Asake Caps A Great Year with An Stellar Debut Album: Mr. Money With The Vibe Review
Asake's rise in 2022 has been nothing short of meteoric, and that is one of the few adjectives that can properly conceptualise his zero to hero run. "Accelerated" would be close second, but it is limited by its association with tyres and roads, and it does not have "meteoric's" effect in conveying vertical ascent in addition to horizontal displacement, or its connotation of a star, which Asake has now become. For an artist to begin a year in relative obscurity, and, 9 months in, be in pole position for artist of the year is simply unheard of. Head of Mavin music, Don Jazzy pointed out the conundrum on the hands of the Headies, Nigeria's premier music award, for next year: the next rated award, a crown given to the best emerging act of the year, and artist of the year, usually bestowed on the year's biggest and most influential artist may be won by the same individual for the very first time. Wizkid, Nigerian music royalty, took home the best artist award in 2012, only a year after his Next Rated nod, but Asake has done one better, finding room in his breakout year to assert himself as one of biggest Nigerian acts locally.
He released a four-track EP, Ololade Asake only two months into the year, seeking to test the market that "Omo Ope", his hit with Olamide had created a month prior. On the project, he offered a variety of sounds and themes. "Sungba" turned out the most loved track on the EP and quickly assumed the number 1 position on the Apple music charts, to be displaced only by the Burna Boy assisted remix a month later. Even more than chart position and numbers, the song reinforced Asake's sound, confirming what "Omo Ope" had already posited - that the Nigerian audience was in love with his unique mix of Amapiano, Fuji and contemporary Afropop. He would later stick to this blueprint for "Palazzo", "Peace Be Unto You" and most recently, 'Terminator'.
But the self-titled EP held more previews of Asakes future than 'Sungba' and its log drums. Olamide had already locked in a verse in 'Omo Ope', so to feature on another song would be overkill. Instead, he took the end of the opener, 'Trabaye', to pray for Asake and wish him well. While the childish and synth voices were still chorusing the 'Mo fe Trabaye' outro, Olamide addressed his young padawan in a solemn tone, urging him on this journey to world relevance. Prayer is a staple in Nigerian folklore, it is a concept that cuts across, and goes beyond religion. Asake was born Muslim, but he draws inspiration from all three Nigerian religions in music. On Mr Money With The Vibe, he opens with 'Dull', beginning once more with the spiritual, which reveals a desire to commit every project into the hands of God in the opener.
"Dull" starts and ends with choir-like renditions, a trademark that will immediately be identified by any keen or even casual follower of his music. The track is less than two minutes long, and before Asake spends most of it chanting, repeatedly, "I swear I no o dull" he begins with "Oke agba ni mo gun yi o, e ma jen jabo/ Eyin agba mo be yin o, mi o shako" earnestly calling on ancestors, the deities of African traditional religion to guide his path and ensure he doesn't regress from his new found stardom. These moments of vulnerability, when Asake fears for his longevity, add a new and welcome dimension to his public personality, making a change from most of this year when he appeared as the classic gangster, with videos depicting him as the leather clad, motorbike riding and even gun sporting tough man.
And these themes of prayer and emotion run through the entire album. His songs released previously were a bold affront on the charts, and they capitalised on fast spinning beats to create music that was always dance-ready. The spaciousness an album brings allows Asake room to diversify from this somewhat, without losing his inherent style. Songs like 'Nzaza' and 'Ototo' utilize the heavy log drums and choir sounds that Asake is known for, but these are repurposed and slowed down, so that the songs can hold more spiritual, emotional value. The latter constantly digs into the spiritual, repeatedly mentioning "Oluwa" (God) as he begs for more money and blessings. More important than anything, though, he does not want to lose his quickly gotten relevance. The Nigerian music scene is highly competitive, and so many that attempt to crack national fame are not able to, and not for a want of talent. Perhaps even worse, it isn't uncommon for a new act to burst into the scene with a few hit tracks and sadly fade into the abyss forever, to be remembered only on occasions when people ask "where is X now?". This is Asake's biggest fear, and so he spends these tracks (and the opener) taking it to God in prayer.
The biggest fear of his fans, coming to this album, was not that. After releasing a series of hit tracks set in the same sonic range, many wondered how he would cram an album with enough diversity without losing a sense of who he is. It is on this point that Mr. Money With The Vibe is most successful, and elevates this body of work from very good to having a shout for album of the year. While many still believe that honour goes to Omah Lay and the sorrowful yet sexy Boy Alone, it is impossible to not credit the innovative ability of Asake and Magicsticks, who helmed production for the entire album. It is on a song like 'Dupe' that this quality shines brightest, for it borrows from Asake's formula, and is able to sound unique at the same time. Backed by a sax, Magicsticks gives the song a carnival, dancehall feel, as Asake urges you to let go of worries and be happy for where you've come so far.
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On some other tracks, though, Asake sticks to the formula that has kept him visible for the best part of a year- crafting amapiano-inflected, danceable songs. 'Joha' and 'Organise' could easily have been part of his singles run this year, and expectedly they take the early lead in the chart rankings. Once more, Asake has given less attention to lyrics, leaning on Magicsticks' exquisite production to weave catchy melodies. He trades message for grooviness, so that though you may exit the songs without knowing what exactly it was about, you are sure to have had a good time listening to them. Magicsticks also flexes this ability on 'Sumonmi', which has stripped off Fuji elements from the rest of the album and doubled down on Amapiano origins. Asake gives the producer front seat in this track, his only contribution coming in the form of a simple sentence 'baby sunmo mi", repeated for its entirety, and it is left to Magicsticks to bring Amapiano to life with all the authenticity of its South African originators.
Asake's debut album is not the most cohesive unit, neither does it explore deep thematic material, but no one tuned to this album expecting much of either. The aspects you would expect, party starting music, memorable melodies and incredible (incredible!) production feature, and they are enough to push this album past mediocrity and into excellence. Asake was under massive pressure after that incredible run, but he has lived up to the billing on his first album, proving that the drive with which he began this year is very much alive.
Stream or Download: Asake - Mr Money With The Vibes
This article was written by Afrobeats City Contributor Ezema Patrick - @ezemapatrick (Twitter)
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