Olamide Coded Tunes (2011)
Over the past weeks, there has been a
buzz about a particular young rapper who many have labelled a Dagrin
reincarnate. Olamide Adedeji, simply known as Olamide, stole into
mainstream music with his ID Cabasa-produced smash hit debut single,
‘Eni Duro’. And just before the dust settles on this single, he
officially dropped a 16 tracker-one bonus, album, ‘RapSoDi’.
Although the album is exclusively tied
to beats from the Coded Tune boss, ID Cabasa, Olamide had thirteen
guests on this album hence dispelling any fear of monotony.
Subject matter
For a debut album, Olamide did a good
job of focusing on a particular theme. Quite unlike what is obtained in
many debut albums where the artists flirt around with so many issues,
Olamide restricted ‘RapSoDi’ to introductory notes about himself,
appreciating rhymes for his woman and a couple of ‘thank you God’. He
also rhymed on social issues on the sombre ‘Boys Are Not Smiling’,
featuring Terry Tha Rapman. Of course, for a rap album, RapSoDi has its
fair share of braggadocio quips, but all still fall within his
introductory theme.
Another plus for ‘RapSoDi’ is that it
did not jump genres indiscriminately, the album is majorly restricted
to straight Hip-Hop. Although three tracks, ‘Gapa’, ‘Jara on Top’
featuring ABI, and ‘Kelegbe’ featuring Lord of Ajasa, receive mild High
life themes; and ‘Soundtrack of my Life’ featuring Soul Joe borrows a
bit of Reggae, the album still remain relatively focused on a genre
compared to some other recent albums.
Delivery
Olamide wittily delivers his tracks
mostly in Yoruba with a mix of straight and Pidgin English. He
effortlessly played around words in a manner that will make listeners
pay attention or wonder what his next line will be. He employed
wordplay, metaphors, rhyming and storytelling which include creative
oral illustrations and lyrical descriptiveness. On the low tempo and
stellar ‘Responsibility’ featuring Adol, he metaphorically stated, in a
mix of English and Yoruba, that “frustration in the air, bi eruku
engine Danfo” and his descriptive and wordplay abilities is exhibited
in the line “more like a Fine Art teacher with ugly writing” amongst
many others.
Also, Olamide finds a way of
maintaining equilibrium with the various artists he hosted on
‘RapSoDi’. Even when these artists bring in different elements and
sounds to the album, his verses remain undiluted and bear his signature
style.
Conclusion
Even though ‘RapSoDi’ turns out to be a
decent outing for Olamide, there is no denying he did not step out of
his comfort zone. Even if he chooses to stick to a genre, he needs to
work with other producers less he gets monotonic. Also thirteen guests
on a sixteen tracker debut album can be somewhat inhibiting, but
overall, ‘RapSoDi’ is impressive. Lastly, the comparison with Dagrin is
a little over the top; Olamide’s ‘RapSoDi’ has definitely earned him a
form of uniqueness in his own right.
Grade: A3
