So it appears this year is actually more loaded than it appears to be. Interesting things already happened, Burna’s dominance, Wizkid’s penetration with collaborations (aka, “Brown Skin Girl”), Davido hooking up with Chris Brown.
The most interesting part isn’t even about the big guys, it’s the number of new guys disturbing the airwaves, topping iTunes chart, and taking the shine away from even big A-list artists.
Don Jazzy‘s Mavins had to re-brand because artists at some point in time have to move on in their careers. Most of the core guys that made Mavins Mavins left. New artists, the only thing that can revive the label (that seemed to be struggling at the time.)
Fast forward to “All Is In Order”, and alongside Rema, the new star kid was another guy, an Afro-pop star element, called Crayon. He was like “Who I be a year ago? ”
Then, out of nowhere came the project that will further solidify his status as one of the hottest kids on the block, the 6-track “Cray Cray” Extended Play. It was mostly somewhat like a collaboration with Ozedikus and Baby Fresh, as the two talented producers worked on the songs, giving them a perfect vibe. A vibe Crayon could ride, and make something cool out of.
The “Cray Cray” album isn’t a compilation of dope freestyles like what Rema did, but it’s solid. Six full-fledged hit potentials, with some of the best products available right now and an artist that understands his craft.
Take the high tempo “Unusual” which features vocals from Baby Fresh, for instance. It wasn’t unusual, but the vibe is different, catchy lyrics, a perfect instrumental, and the best vocal you could possibly expect. A song like that is definitely an instant hit, with the proper promotion.
Or, say the more interesting “So Fine”, a regular vibe with Cray just expressing himself. It’s also, very catchy. It sticks, yeah. “How dare me not to respond?” And he actually sampled Kizz Daniel’s hook on “Gbayi.”
“Confidence” which is more like the highlight of the album, is a club banger with a mid-tempo ‘pon pon pon’ vibe that is just irresistible. It’s not every day Shalewa gets to call her friends, so they could have the time of their lives with Cray. You know.
“Aye O” is a hustle and motivational stuff, that keeps echoing ‘versatility’, tells us Crayon can do whatever he wants. Maybe the Victor AD’s don’t have a big edge over the star boy, after all.
And even though six tracks just went down, fans are already yearning for more of Cray. The videos are gonna keep us glued for now, but very soon we’ll definitely need the hits to start pouring.
That said, “Cray Cray” EP, is more than just a couple songs, it’s good vibes all over.
Rating: 4/5 (Smoking)