After the long-anticipated album, Wizkid finally released his 4th studio album on the 29th of October. It was originally scheduled to be out on October 15, but he postponed it due to the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria. He delayed the project to show respect to the Nigerian people for their standing against police brutality.
Wizkid dropped the album at exactly 11:11 pm. I don’t know why he chose that exact time, but the time looks a little special. It’s also said that that time is special for making wishes, Amazing.
If you’re a Nigerian, especially Wizkid FC, you surely know how the whole gist went.π
After listening to this album repeatedly for more than 48hrs, I must say, the album is worth the hype. But of course, there are some flaws. Even the great Michael Jackson never had a 100% perfect album.
The album is made up of 14 melodic tracks. So, I’ll be reviewing every song on the album and I’ll rate each song out of 10 while giving my reasons and my honest thoughts.
Whoop! Whoop!! Let’s get started!
1. Reckless
On this first track, Wizkid talks about how God has blessed him and showered so much love on him. He made emphasis on doing anything for his family and not being afraid. He also gave a glimpse of his story and the sacrifices he had to make in the past.
Starboy also talked about how he likes his woman pleases him without stress. In essence, he expressed all he had to go through and how his life is now different from what it used to be. For me, this is a great way to start an album.
The production of this track is beautiful, there is an amazing connection between his voice and the saxophone. There was also a mixture of piano, strings, and horns which portrayed an afro kind of music. The way he flowed on the track makes you groove along with the sounds.
Score: 7/10
2. Ginger Ft. Burnaboy
Having two kings on a single track is very beautiful, especially when it’s Starboy and the African Giant. This track is a very good collab, both of them flowed well on the beat. This one always got me shaking my head.
The song has a very nice flow, the guitar solo and the rhythmic drumming in the background made it sound melodious. But, I didn’t really like the intro. It was too straight. Another thing is, they were only talking about pleasing women, party, and s*x. But it’s okay.
Score: 6/10
3. Longtime Ft. Skepta
The intro from the British rapper was very sensational. I liked how he jumped on the track and did his magic. Wizkid also killed the track with a tremendous amount of flows on the beat. Wizkid and Skepta can never go wrong.
I don’t know who the producer is, but he did a very good job. It’s one of my favourite songs on the album. I also liked how Wizkid kept saying nice things about his lady. What can a YorΓΉbΓ‘ man not do? Haha.
Score: 8/10
4. Mighty Wine
Wizkid brought back the saxophonist on this track. The beats on this track were crisp and it had an intense combination of drums. Is it just me, but I dey feel say Wizkid too like woman sha.
Big shout out to the producer. He did a nice job on this track and Wizkid flowed endlessly. The person that played the Saxophone on this album must be really good, you can tell it’s the same person because the sounds are similar. Well, this is one of those mid songs for me. But it’s a good song.
Score: 6/10
5. Blessed Ft. Damian Marley
First, I must say I love the Lagos vibe at the intro. The “Cold mineral, Cold pure water” slaps ready hard, a Lagos based person understands better. Again, Wizkid kept talking about his lady, α»mα» pupa for that matter π.
I like Damian Marley’s raps on this track, his flows were clean and straightforward. This track is more like a reggae genre, unlike the previous tracks which were afrobeat. This song makes you feel good, blessed, and grateful about where you are in life.
Score: 7/10
6. Smile Ft. H.E.R
For me, it’s one of the finest songs on the album. The song is well written and has a very colourful sound. I bet you, this song will make you want to fall in love. H.E.R really sounds amazing and irresistible. Yet again, Wizkid did his magic.
The song was originally released 3 months before he dropped the album, people didn’t really like it at first but a majority fell in love with it later when he released the video. The video was beautiful because he had his family in the video and people really liked it.
Score: 7/10
7. Piece Of Me Ft. Ella Mia
There is no better song on the album than this. The best song on the album, hands down. This is literally the song I played the most on the album. This track is more like teasing someone to be with you or probably flirting with someone.
Ella Mia really sounds incredible and sensational on this track. I felt like she was the one that featured Wizkid, Haha. Her voice was literally everywhere on the track, especially in the background while Wizkid was doing his thing. God bless the guitarist for 600 years! He did his job well.
Score: 10/10
8. No Stress
The title of this track is the real definition of this album, no stress. It’s more of an afrobeat kind of song. The song doesn’t really stand out like the rest, but I feel it’s still a good song because it’s a lot of people’s favourite song.
‘No stress’ is said to portray Wizkid’s kind of character because he doesn’t like to take part in anything stressful. His social media presence and relationship with other artists is an example because he rarely throws shades at anyone. But I feel say na pride, but wetin I know? π€
Score: 6/10
9. True Love Ft. Projexx & Tay Iwar
Yet again, we have the saxophonist doing his magic. I think this is the most harmonious track on the album. Honestly, the sax added a lot of beauty to the track. I also liked how the voice blended alongside the guitar, giving the track a kind of melodic space.
Big ups to Wizkid for the intro, it’s a classic one because of the YorΓΉbΓ‘ he used. Tay Iwar has a very nice voice and I like the Jamaican vibes by Projexx. The track is dope in general.
Score: 7/10
10. Sweet One
This track has to be one of Wizkid’s classics. People that know him well know that he’s good at singing love songs, this track more of those. He was more smoother on this track, his flows were tremendously beautiful.
I like the way he mixed up English and YorΓΉbΓ‘ together. If this was released in the 60s, it would be the best love songs then. I also like the soaring chorus and the cool vibes. Amazing song.
Score: 8/10
11. Essence Ft. Tems
This is actually the first song I listened to in this Album. For real, Tems did justice to this track, I call her Tems babyβShe’s too good. Her flows are on another level. Tems baby literally gave the song life. If you play this song to a deaf man, I’m sure he will vibe to it.
This track got higher attention than other tracks on social media, probably because Wizkid had announced the project earlier this year. I liked the drums and saxophone, they sounded very ecstatic. Once again, Wizkid did what he does best.
Score: 10/10
12. Roma Ft. Terri
This track is the only real party song on the album. It is a mixture of reggae and afrobeat, the beats are nice and simple.
Wizkid featured one of the youngest talents in his record label which most people have said they sound similar. But that’s not the case on this track, they sound different. Overall, the song is okay.
Score:6/10
13. Gyrate
This is another kind of ‘no stress’ song from Wizkid, I feel like the beat is really amazing but he didn’t really body it like he’s supposed to. It’s one of those mid songs too.
Wizkid was basically talking about smoking his weed and minding his business. This is the peace you cannot buy π. I like the song a little, no bad impressions. It’s just a kind of song you can steadily groove to.
Score: 5/10
Grace
Yes, the last but not the least. I feel like Wizkid is already smoking too much weed, I think he’s losing focus already. This track is much less than mid. The beat is very very good, but he didn’t really kill it. He sounded like he was rapping at some point, but it sounded like rhymes though.
Score: 5/10
So that’s my honest review. This took me time to come up with because I had to really listen to every track to understand the lyrics and sound. This is the first album I’ve listened to for more than 48 hours. I know what you’re thinking. Personally, Wizkid is not one of my favorites, I just love to enjoy good music, that’s all.
Let’s calculate the total score. Shey u still sabi mathematics like this? Cos my instincts dey tell me say u get problems with maths for secondary school ππ.
So, 7+6+8+6+7+7+10+6+7+8+10+6+5+5=98
10Γ14 tracks =140
98Γ·140=0.7
0.7Γ10=7
So our final score is 7/10. 7 out of 10 is an A!
Final thoughts
This album is actually a great album, but I’ll be honest, it doesn’t match up with other albums I’ve heard this year, like Fireboy’s and Burnaboy’s. A lot of people say this is a mid-album, but I don’t think so.
Of course, a lot of people had higher expectations than what he released. But think of it, the album was so good Wizkid had to share “The Grace” at the end π. For the past few years, Wizkid has stopped giving us hot jams, Baba just wants to smoke his weed and give us simple music we can vibe to. No stress.
But I feel the weed is getting too much, he’s losing focus! If you don’t still like this album, I think you should just take your time to listen to it again, alongside the lyrics. The album is more about the words (lyrics) than the sound. I hope you fall in love with it.
I finally got the names of the producers. Big shout out to London, Blaq jerzee, P2jmuisc, Julsbaby, Sarz, Kel P, and Mut4y. They were very amazing, every sound and beat on the album were classic.
God bless the Saxophonist too! I enjoyed him better than Wizkid himself. Lol. His name is Tosin Oni.
In conclusion, this album was made in Lagos, but no Lagos vibes π. Wizkid FC people, please don’t come for me π. I said my mind.
Here are some tweets about the album that had engagements:
Thank you for reading this review β€οΈ. Please share this review with music lovers, especially Wizkid FC. Don’t go without sharing and subscribe to my newsletter too, I’m begging you! ππ
Personally I feel alot people were expecting the normal Wizkid with the whole danceall songs and party vibes, Wizkid has evolved big time and I’m loving it…..Essence with TEMS has to be the best song on this album, If you see 10 Million streams on the album, Abeg na me get 5 Millionππ….TEMS >>>
Amazing review @TomilolaLagos β€