Artist: Reminisce – Album Title: El-Hadj – Numbers: 17 Tracks – Featured Artistes: Sossick, Mr Eazi, Solidstar, Olamide, 9ice, 2Baba, Oladips, Sojay, Seriki, Iceprince – Producers: Sarz, Sossick, Jomane, PBanks, TSpize, Pheelz, Tyce, Camo Blaiz, TMXO
Apparently, titles are important to contemporary Nigerian musicians. The most bandied title of late is Alhaji, which, until recently, used to be a stereotype for an agbada-wearing money bag, Nollywood sugar daddy and, of course, Mecca pilgrim. Interestingly, the Christian equivalent, the Jerusalem Pilgrim -JP for short, has not been reckoned with as such, except in Obsequies. But back to the title Alhaji, you won’t be hard-pressed to find important musicians (including Alhaji Teckno of the Pana fame) who use it.
Enter Reminisce, aka Remilekun Safaru, Alaga Ibile, Baba Hafusa and, most recently, El-Hadj. Of course, El-Hadj is a stylised form of Alhaji – which Reminisce isn’t, but once again he finds a way to latch on to this trend and make it his.
Still on trends, Reminisce seems to have set a template for naming his albums after himself, a tradition in both American hip-hop and fuji music. Reminisce, of course, does not draw his lineage from the Ajisaaris but there is no robust way of talking about El-Hadj without a word on Fuji. Until recently, Lagos Kombi buses wore stickers of popular fuji artistes, the likes of Kwam 1, Obesere, Adewale Ayuba and Saheed Osupa. But these days, you might find a Phyno, an Olamide or Reminisce grinning at you from the back of a red BRT.
The reason for this is not far-fetched; it links up to the local rapper connection. Local Rapper, produced by Tyrone and featuring Olamide and Phyno, is by far one of the biggest songs of Reminisce’s career. It might be the only reason his third album, ‘Baba Hafusa’, is important; because it speaks to a tendency. Nigerian rap music, prior to the arrival of this triptych, was almost entirely American braggadocio, accent, turn of phrase and white sneakers. Now Nigerian rap music can (and is) being done in Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and even in Esan. Our street poets have pushed English to the fringes and energised our local languages.
Reminisce’s fourth album is easily his most confident. For one, the beats are mostly mid-tempo, a slight departure from the zeitgeist of heavy ‘shoki-attuned’ percussion. The album starts with Asalamalekun, the Arabic greeting of peace, for his proper fans. Rhyme, wordplay and use of local slangs are top-notch—and of course we find out that Reminisce’s bet is on the third dog.
On Where I come from, he raps lucidly to a reggae beat. If one was to look for an American equivalent of this song, it will be Game’s One Blood but this is clearly more laid back and involved in the politics of being Nigerian. And of course, we get the memo that Reminisce’s third dog has become a Boeing.
Ibadi has the rare cameo of its producer, Sossick – easily one of the key figures in the breakthrough of Yoruba rap, doing the chorus. At this point, Reminisce returns to his rabid penile obsession and asserts, rather boastfully, that he will shag you before he asks where you come from. Interestingly, this song does not have our signature gritty and gyrating feel; it features trap drums of crunk whilst its chorus speaks to (or for) the booty.
Konsignment, one of five solo endeavors, follows in the pattern established by Ibadi and the hook reminds us that Reminisce is a good customer who likes to fire—and almost all his sexual innuendoes are food-related. If E Nobi God features one of the rave of the moments, Mr Eazi, who combines the sophistry of Ghanaian music with a chilled Nigerian swag.
On One for the Road, we are back to this sex matter. The mellifluous voice of Solidstar is recruited to re-define what a quickie is. Reminisce plays the sex-struck victim who needs a quick fix, preferably in the kitchen or in the backseat. Ori is that highlife song that reminds you of Reminisce’s paean to Peckas babes on his second album; here he sings to his creator to double his wealth. I remember makes Reminisce into a raconteur chronicling his life journey from early childhood till date. Fittingly, he does away with a chorus and gives us the intimate pages of a diary that brings to view his vulnerabilities and rests his sexual prowess.
Then, there comes a short Apala teaser which had enough novelty to have sustained a full-length song. It reinforces why we start conversations about our dying local genres. Pheelz –produced Telephone brings the Hawaiian guitar back into popular Nigerian music and reminds us of that watershed moment when D’tunes produced Sean Tizzle’s first album. Olamide assists with a melodious verse; clearly he is the rapper-turned-singer but not in the fashion of T-Pain. Simple boy brings back 9ice, an old collaborator of Reminisce who burnt himself out with frequent albums. The rumour about his voice is true but he oared the song to shore.
On Daily Basis, Reminisce talks about being a businessman — like we didn’t already know.Nobody Knows has an Afrobeat rhythm and delightful 2Face chorus. On Owo Re, Selifa struts back into the room—and so do the food metaphors of Reminisce’s sexual prowess.
Oloun features Oladips, clearly a formidable Yoruba rapper who out-raps Reminisce. Twice actually. Because on the bonus track FeeGo, his verse was the monster. Seriki came second position with a classic line shouting out to his goons who listen to him and the sexy ladies who suckle him. Ice Prince dropped his bars in English, inadvertently dropping the baton.
El Hadj is 56 minutes and 50 seconds of sheer brilliance that almost sits side by side with Alaga Ibile, Reminisce’s classic.
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