Dammy Krane is (or was?) one of the most talented acts in Nigeria. No doubt. BUT, this EP “Leader Of The Streets,” is nothing to DM home about. A shit full of poor materials, all yearning “You can do better, Krane!” Physical altercations and case of credit card theft doesn’t (shouldn’t) affect your craft. (Many legendary stuffs have been written from jail.)
The problem is, though, not every artist can pack loads of songs in a project, call it an outrageous name like EP or Mixtape, and actually make a dope shii (A round of applause for Wizkid and Mr Eazi!)
Dope artwork, but the 40-minute long “EP” finds Dammy Krane, a once belloved star with a bright future, experimenting (that’s what it’s called). BUT, that’s no good reason for making a mediocre of a project. Little wonder, he shy-ed away from calling this an “Album.” Why release shit? To stay relevant?
A substantial part of the 14-track project, Krane is trying to do the Wobey sound, that is taking over. He’s got “Bad and Buji,” a street tune which fails to impress anyone who heard Dammy Krane in those days (My Dear, Faleela etc.) “Shayo,” is also street, and the seemingly eponymous “Shaku Shaku.” About five songs from the EP has the Wobey signature.
“Down Low,” which features Ycee and L.A.X (meanwhile L.A.X has a new bang single called “Gbefun“), which has been released earlier, also failed to drive home a huge point.
Apart from that, the next highlight is “Ohema,” and it’s being pushed as a big single off the EP. The trappish “Credit Card,” and Afro “Prayer” also add up to the host of un-polished materials (junks) from the Album.
The wide array of genres Dammy Krane was tryna experiment, may also show that he still has the ability to make music for everybody. And the features, reminds us of his works with DMW, tailored with good chemistry. BUT, somehow he lost himself, while making this project. And that’s the only reason this project was titled “Leader Of The Streets.”
“Leader Of The Street,” however, shows us a promising artist (best new act) tryin’ to discover his sound. That, is not Dammy Krane. This EP is not Krane’s. It’s someone else’s.
Rating: 2.5/5 (O shi wa manageable)