Wande Coal: With a number of impressive singles, singer is cooking something special and we can smell it

Judging by the singles he has been putting out, Wande Coal may just be building something really epic.

With back to back impressive roll out of hit singles, Wande Coal is cooking something special and we can sense it.

In 2009, Wande Coal, born Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe captured everything we want in an artist, he was young, dynamic, had the right dance moves for extra flavour and his most potent weapon, a captivating voice that endeared many to his talents.

Wande Coal's brilliance shone ever so bright on the Mo Hits compilation project, Curriculum Vitae in 2007 and every time, he took to the stage and echoed, ''Na who do the beat o'', his fan base spiked a few numbers higher.

But his claim to fame was largely off the back of two of the generations biggest names in Don Jazzy and D'banj.

The duo were smart enough to allow him space to fly on the track, 'Ololufe' from the group project, which was noticeably the only solo song by an artist from the label on the project.

Wande deftly seized the moment as he made 'Ololufe' his crowning glory as the next in line to the throne, but a few continued to question if he could do it all on his own.

But two solo albums after, including the era defining 'Mushin to Mohits' in 2009 and 'Wanted' in 2015, Wande Coal has cleared every doubt, proving himself to be a man who possesses the ability to stand on his own merits.

Now just like the sensation he created in the build-up leading to his debut project, which was quite ground-breaking, Wande seems to be in that zone yet again with the singles he has been putting out over the past few months.

Mushin to Mohits became the blueprint of how Nigerian pop music would sound, while Wanted fell under the sophomore curse as it never came close to what M2M had offered, as it was just another project living on trending sounds.

Despite a number of hit singles and videos, the project lacked cohesiveness, was uninspiring and the extra that comes with a package such as Wande Coal, which many traced to his falling out with Don Jazzy and Mavin Records.

Wande Coal switches it up

 

A year after the lukewarm reception to the project, jumping on Olamide's 'Who You Epp' was his first step to regaining his mojo.

The song was already a hit on the streets, it had birthed a long list of covers after Olamide made the instrumental available for artists to play with, but Wande Coal brought something different to the table.

His version boasts of some of the catchiest lyrics and flow which ensured that for a moment, attention was again tilted in the direction of his sound.

And this he capitalized on with his subsequent features and singles, working with Phyno on Zamo Zamo and the sizzling collaboration, Will You Be Mine, with Leriq.

Then came his own singles, with the anthemic 'Iskaba' leading the way, the tune was contagious, it was music that no one could refuse as it rapidly became one of the hottest songs in the land.

'Turkey Nla' followed suit, cut from a similar coat as he tried to recreate the magic, then there is 'So Mi So', the down-tempo Afrobeat tune which offers eargasm, the song can be compared to a musical striptease embodied in different outfits that get removed with every listen, as he implicitly narrates his sexual desires.

 

His recently released single, 'Tupac' is an experimental tune with UK disc jockey, P. Montana, that is targeted at his audience that litter the streets of London.

Wande Coal is succeeding in rebuilding genuine love and street cred, alongside a mastery of his craft delivered in a way only he can.

In the last couple of years, he has been able to score bonafide hit songs and if this is anything to go by, then we can't wait for his third project, which by several hints may be coming before the end of the year.

While it is bound to be an uphill challenge to top or even equal what M2M offered, Wande's next body of work may be one of the defining albums on the Nigerian music scene in recent times.