Prettyboy D.O excellently showed his versatility and depth on the Love is War Album.
Around this time two years ago, Prettyboy D-O had already motioned towards his sophomore album, getting the hype train running less than a year after his well-received debut LP and here his versatility and depth on the ‘Love is War’ Album cannot be overlooked.
The album was to be titled Pretty World, and its lead single was the unruly and infectious banger, “Dey Go Hear Wehh.”
As we all know by now, that album didn’t materialize at least not in the form we expected.
Last year, though, D-O released Wildfire, an impressive EP that consolidated on the rap plus dancehall, and everything in between, genre-mashing antics of his debut album and happened to be one of last year’s best projects.
After this long and fulfilling detour, though, Prettyboy D-O’s sophomore full-length has finally arrived, on schedule with recent announcements.
Titled Love is War, D-O described the new album as a declaration of peace in a recent interview, and he’s still very much invested in self-portraiture through his music.
“I’m just telling the story of a guy in Nigeria,” he says. Love is War was preceded by live listening/performance sessions in several major cities around the world, an indicator of the fanbase he’s amassed over the years and indicators of his expansive intentions for the album’s acceptance.
It’s also reflected in the tracklist, which features Nigerian pop superstar Davido, UK rap star Pa Salieu, and American experimental singer IAMDDB.
D-O is also joined on the album by Nigerian singer Nissi, as well as rapper and close collaborator MOJO.
Including pre-released singles, “Police n Teef” and “Falling,” Love is War comprises fourteen tracks and clocks in at a relatively brisk 41-minute runtime.
In the final quarter of 2018, Prettyboy D-O released his debut album, ‘Everything Pretty’, to critical acclaim.
The year before, he captured ears with “Peter Piper,” the fun and lascivious single that effectively set the ball rolling on his career.
Subsequent singles, “Footwork,” “Itty Bitty” and “Chop Elbow,” drew more people into his expansive musical approach and distinct identity, showcasing D-O as an artist who embodied both frivolous and socially conscious expression with the same level of conviction.
It also helped that his blend of dancehall and rap cadences instantly sounded unique coming from him.
’Everything Pretty’ crystallized all of D-O’s tendencies, as well as an unyielding ethos, into an emphatic debut album.
The music not only matched the antics that made him seem riotous, but it also enhanced that persona. These days, D-O’s artistic bonafides are undoubted.
His voice, which can shapeshift from guttural to pleasantly absurd, his genre-mashing style of music, and his zany fashion choices have afforded him a unique lane in the Afropop zeitgeist.
Last year’s ’Wildfire’ built on the convincing display of its predecessor, subtly expanding the boundaries of D-O’s musical identity and reinforcing how much of an unrelenting force he is.
As he’s been teasing all year long, D-O has finally released his debut album, ‘Love is War’. He’s been clearing out space for the new LP with the release of “Living in Bondage,” “Police n Teef” and, more recently, the IAMDDB-assisted “Falling.”
Considering his reputation from previous projects, expectations for the new D-O album are sky-high.
An honorable mention for me would be “Police n Teef,” I feel like the song isn’t as big as it should be but then again it’s a banger.
Well, this is a tough one, I wasn’t able to firmly pick a song as a favorite but a few songs do stand out for me: “Rodman Style,” “Kumbaye” and “Lord protect my steppings.”
I don’t have the best song, but it’s between 3 songs: “Like me,” “Lord protect my steppings” and “Broke Boys FC,” it’s really hard to pick one song because the album is quite good.
Ratings:
Production quality
Tracklisting
Songwriting
Intro
Outro
70%
70%
80%
80%
70%
Mid = 0.00
Average = 0.01
Good = 2.5
Excellent = 2.5
Conclusion:
Mp3bullet gives the EP 80% (Good) general rating