Ordinarily one would say Timaya is second only to 2baba on the list of Nigeria's most persevering artistes but then there is also the fact that 2baba doesn't put in as much work as Timaya does.So technically, of all the artistes to strike gold from the early to mid 2000s,no one has gutted it in better to this day musically and stayed more relevant than the Egberi Papa 1.
If we would have to pin his longevity to anything,it would be his originality.He has never tried to be anything other than what comes naturally to him.
The younger Timaya; who couldn't seem to stay out of trouble spent most of the time talking about haters and how he came up from nothing and with no help.That version also remarkably, made repetitive lyrics sound cool.
On 2012's Upgrade,he had started to have a more broader outlook and by the Epiphany album in 2014,a more matured Timaya had almost entirely shed the 'badidibadidi' sound for mid-tempo.
What we see basically on the Chulo Vibes EP is a Timaya dwelling on the very same things he has in the past but with much more ripened artistry.We have heard him wax inspirational or get on some 'feel good' vibe but the messages in I Can't Kill Myself and Balance are conveyed so soothingly.Almost to a highlife degree.
The love songs on this EP are not mere album-fillers as was the case in the past,a very conscious effort is put into making Obrigado and Akuna sublime.While you'll have to admire the crafting of the cool and pleasant Obrigado to his vocal strengths,the ingenuity revolving round Akuna is most dazzling.In a style highly reminiscent of T-Pain's classic 'In Love With A Stripper',Timaya puts so much emotion into eulogizing his 'Akuna' love interest.
Basically, while Timaya isn't doing anything new all-together,the mode at which he goes about things has undergone a lot of natural changes that speak to not just the growth of Don Papi Chulo as an artiste but also as a person.The key word again is originality.
The music is powered by his state of mind at any particular point and he deserves a lot of credit for never compromising quality at any time at all.
Though he no longer fits into the ragga/dancehall category, he can still dorn his 'ladies dem' garb albeit in a much calmer way like we saw in the fascinating Number One featuring Tanzanian super star, Alikiba and the subtle Pull Up with Burna boy.
After he dropped Ah Blem Blem about a year ago,some charts and figures surfaced showing how huge he was in the Carribeans and soliciting Trinidadian soca/dancehall power house,Machel Montano to help dish out the lifting Happy which the old Egberi Papa might have rendered as a hater-hating expedition was a nice touch.
The personal growth of Timaya is reflected in the music he puts out.He is that guy who has had no problem adjusting to times because the music comes from a natural place and what we see on the 2019 Chulo Vibes EP is the same old Timaya with a more robust skill-set.A fabulous body of work.
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