear-teasing strings, trumpets, drums and piano. Iyanya
shines on this cut.
Limbo: In less than 3 minutes, Iyanya delivers yet another
empty but promising up-tempo dance number. Yet, Young D’s stellar production saves the day and makes up for Iyanya’s flaws.
Whine (feat. May D): Iyanya and May D fall hands with ‘Whine’.
Their collision gives birth to a lyrical joke and the beat marks the
start of the monotonous track.
Jombolo (feat. Flavour): Kudos to Flavour, the high-life royal brought it on this cut. That said, either it is outright
laziness or Iyanya just wanted to sample almost the same chorus used by Ay dot com and Timaya for the fast rising hit
‘Jogodo’. Whatever the case, we cannot get past it…
Some More (feat. Yung L): Grip Boy ‘Yung L’ makes a memorable appearance on ‘Some More’. Creamy vocals, nice delivery…
Ur Waist (feat. Emma Nyra): ‘It’s D’tunes again oh’ and
Iyanya wants ‘Ur Waist’. Challenging and sonically daring, Iyanya
pushed boundaries with this track and it paid off big time.
I Gat It: The only low-tempo or slow song in the bunch, is a love ballad’ titled ‘I Gat It. Iyanya reminds us that he can sing.
Somebody (feat. Tiwa Savage): Reminiscent of ‘Flavour’ is the
Tiwa Savage assisted ‘Somebody’. The over usage of auto-tune or vocoder
on Savage’s vocals comes off a bit unpleasant to the ears. However the
duo
‘jonze’ around and Iyanya disses singers as he interrupts Tiwa Savage’s vocal runs and tells her to stop over-singing saying:
‘…Hold it! That one no they pay oh!’
Little Things: Shockingly he shines like a little diamond as
he sings on ‘Little Things’. D’tunes showcases his versatility as a
producer as he abandons his xylophone which has being over-used already
on the album.
Sexy Mama (feat. Wizkid): Wizkid steals the entire show on the
heavy ‘Sexy Mama’. He even sang roughly 80% of the song, thereby
putting Iyanya in the shoes of the featured artiste. D’tunes again
brought his A-game though the track still sounds very rushed, forced and
makes Iyanya look out of place.
Kukere: ’Kukere’ redefined ‘Iyanya’ as an artiste. It became
the un-official anthem for the dance ‘Etighi ‘and was arguably the
biggest song of 2012. Iyanya and D’tunes experimented and broke sound
barriers resulting in a classic. Yes! Kukere is timeless.
Your Man (feat. Vector): It seems the closing minutes of the
albums have some gems: starting with ‘Your Man’, which features an
exceptional rap verse from Vector. Iyanya returns to his ‘My Story’ form
on the 16
th track. It’s a feel good R&B number that is made that much more soothing with the background vocals.
Drowning: Tee Y Mix crafted what might be the best song on
‘Desire’. Despite the title, Iyanya soars far above the ocean level on
‘Drowning’. He makes camp on the dance-pop beat, flaunting his rich,
silky, and falsetto singing voice. He belts deep lyrics about the
heartache because by the absence of his love.
Kukere (Remix) feat. D’banj: The end of Iyanya’s ‘Desire’ is
the mega remix to the lead single featuring G.O.O.D music recording
artiste D’banj. The remixed track aims to please the high men of the
society.
Bust My Brain: The bonus track is a brilliant ragga song sampling classic ragga/dancehall numbers.
‘Desire’ is a jam-packed with very shallow and monotonous club and
radio friendly cuts which will hold grounds individually but as a body
of work, it falls flat on its face.
Random Fact: Iyanya means ‘Desire’ in English language.
Reviewed by Ogaga Sakpaide [ @Ogagus ]
