xpostI'd need to be better at describing timbre to explain my problem with "Eli" I think. There are other recent non-rock pop songs with guitar solos that I do like, but that one pushes some internal "hell no" button for me. If it's not clear, I don't in any way think this is an objective opinion or w/e and rather wish I could just live with it.
Also tbc, "genuinely bizarre for a big pop song" is a compliment in my reformed-indie-fuxxor book, though your comment makes me think I just need to listen to it more, get acclimated to those processed vocals (cool that that's a producer hallmark--I've kind of given up on learning who's who in Naija production these days, which I regret), and pay better attention to Tiwa's voice. Her new one is quite nice too iirc.
One silly problem for me with "Addicted": I can't decide whether to put the extended or not version on my playlist :)
― rob, Monday, 10 August 2020 21:38 (three years ago) link
extended of course, even if this emphasizes its outlier-ness
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 10 August 2020 21:59 (three years ago) link
After listening to all of these exactly once, I think "AG Baby" might be the only one I would actively seek out again
― trapped out the barndo (crĂŒt), Monday, 10 August 2020 22:00 (three years ago) link
harsh, but Iâm sure youâre being fair.(note to self: be careful what you wish for!)curious tho: what does âAG Babyâ have what the others donât?
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 10 August 2020 22:06 (three years ago) link
...have *that*... ouch
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 11 August 2020 00:19 (three years ago) link
Iâm not saying the others are bad! Theyâre quite cool but slickly produced pop music and autotune arenât my thing. AG Baby just caught my ear the most, the thing the bassline does is cool to me
― trapped out the barndo (crĂŒt), Tuesday, 11 August 2020 04:26 (three years ago) link
ah I see, thatâs helpful. was indeed wondering about your musical proclivities. thanx for getting into it!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 11 August 2020 06:20 (three years ago) link
I really want to do a remix of 'Addicted'
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Tuesday, 11 August 2020 08:32 (three years ago) link
I don't hear what's so strange about Dangerous Love. We talking about those backing vocals? Highly processed, makes them sound like a Middle Eastern instrument. the whole thing has an exotic/Orientalist sheen
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Tuesday, 11 August 2020 08:36 (three years ago) link
Hmmmmmmm. All these are awesome or nice, even though I'm not really feeling the Wizkid like that. As for ranking them I'd probably go
WomanAddictedDangerous Love
AG BabyWonderfulELI
Smile
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Tuesday, 11 August 2020 12:05 (three years ago) link
liked the tiwa savage best by far, really lovely, specifically the gentleness of the bass.
kept feeling like the wizkid was gonna turn into 'the word girl' even though they're really not similar at all.
burna boy was p good.
not really feeling the others
― oscar bravo, Tuesday, 11 August 2020 14:44 (three years ago) link
Burna or Wizkid for me - Burna for the harmonies, Starboy for the bassline. Leaning Burna, it's such an explosion of joy.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 11 August 2020 14:49 (three years ago) link
I went with Niniola but outstanding selection, breastcrawl!!!
― daavid, Thursday, 13 August 2020 15:33 (three years ago) link
ELI a close second
― daavid, Thursday, 13 August 2020 15:34 (three years ago) link
Every time I see "Eli" mentioned I hear the Arthur Russell song of the same name in my head, so there's an additional point in its favor
― rob, Thursday, 13 August 2020 15:35 (three years ago) link
In the absence of Omah Lay's Damn, it has to be Niniola.
― Stop the tape I got spittle all over my moustache. (Talcum Mucker), Thursday, 13 August 2020 15:40 (three years ago) link
ELI a close secondâ daavid, Thursday, August 13, 2020 3:34 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
â daavid, Thursday, August 13, 2020 3:34 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
Hadn't heard the guitar solo at the end which is terrible and it takes points away but not enough to dislike the song overall.
― daavid, Thursday, 13 August 2020 15:43 (three years ago) link
i don't think the guitar solo is bad as all that, though it could've used a more polished studio hand
― mozzy star (voodoo chili), Thursday, 13 August 2020 15:48 (three years ago) link
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 13 August 2020 18:21 (three years ago) link
gonna vote for fireboy. runners-up are rema and nindiola. the burna is indeed wonderful, but it bears an unfortunate resemblance to that rusted root song *shudder*
― mozzy star (voodoo chili), Friday, 14 August 2020 19:20 (three years ago) link
tbh "eli" is my least fav fireboy song ever i think... "new york city girl" one of my fav songs of the year tho
i liked "wonderful" more listening to the burna album this morning but it's still a bit cheesy to me
wizkid song is nice but a bit generic
really liked the niniola song
"ginger me" is my fav rema song of the year but i like "woman" a lot too so that gets my vote
― J0rdan S., Friday, 14 August 2020 19:45 (three years ago) link
i too like woman!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, 14 August 2020 21:24 (three years ago) link
it took a little while but all these songs have clicked into place now. they work really nicely as a suite
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Saturday, 15 August 2020 09:35 (three years ago) link
happy to hear it - and I like the suite concept!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Saturday, 15 August 2020 10:36 (three years ago) link
all of them new to me a couple of days ago
i should vote for Dangerous love if only because i had to stop and rewind a few times before i get to the end? like if my ears are beeing reoriented on its motion? loved it
Addicted sounded invinting and familiar from the go. idk, it could be its percussive perfect-paced force balanced with this hinted softness that always gets me when done with this natural lush flair. it's impeccably crafted. better yet, her voice! it's not just a voice, you all see? i would defenitely read, rn, some piece about her. who is she?
― gaudio, Saturday, 15 August 2020 12:20 (three years ago) link
Niniola is the self-proclaimed Queen Of Afro-House, with a totally unique style (in Nigerian music) which draws heavily from South African house. Since her debut in 2014 she has released plenty of great singles and an excellent album, This Is Me, with a new one on the way. Her biggest track is âMaradonaâ, a pan-African hit in 2017, produced by Sarz, her main collaborator. It was later bought and released by DJ Snake (whatâs in a name) and was also sampled in BeyoncĂ©âs âFind Your Way Backâ. (her sister Teni is also a very successful singer btw)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Saturday, 15 August 2020 13:56 (three years ago) link
A profile from 2017: https://thenativemag.com/music/up-close-with-niniola/
...and one from last year: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/niniola-femi-kuti-958136/
Album review (2017): https://thenativemag.com/music/essentials-niniola-distilled-sound-debut-album-this-is-me/
you might like this recording session in her home studio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TMrCktOmmE
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Saturday, 15 August 2020 13:59 (three years ago) link
now i feel like i want to live in her home studio <3
yes, yes i can hear the South African house connection thanks for the profiles above, breastcrawl
― gaudio, Saturday, 15 August 2020 14:31 (three years ago) link
nine more days...!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 18 August 2020 11:10 (three years ago) link
i've had all these songs stuck in my head at some point over the last few days... dang
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Tuesday, 18 August 2020 13:19 (three years ago) link
â No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Friday, August 14, 2020 5:24 PM (four days ago)
^first conscious thought this morning
― rob, Tuesday, 18 August 2020 13:36 (three years ago) link
album count:Burna: dropped Aug 13Fireboy: dropped Aug 19Adekunle: dropped Aug 21Tiwa: out this FridayNiniola: âsoonâRema: ??Wizkid: no commentbut of course this poll is all about the singles. you have until Thursday to vote!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 24 August 2020 07:42 (three years ago) link
had fun mixing these tunes together all in a row for my livestream on Friday night. I also went to my first house party since lockdown on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised at how much people were down with me playing some afrobeats on the decks. speaking to a British Nigerian friend, he agreed that Naija-pop has seriously blown up in terms of scope and mainstream popularity in a relatively short time
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Monday, 24 August 2020 10:30 (three years ago) link
Definitely the case - I mentioned the international crossover appeal of these tracks in my OP for a reason. âIn a relatively short timeâ probably means since the release of African Giant last year, but there has been a very long build-up to all this obviously. Weâre now at a point where not only the new Burna but also those new albums by Fireboy DML and Adekunle Gold are released internationally with notable feedback (going by aggregated worldwide streams on Apple Music: top 10 for Burna, top 50 for Fireboy and top 100 for AG), and the new Tiwa is next in line.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 24 August 2020 20:03 (three years ago) link
btw have you made your mind up yet, dog latin? who are you gonna vote for?(i'm guessing it's not Tiwa, since you left her out of your dj mix!)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 24 August 2020 20:13 (three years ago) link
as if on cue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXprX_vwPvc
(just wow)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 24 August 2020 21:20 (three years ago) link
Dang, I left Tiwa out, didn't I? Sorry Tiwa, I really like that track.
I can't remember which I voted for but right now it's a toss between Tiwa, Wizkid and Rema with Niniola not far behind
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Monday, 24 August 2020 21:25 (three years ago) link
judging from the replies the votes seem to be quite evenly spread (makes sense, given that all these songs are great), with only "Smile" possibly lagging behind. make a difference and give your favourite the edge!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 25 August 2020 07:54 (three years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Wednesday, 26 August 2020 00:01 (three years ago) link
and here it is, the pun youâve all been waiting for: Wande left to vote!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 06:50 (three years ago) link
lemme listen for the first time all of these:
Wonderful (Burna Boy): the entry chorus sounded a bit cheesy to my ears but I love the raspiness in his voice. Makes any of his songs instantly listenable to me. The instrumental background after the intro has some interesting things going on and is impeccably produced. I wish I liked this one more because it sounds positive.
Woman (Rema) : Love the production but I need to go back to this one. Sounded really good while it was playing but didnât really remember much of it afterwards.
Dangerous Love (Tiwa Savage): Ah this is the best one so far! Not sure if the intention of those heavily autotuned backing vocals are supposed to make the listener feel uncomfortable but they sound menacing as hell in some parts. I actually love that detail, itâs a dealmaker instead of a dealbreaker for me... gives it an edgy texture to use in certain parts of the song. It doesnât feel obnoxious, just a bit unsettling haha.
Smile (Wizkid ft. H.E.R.) : Cool sound right from the start. Loving the contrast between the soft r&b vocals against that rubbery bass (might not be a bass). The first minutes are great, I feel like it loses a bit of steam as it goes on but in general very strong sound and production.
Addicted (Niniola) : Iâve heard her before! I like this one, specially like those chopped voices that sound like echoes that appear in the choruses. Is this a signature kind of sound for her? The other song I remember hearing for her is âMaradonaâ and thereâs the same thing going with a vocal coming in and out in some parts. It sounds really cool imho.
AG Baby (Adekunle Gold ft. Nailah Blackman) : this is lush af, one of my favorite ones in here. Another impeccable produced song.
Eli (Fireboy DML) : Those guitars at the outro are a headscratcher, wtf is going there!? Should have kept using the wind instrument sound from the intro and interludes instead, that one sounded amazing.
Didnât watch the music videos as then I get biased on which song I like better, Iâll do a second listen watching the videos on my second listen.
Overall amazing selection. Pretty much liked everything in here... if I had to pick one based on first listen Iâd go with Dangerous Love as itâs the one that made the biggest impression.
― âââ (Moka), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 08:12 (three years ago) link
Hahaha just reading robâs opinion on each one and thereâs a couple observations which are pretty much the same as mine; the unsettling voices in Dangerous Love and the wtf Eli guitars at the outro. And yes! They do sound like hair metal! Thatâs what it was reminding me of. Really weird (as in bad weird) choice.
― âââ (Moka), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 08:21 (three years ago) link
excellent stuff, Moka! the rock guitar in âEliâ works well enough for me, but on the track âDreamerâ on his brand new album Fireboy is pushing his hair metal luck a wee bit too far. approach with caution!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 11:44 (three years ago) link
I think I find it a bit jarring because the rest of the song sounds doesn't seem to me like a humoristic kind of song but that outro feels like the end of a joke song. I don't know, maybe I'm missing some context and Fireboy DML is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek, jokester artist.
That said I do love the rest of it. Those (chinese?) flute melodies paired with that dancehall/reggae beat sound cool cool cool.
I know these songs are cherry-picked, but this selection makes me very interested in hearing more Nigerian modern music. I'll definitely check other works of the producers involved in here. These all have in common tasteful production, amazing mixing and some vibe-y, out of the box ideas in their sound.
― âââ (Moka), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 16:12 (three years ago) link
the problem with the 'eli' guitar solo isn't that it exists, the idea is fine imo. it's just poorly played.
― whiney on the moon (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 16:16 (three years ago) link
yeah that's the problem, everything sounds so well crafted prior to the solo and suddenly it sounds cheap, even the drums that enter that part sound bad in comparison. That's why I'm assuming it's a bit of a joke I don't get?
― âââ (Moka), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 16:24 (three years ago) link
I think the rock guitar is meant to evoke the evil temptress the song is about, âDirty Dianaâ-style. (I will also maintain the song is secretly modelled upon (and mirroring) âAll That She Wantsâ - the âexoticâ flute motif, the âlonely girlâ line)Doubt that itâs meant to be tongue-in-cheek, âDreamerâ, including its rock guitar, is as serious as it gets (unless the joke is on me!). âFavourite Songâ, also produced by Pheelz, has a weird abrupt ending as well.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 17:45 (three years ago) link
I know these songs are cherry-picked, but this selection makes me very interested in hearing more Nigerian modern music.I'll definitely check other works of the producers involved in here. These all have in common tasteful production, amazing mixing and some vibe-y, out of the box ideas in their sound.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 17:59 (three years ago) link
Just an example, a (self-produced) song Iâm digging right now, that has amassed just 1459 plays on Spotify and a combined 200 views on YouTube in the 5 months since its release:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wq6mmTyn4oBwoiiDaas âą Radar
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 19:28 (three years ago) link
Also, 4.5 hours left to vote!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 19:38 (three years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Thursday, 27 August 2020 00:01 (three years ago) link
Nice vote spread
― rob, Thursday, 27 August 2020 00:24 (three years ago) link
Smile could have been higher, then again they all could.
The 'Lonely girl' line on Eli sounds to me like it's referencing 'Don't Stop Believing' more than 'All That She Wants' which might be a clue to the guitar solo part, I dunno?
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Thursday, 27 August 2020 10:03 (three years ago) link
I respectfully disagree (different subject matter), but then Iâm willing to die on this Ace of Base molehill. lol Iâm pretty sure Fireboy has the song on one of his playlists tho!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 27 August 2020 11:14 (three years ago) link
Great turnout, and yes, a very nice spread of votes. Actually impressed by how precisely this result mirrors how I would rank them at this point, with the important caveat that all of the top three tracks would have been equally worthy winners for me.longneck, you were very close as well!Thanking you all for voting, itâs been... wonderful!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 27 August 2020 11:15 (three years ago) link
Your bonus for the day: Niniolaâs official video for âAddictedâ that just came out today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-7bk5BW-RU
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 27 August 2020 11:16 (three years ago) link
ayo breastcrawl, what did you vote for? I scanned the thread and didn't catch an explicit mention--and am i right in thinking you haven't said a peep about Twice As Tall yet?!
― rob, Thursday, 27 August 2020 17:46 (three years ago) link
this poll was set up as a consultation of the ILM hivemind to help me decide, so it wouldnât have been right for me to vote myself! I * think * I would have gone with âDangerous Loveâ, but I love âDangerous Loveâ, âWomanâ and âAddictedâ about equally, which is a whole damn lot, and even more than the others, so Iâm pretty happy with this outcome.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 27 August 2020 18:17 (three years ago) link
You would be right about TaT, my only peep has been to say that the Fireboy and especially the Burna have been throwing me for a loop. I will get to it, but I will say now that Iâm finding it a lot easier to enjoy Apollo.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 27 August 2020 18:21 (three years ago) link
I'll definitely check other works of the producers involved in here. These all have in common tasteful production, amazing mixing and some vibe-y, out of the box ideas in their sound.
FWIW I think you'd find it more rewarding to explore via the lead artists themselves rather than the producers - there are many wonderful producers across Nigerian pop at the moment but the quality is uniformly pretty high.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 27 August 2020 18:25 (three years ago) link
Not sure about that. They're both valid ways of exploring. It can be very interesting and yes, rewarding to dive deeper into a particular producer's work if a track they produced blew your mind.
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Thursday, 27 August 2020 18:37 (three years ago) link
Xp Fair enough! And yeah I feel like Iâm still processing Twice As Tall
― rob, Thursday, 27 August 2020 18:40 (three years ago) link
thread for Tiwaâs phenomenal new album:next level at 40: đžTIWA SAVAGEâs CELIAđž album
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Sunday, 30 August 2020 19:27 (three years ago) link
listened to the Tiwa album and the Fireboy album in a row and while I like Tiwa's album it is clearly an attempt at mainstream pop. I miss tracks like Ma Lo, Ileke and One. Fireboy's album is also pop but it's unabashedly a tribute to the 90s and keeps firing surprises at me.
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Sunday, 30 August 2020 20:38 (three years ago) link
not sure I agree with you, but it depends on what you mean by âmainstreamâ here. but by all means take it to the Tiwa thread, thatâs what itâs for!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 31 August 2020 10:14 (three years ago) link
btw DL, you might also be interested in this outstanding request by ufo:
someone should make a thread for fireboy too, i would but i'm not sure i can properly articulate what i love about his album
Fireboy thread is a great idea, although slightly wary of clogging ILM with tons of afrobeats threads (not that I'd be the one complaining).
I love Fireboy's completely random list of influences. The fact he loves Sacrifice by Elton John puts his music into an amusing context
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Monday, 31 August 2020 10:22 (three years ago) link
itâs not clogging, itâs the Afro Takeover!
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Monday, 31 August 2020 10:29 (three years ago) link
You should start that thread! Rolling threads are great for shining a brief spotlight on things that would otherwise not get talked about but they don't engage people who aren't already on the bus.
If you want the unconverted to listen properly, start a thread đ
― Matt DC, Monday, 31 August 2020 10:53 (three years ago) link
Happy with these results, yes
― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 09:33 (three years ago) link
i didn't vote but these results look about right
― ufo, Tuesday, 1 September 2020 09:55 (three years ago) link
https://everyrecordtellsastory.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/adam-ant-goody-two-shoes.jpgyou donât vote, you donât start threads, what do you do?
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 10:00 (three years ago) link
(sorry, couldnât resist)
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 10:44 (three years ago) link
lol
i just never got around to listening to a few of the tracks i hadn't heard here, but i'm glad i did because "woman" rules especially
― ufo, Tuesday, 1 September 2020 10:50 (three years ago) link
Okay cool, here we are folx:
Thraed of đ„ Fireboy DML đ„ and his new album Apollo
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 10:53 (three years ago) link
Having listened to all these songs a stupid amount of times now I can confirm that this is the scientific and objective order:
Woman > Smile > Dangerous Love > Eli > Addicted > Wonderful > AG Baby
That said, the best one is the one I'm listening to in the moment, perhaps witht he exception of AG Baby, which hasn't yet dug itself in for me yet.
― doorstep jetski (dog latin), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 10:59 (three years ago) link
đ„đ„đ„xp
― No mean feat. DaBaby (breastcrawl), Tuesday, 1 September 2020 11:24 (three years ago) link
This poll would have even been better (and tighter!) with "No Stress" as the Wizkid entry instead of "Smile". And it would have been a Perfect Eight if Davido had dropped his "Fem" in time.
With the Wizzy album out now (dedicated thread here, six out of these seven have their accompanying albums released. In chronological order:
Burna Boy, Twice As Tall, released Aug 13Fireboy DML, Apollo, released Aug 19Adekunle Gold, Afro Pop, Vol. 1, released Aug 21Tiwa Savage, Celia, released Aug 27Niniola, Colours and Sounds, released Oct 2Wizkid, Made In Lagos, released Nov 29
So that only leaves our winner, but there's no word on a Rema album yet, afaik.
(However, Davido's A Better Time is apparently scheduled for Dec 3 now)
― Welcome to Nonrock (breastcrawl), Sunday, 1 November 2020 21:09 (three years ago) link
oops, Wizkid, Made In Lagos, released *Oct* 29, obv
― Welcome to Nonrock (breastcrawl), Sunday, 1 November 2020 23:45 (three years ago) link
Our winner finally gets a proper video!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7dsnMbRAHYitâs Rema getting his Apple Sugar High on.
― kiss some penis reference (breastcrawl), Thursday, 12 November 2020 04:16 (three years ago) link
...and Davido's A Better Time album is out today.
― kiss some penis reference (breastcrawl), Friday, 13 November 2020 11:30 (three years ago) link
Producers Ozedikus and Altims talk about how they created âWomanâ (sort of) together:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQdfBQ3eGYs(and oh, Altims, the word youâre looking for is âNaijapianoâ)
― kiss some penis reference (breastcrawl), Saturday, 21 November 2020 20:49 (three years ago) link