Trying to chase my dreams, but Lagos traffic made it slow.” If you haven’t listened to Olamide before, you might be surprised when you press play on his latest studio album, UY Scuti. The 32-year-old singer goes on full lover boy mode, with pop-heavy melodies that showcase his musical versatility.
Why was Olamide singing about Lagos traffic, or falling in love with people? Well, the answer might be found in the question: why is he releasing another album just 9 months after the critically acclaimed prequel, Carpe Diem? Olamide’s life as a musician is constantly pregnant with ideas. He is not a fully commercial singer; the Yoruba-based singer is a heavily experimental artiste who likes to explore different ideas and sounds in his project.
“Dem no fit wear agbada for mosquito,” he sings on the album’s lead single, Rock, showcasing his evergreen loyalty to more common street phrases and slangs, while exploring a unique style of pop. Olamide is and has always been a didactic singer, with his discography belly-filled with songs like Melo Melo, Eni Duro and others.
Widely acclaimed as the evangelist of the gospel of street hop, Olamide bares a very refined mainstream pop style in this album. The record also flushes with unpopular names, such as Fave and Lady Doe, but the vibrancy in the vocals are perfect for the RnB/Pop groove Olamide creates in this playlist.
Olamide is one artiste, who constantly uses his compilation projects as a launch pad for the country’s talented emerging artistes, and Bad Boy Timz, Omah Lay, among others have been beneficiaries.
Somehow, this album feels like a move to expand into the pop-saturated global market, but really it is a testament of Olamide’s versatility and skill. The most outstanding thing about UY Scuti is not just Olamide’s mellow sing-rapping, but his emotionally pregnant songwriting, which is obvious from his English-dominated lyricism – a rare expression used by Olamide.
Interestingly, the Southwest king taps the King of the East, Phyno, in this project, showcasing the Igbo-speaking artiste in a largely unusual manner as Phyno rapped mostly in English in this project. Coincidence?