A quick recap and assessment of what went down on Teni’s official debut project, “Billionaire.”
So, a couple people actually thought, although Teni is good, she probably shouldn’t have won “Next Rated”. But as we have it, it was a voting category, so it showed us what the fans really thought of her.
She’s kind of like an overnight success story, but she’s in no way a fluke, she actually knows the music. It’s one thing to know your onions, it’s another to be able to constantly prove that you do. Judging from what we’ve got in 2019, I’d say Teni has performed excellently.
A body of work like an EP, Playlist or Mixtape, or anything that doesn’t get called “studio album”, is usually just there to keep the artist in the mix of things, even as stuff move fast. Usually screams “I’m still f—— relevant!” And that’s exactly what Teni’s “Billionaire” Extended Play is. Whether she drops it or not, she’s still one of the fiercest this year. But that little project may be the thin between whether she stays relevant in years to come or she fades away, slowly. In shorter words, it’s not to be taken lightly.
Now let’s talk about the album and the music. OK, we know Teni’s got her sound, we’ve known since “Fargin” that she is a new breed of Afro and highlife mash-up, laced with some alcoholic’s hip-hop charisma. That’s what the sound is, and although sometimes, she may decide to be afro, or even dancehall or just that street that she really shouldn’t do, everything still comes down to that unique sound she exudes. And let’s not talk about the vibe.
“Nowo” the starter is the one that adequately demonstrates what Teni’s afro-highlife mash-up sound is. The vibe is slow tempo and there’s some random commentary like “olomoge askamaya”, reminiscent of Shina Peters. And then there’s Teni doing the highlife. Sounds like the kind of thing you do at a live show. Afro juju, if you will.
“Complain” which has more afrobeats kick, sounds like something she did with Skales and Leriq, months ago. Only slower. A rush is apparent. Everything for Teni, moves so fast, anyway.
“Shayo” has kinda the best vibe, with a catchy hook, for a street banger and it means Teni hasn’t lost her cred.
“Super Woman” is just there yet another wonderful tune to check out.
“Billionaire” is the highlight, has everything you could ask for. Love, prayers, quest for money, hope, assurance, name it. The EP was probably named after this track, and not the other way round.
Then she ends with a love number, “Online”. Well, Teni also knows how to appeal to the lovers, and doesn’t it just get better, each time?
Bottom line is, Teni’s Billionaire has all the good vibes. But she didn’t drop a banging album, she just dropped an album full of tracks that bang, individually. At the very least, the connection among the tracks, is missing.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Amazing!)