Asake ‘Mr. Money With The Vibe’ makes grand entrance [Album Review]

According to Jones, Hip-Hop/Rap Music’s real roots lie in African praise-singing and panegyrics, which then got transported across the Atlantic during the Slave Trade. Gaunt slaves on rich plantations would then sing these songs for togetherness and a sense of ‘home,’ before the elements of that praise-singing started to be repurposed to document their struggles during and after the slave trade.

Jones tried to draw parallels between the sing-talk style of African panegyrics, to how Hip-Hop/Rap music became a version of melodic talk/chatter on beats. For those who might ask, an example of panegyric in Yoruba is oriki or ewi or ijala. In Igbo, you can see when kings are getting hailed in movies before they step out in the morning.

Fuji and Were/Azan

While the slaves became American citizens, panegyric remained the same. But this time, something similar to panegyric – for style – became the roots of Fuji music. It is generally accepted that Fuji originated in – mostly – Ilorin and – to a lesser extent – Ibadan, two Yoruba cities with a strong Muslim demographic.

It is also generally accepted that the vocal texture and technique that forms the unique vocal exertions and vocal manipulations of Fuji artists, find roots in ‘Were’ or ‘Azan,’ the early morning call-to-prayer that Muslims engage in during Ramadan. It is used to galvanise people to wake up, eat and pray before they engage in fasting for the day.

Asake

In 2022, Nigeria’s newly minted superstar, Asake, released ‘Palazzo,’ the first single after his debut EP, Ololade Asake. For music heads, the instant blend of Amapiano by percussive elements and progression; Hip-Hop by way of the drum patterns/arrangement; sung-rap, by way of his technique and delivery; and Fuji by his vocal texture and vocal exertion.

Many tried to classify ‘Palazzo’ as Neo-Fuji, Fuji-Fusion, Fujipiano and Amapiano-Fusion, while some even wanted to hilariously call it, ‘Afro-Fuji,’ for ignorant reasons. But Asake’s music is just a cumulative of uniquely Nigerian (Yoruba) elements in music – even the Hip-Hop/Rap part, going by Quincy Jones’ assertion. The roots and elements of what Hip-Hop/Rap has become, find similar sonics in what birthed Fuji.

pic.twitter.com/MrfpObf8W6 https://t.co/6m3Xb8TzQ3

— Motolani Alake (@OneMotolani) September 8, 2022

In fact, the opening seconds of ‘Dull’ is delivered like a panegyric or Yoruba ewi or an Ifa hymn.

Such is the richness, depth and variations of Asake’s music, united by what it means to be a Nigerian, and a Yoruba boy, who was born into a lower middle class or lower class reality, in the late ’90s. It can also be seen how his music is an unintentional intersection of African music yet he is an intentional product of many influences.

On every track, Asake employs multisyllabic rhyme schemes, that are known to rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, despite always singing like a Fuji artist, he flows like a rapper. Perhaps, we should also draw inferences to how Fuji and Rap music are both premised on using a speaking approach to creating music.

Asake, the dreamer and the achiever

To the average consumer, Asake’s music is simply feel-good party music. But when you check its fine lines, he is just documenting his reality, through carefully crafted narratives and personas. It just happens that his reality makes us dance.

On every track across his debut album, Asake is either a dreamer or an achiever. And sometimes he is both, expressed through his belief in God.

In some instances, like on ‘Dull,’ he manages to speak like an achiever, who was a dreamer, and yet, continues to dream.

While ‘Mr. Money’ and ‘Omo Ope’ are premised upon lavish spending and clubbing, ‘Omo Ope’ seems like both a case of escapism and self-reward, after years of dreaming and grinding.

Even though his music is rooted in Yoruba culture, there is a multiplicity and duality to everything on his debut album, Mr Money With The Vibe. Some tracks might seem similar in style, topic or approach, but no track repeats the same topic in totality. Even when he is just a dreamer or an achiever, there is still a multiplicity or duality to his approach. If he showcased Muslim culture on ‘PBUY,’ he still dressed like a pastor in its video.

If he talks about his celestial “Sultana” and “Malaika” on ‘Terminator,’ he appears to speak Arabic in the opening seconds of the song’s first verse.

If he called, ‘Sodiq,’ a Muslim name on ‘Organize,’ he attends confession in the video for ‘Bandana,’ and speaks white garment church language in ‘Ototo.’ He might have even admitted that he was raised in the Celestial Church on the same song. Perhaps, he recognises that either he is a dreamer or an achiever, he is simply a product of God’s grace in any version. Interestingly, the structural formation of ‘Nzaza’ is heavily influenced by midtempo church music.

If he references his dream phase on ‘Dull’ and ‘Ototo,’ he is a grateful achiever on records like ‘Dupe’ and ‘Nzaza.’