Kiss Daniel: ‘Yeba’s success is a victory for G-Worldwide and their no-collaboration policy

While G-Worldwide continues to receive criticism on its no-collaboration policy on social media, the success of Kiss Daniel will be interpreted as justification for it.

I was in Sagamu, Ogun State over the weekend, to witness the town show support for Anthony Joshua, the British boxer whose roots stretch from the UK to the South-Western town. It was a madness. The town organised a huge viewing of Joshua’s fight with Carlos Takam.

It was a huge carnival. People of all ages flocked out to witness their illustrious son punch sense into another boxer. Huge screens were set up, two top brands joined in the organisation, music blared from countless speakers, and if you smile at anyone, they would smile back. Over the past six months Anthony Joshua’s success has had a huge impact on the town, and I was here to bask in it.

And then something of note happened. While we waited for the fight to begin, the DJ entertained with music from the usual suspects. The playlist was really decent; countless pop songs made the set, as people nodded to the beat. It was normal, everyone had some alcohol flowing in them, but they maintained a calm. Only Anthony Joshua could move them. Or so I thought.

Until Kiss Daniel happened. The DJ had the welcome thought to improve his playlist with new song ‘Yeba.’ Immediately, the percussion came through, everywhere exploded. The stimulation was strong enough to get everyone off their chairs, effectively turning the viewing hall into some makeshift dancehall.

“Sha ma se’gbadun, oyin momo, Omo to ni kaka yi o, yeba, you can go and confirm it, oyin momo,” Kiss Daniel sings in Yoruba.

People sang along, line for line, and I could see a few mimic the motion of playing the piano to the distinct percussion. It was a huge eye-opener for me.

Did I know this record was an instant hit? Yes. Did I know it had travelled to Sagamu so fast that people had accepted and personalised it to the point of singing along? No. That’s why I was blown.

Since he dropped his impressive debut album “New Era,” the narrative about Kiss Daniel has shifted considerably. Once it was about his music, and as time passed, it moved into his inability to collaborate with other talents. His label boss, Emperor Geezy, had to make a public statement addressing the situation.

‘Yeba’ is a new win for him and his record label. The record produced by Killertunes contains is interesting. It is a fantastic record which possesses a core elemental sound that skips through all your defences and into the core of your pleasure centres. You would always want to connect with something so powerful and visceral.

 

And how did he make he make the beat? Killertunes added nothing special there. The record happened in the same way that numerous.  He was just in the studio, creating beats for a record. It was normal service for him, and when he was done, he passed it along to Kiss Daniel who liked enough to record it.

While G-Worldwide continues to receive questions challenging their no-collaboration policy on social media, the success of Kiss Daniel will continue to be interpreted as justification for it. Why open up the lad to record more music, when you can limit it, and maintain his ‘freshness’? ‘Yeba’ justifies this policy. If you watch the video hard enough, you could almost feel Emperor Geezy’s middle finger in your face.

Sagamu isn’t the only place where I have seen people react to ‘Yeba’. In my office here, it’s a ringtone on a lot of devices in the newsroom. And at clubs, the record continues to grow. The promotion is right, an interesting video is in rotation, and the song continues to spread.

Kiss Daniel has done it again. Whether because of G-Worldwide or in spite of them, the facts remain that there is a new record from Kiss Daniel, and it is a hit.