MY TOP 10 SONGS OF 2ND QUARTER 2017

1.THAT RANGE ROVER CAME WITH STEPS-DJ KHALED FEAT FUTURE & YO GOTTI

2.MULA GANG-LIL WAYNE FEAT JAY JONES,HOODY BABY AND EURO

3.MAMA-JONAS BLUE

4.7MIN FREESTYLE-21 SAVAGE/TOP-ACE HOOD

5.GOZIE-TRAFIC FEAT 2 BABA

6.PICTURE PERFECT-WIZKID

7.RUN IT BACK-TYGA FEAT YOUNG THUG

8.GET A BAG- G EAZY FEAT JADAKISS

9.NTSEWEMPU-D'BANJ FEAT BUCIE & BUSISWA

10.EA$T SIDE GHOST-ASAP TWELVYY

THE MUSIC FINALLY DOES SOME TALKING FOR THE MAN: A REVIEW OF D'BANJ'S KING DON COME ALBUM

Of all major nigerian artistes,D'banj has thrived more off the viability he has engrained into his brand than the quality of his music.As a matter of fact,Dapo Oyebanjo alongside erstwhile producer and business partner,Micheal 'Don Jazzy' Enebeli taught the Nigerian music industry the full art of musical branding.They rocked the first platinum chains, made friends in the highest places,bought the flyest cars,set the 7 figure A-list minimum wage and basically introduced the rockstar element to our music industry.

Building a wall around themselves and keeping interaction and working relationship with other artistes at the barest minimum didn't get them hated,it deified them.Even P-Square who had more hits than their entire label combined couldn't boast being so much a force.

They both got signed onto Kanye's GOOD Music before breaking up and after that for D'banj came endorsement deals with Beats by Dre and Ciroc,rumours he was dating billionaire daughter,Adama Indimi,being received by a bevy of sexy ladies at London's Heathrow airport ahead of his UK tour and more recently,a secret marriage and child birth.He has managed to keep us talking about everything except the music which hasn't been quite impressive to say the least.Yet he signed a global distrubution deal with Priority Records and had an interview with Ebro on beats1 before this album dropped.That is how potent the D'banj brand is.It does the talking more than the music ever does.

The biggest question King Don Come had to answer was whether we were going back to talking about the man's music or stay talking the man without the music.

Lets see.

1.ITS NOT A LIE FEAT WANDE COAL AND HARRYSONG

This was released as a single a couple of months ago and it gave the impression that he had been working really hard on his craft.It was an out-of-the-box effort that ticked all the right boxes.The man once said he was not a singer or rapper but an entertainer.What way to prove that than talking magnificiently through the whole first verse.Harrysong blended the highlife element into this song perfectly and having him on the song was a nice touch.

2.BE WITH YOU

Another single we heard just before.Its no secret; D'banj can't ACTUALLY sing.Having him base content on his chord-pulling abilities wasn't a wise decision.Its a very weak effort.One that leaves you feeling you deserve to be rewarded for listening to the end.

3.TE NECESITO

Banga Lee was onto something with the concept for this song and its really sad it doesn't get properly breathed life into.The latin and french on the chorus have a great pull that he fails to sustain afterwards and leaves you feeling dropped from a skyscrapper high.

Take out that part and its a numb walk through what had the potential to be a much better song with a little more focus on depth.

4.EL CHAPO FEAT GUCCI MANE AND WANDE COAL

A truly stand out song.D'banj solicits the artistry of top american rapper,Gucci mane and it pleases to see he doesn't disappoint.You get absorbed by the guitar strings at the onset in time for eja nla to drop the very infectious-"Picture me flossing,Big fish rolling am frosty/Wo ni mo bossy,just because they cannot touch me/Feeling like El Chapo,Holy Grail El Chapo/PATRON PATRON PATRON!!!".Gucci couches a tight verse in a boss frame in line with the subject but did Wande Coal really have to rap?.Sounded very distasteful.But not enough to rub on the quality of the song though.

5.AS I DEY GO

Bangalee whips up a very commanding rhythm to create this feel-good song.And thats basically what this song has going for it.D'banj's seamless waltz through rhythms in a style reminiscent of the old kokomaster.Its also remarkable how the afro-beat element was harmonized in perfectly.A good song that misses Don Jazzy's back ground vocals.

6.TURN DOWN FOR WHAT (FOCUS REFIX)

Technically an afro-beat freestyle.The lady singing at the background and D'banj's strong vocals are what make this a mixtape material at best.It would take a whole lot more to score a hit out of a 100% afro-beat song.

7.EGWEJI FEAT PHYNO

Nothing works here.Not the beat,not the lyrics not even Phyno.A ridiculously pale effort.

8.THATS WHAT I MEAN

A jam for the dance floor.The 'Thats what i mean' chants don't sit too well and its really sad because that forms an essential part of the song.Other than that,eja nla does well.Plus it has a very groovy chorus and Kayswitch's impressive verse to help make you overlook that.

9.NTSWEMPU FEAT BUCIE AND BUSISWA

This has to go down as the best D'banj song in a long while.The South African connection was magic-Oskido with the mad beat and songstresses Bucie and Busiswa with their scintillating singing.The man said it all-"D'banj okpe meji (No 2 D'banjs)".This isn't just flawless,its Classic.

10.EMERGENCY

This song is about 2 years old.The instrumentation is stunning and D'banj opens well with the first few lines and things start to get less sticky from there on.Its an average effort.

11.OLIVER TWIST

What was D'banj thinking?.Oliver Twist was first released 5 years ago.Only logical reason would be he wanted it released in the States after signing a distribution deal recently.It was never released by GOOD Music there when he was on the label.Anyways,Oliver Twist is a great song that had everyone optimistic about D'banj and Don Jazzy's chances of conquering the world.Felt good to hear the 'lebete',the 'labata' and the 'zebede'.How time flies.

12.SHOULDA

Shoulda is a great piece of work.Does some fabulous singing on the verses before switching the tempo in heart-stopping fashion to render a very arresting chorus.He also plays his harmonica to marvellous effect.We already know on his day,D'banj can make a really good love song.He was in that zone.

ACE HOOD MAKES A RATHER LAME STATEMENT WITH TRUST THE PROCESS

Trust the process is Ace hood's first album since leaving DJ Khaled's We The Best Music and whether he severed ties with Khaled because he wasn't getting due respect or because he wanted to 'do his own thing' like he claims,what is for sure is that he had a point to prove.

Between the guy that made one of the best albums of the decade thus far in Trials and Tribulations and the guy who tried toning down to a 'gangster drake' level just afterwards,he had to find a winning combo somewhere.

Ace doesn't quite live up to expectation on this project and more astonishing,is how he plays like there is nothing to lose.In the plainest terms,he needed to play at scoring a hit in the mould of Hustle Hard or Bugatti and the bravest go at that was Ego trip.Decent as it may sound,it lacks some real taste and is just too loose to hold the intended catchiness.

He opens with To whom it may concern,a soul baring message to the listener.Ace tells a contradictory story of strength with a chorus that starts by asking-"If i give you all of me,would you give me all of you?/If i told you i was annointed,would you see the proof?".In as much as its a mere letter to his fans,worrying what anyone thinks of him chunks out what we are supposed to relate to-strength.With verses containing only occasional glimpses of lyrical class,only thing you are bound to remember is that he's left Khaled and critics want beef but he's not feeding them.

At a time Ace had to win like his life depended on it, the industry's finest hands were expected to handle production for this project.

No metro boomin,no murda beatz, no london on da track,he had Foreign Teck produce his entire album and that didn't seem an entirely good decision.Passion was the closest reminder to the hard hitting delivery Ace hood was noted for in his hey day but he sounded like he was doing the right thing on the wrong beat.His hook sits well on the flutes but the drabby base takes the sting off some tight verses.

Life after tells better Ace's sad predicament-an artiste not at the top of his game having to contend with production even his contemporaries who are would struggle to make anything meaningful out of.Its a ridiculously shallow effort with Ace spitting nothing out of the ordinary on a beat dead-on-arrival for what he had in mind.

Get to me is however, a perfect pointer to just how the bulk of the blame lies with the artiste.He exudes some class with the laid back delivery and even lets you in how much he understands whats at stake with the lines-"Gotta find my grooving again,gotta get back moving again/Gotta get that half in again,step on they neck for the win/Gotta add that ace to the end",but if you could excuse the stagnantly repititive hook at the begining,it gets harder to do that later on.Its a 15 line hook with just 11 words and whatever sing-along bite it has wanes out before mid-way.

This album will get a couple more knocks than usual from critics largely due to the disparity between the good songs and the bad ones.Not forgetting also the part played by the sudden buzz built round his We the best departure.A lot was expected from him.But for emphasis,he did make some really good songs.

Blessed and Came wit the posse are tight cuts though not quite reflective of the urgency involved.He gets set up to wax righteous with that all too familiar key pattern on Blessed and he does that quite well albeit a hook that seemed more the first take of a 'fooling around in the studio' session.A little more work on depth would have done much good.Foreign made a good beat for Came wit the posse but its as monotonic as having a virtually inconspicious divide between hook and verse.Would have been just perfect for verses laced with the reputed fast and hard delivery to help switch things up.

He gives us a dose of that though in the breath-taking Play to win .Ace somehow always manages to keep you hoping for a return to his best with a song or two on all projects since Trials and Tribulations.His singing works on the catchy hook and he fires on all cylinders in the verses."Me and the gang gang lit/Pull up in a new thing with a new thing let the Lu-Kang kick".Definitely one for the archives.

In Top,he made perhaps the best work of this project.Its pretty much copacetic stuff as everything combines perfectly to spawn off this awesome track.He drops some really sick lines-"Made our way from Broward/Drippin so much sauce,i might need a towel/I can't hold my bowels,shittin on you cowards/You can still be p***y with all that money and power".And hows this for some wit-"If she got some jelly,this a muthaf**kin jam!!!".

Overall,Ace hood made an album,you wouldn't call bad,it just falls below the levels set for it.

WO!:OLAMIDE'S BLUE-RIBBON PLOT FROM HOME

Olamide's Glory  album was a compilation of good songs that lacked anything close to a vicious cutting edge largely due to his decision to let go of some groove for more sobriety.The little popularity enjoyed by the Pepper Dem Gang song was powered more by the Olamide brand itself rather than its quality.

Being unarguably the most conspicious A-list artiste out there, the album helped trigger off a contemptous feeling towards Nigeria's number one indigenous rap act.With features at a second-to-none rate and a release-freak reputation,the one exception to the excess familiarity rule appeared very vulnerable and for the first time since he broke into the limelight, we were starting to get tired of him.

A 911 attempt at salvaging the situation turned him to Davido for Summer Body and that didn't quite work out well.If anything it only underscored the point that he may have come full circle.

But like they say no place like home.Olamide has always been about the groove.First of all and Omotoshan opened more doors for him than an Eni Duro ever did.

His latest single WO! doesn't just clear all doubts as to whether he has lost it,it makes you fall hard back in love with him like it was the first day.Its a street recipe served on an irresistible dance platter.Baddo weaves impeccably through an infectious Young John beat to make the safest bet for next big hit of 2017.

WO! is quite honestly, the easiest review anyone would have to do because what Olamide gets right is everything.Nigerians love to dance and a chorus is almost always your whole song down here.Baddo exploits that handsomely to transform an everyday yoruba word into a sing-along lyric on a very catchy hook with a barrage of breathtaking lines to match.

WO! is a strong thrust back to the artiste you loved and respected for having no strategy surrounding the artistic aspect of his brand,its features and releases all year long.All he has to do is measure up to the WO! standard.

WHAT EXACTLY IS WRONG WITH OUR PRESIDENT?

The rumour mill has been agog with stories that President Buhari could be returning back to the country any time soon.This is coming shortly after photos of him with some visiting governors were greeted with wild excitement by his supporters.On the other hand,there couldn't be a more rueful time for the patriotic nigerian who places the nation first.That nigerian is more concerned with the unanswered question-What exactly is President Buhari suffering from?.Over the last week,that nigerian has had to contend with imbecilic comments about how Buhari is overcoming death and how those who have dared to ask questions will die in his place.

We already know his medical costs are expensive enough to be tagged a 'matter of national security' by Lai Mohammed,the minister of information.The same Lai Mohammed who demanded daily updates on the late President Yar'adua's health from the ministry of information when he was receiving treatment abroad.The country reportedly pays as much as £4,000 daily for the presidential plane parked in London while £1,000 per day is been bandied around as the official sum and even at that rate,we have spent over N43M on just having a plane ready for him alone.

While the nature of the President's ailment is serious enough to be kept secret,it bothers the true nigerian with the best interests of his nation at heart whether he is coming back to stay indoors,sit out FEC meetings and take pictures with files in his office in an attempt to hoodwink us before heading back to his doctors or if he is coming back to face the rigorous job we voted him to do.

His performance while on seat has been lacklustre at best and it baffles me why anyone would overlook the extra burden we have had to contend with.The man simply isn't fit to be in office.

I still can't seem to get my head around how a man would plunge his people into hunger,run the country to the brink of disintegration,have them cover his medical expenses and yet return home to a thunderous ovation.

Our number one priority when and If he does get back is to have him disclose to us what he is suffering from.If he conveniently justified his incessant trips abroad in the early days of his administration with claims he was courting foreign aid and investments,then it is important to know not only if he is going to be around, but also strong enough to do things as 'important' as that.

If the Federal government thinks medical costs are 'matters of national security', then it would be sheer madness to classify the nature of Buhari's ailment as such.We need to know in emphatic terms, not only if he is capable of carrying out his duties but also exactly what we are spending our money on.No one expects him to resign any more like he once said he would if he fell very ill because of the luxury of having to treat himself with taxpayers money.

A medical report surfaced online before the 2015 presidential election indicating President Buhari was battling prostrate cancer and some of his photos,especially ones taken since his last return have shown vivid signs of a man undergoing chemotherapy.But all these have stayed in the realm of speculation,we need to be told unequivocally exactly what our ailing president is suffering from.