Pulse Opinion: Dear Duncan Mighty, it is time to slow down with the collaborations

For every three songs released, a Duncan Mighty feature is found. Even though, it was refreshing at first, a burn out is now visible and he needs to slow it down.

On Tuesday, August 21st, the much anticipated collaboration, 'Aza' by Davido, Duncan Mighty and Peruzzi was released, but unlike the wow effect his previous power features created, the reactions that have since followed suggests that it may be time the Port Harcourt flagbearer becomes more intentional with the choice of song he jumps on.

Duncan Mighty is the flavour of the Nigerian Music industry presently and it is no surprise that everyone seeks a bit of his magic.

His technical proficiency on hooks is truly stunning. The way he chants his native language is attimes enchanting and his vocals deliver a gripping piece of musical bliss on a given day.

From the moment he blessed Wizkid with a feature on Fake Love, which became an instant hit, Duncan Mighty has been on the list of 'must-work-with-to-get-a-hit' by every artist seeking a guaranteed mainstream record.

 

But this is not peculiar to him as it often happens to every 'newly discovered hit-maker' or any artist who has the ability to deliver the right hook or verse in turning an otherwise average record into an anthem.

When 2face Idibia emerged on the scene, everyone wanted a piece of him, it was no different for Ruggedman after he stirred the hostile waters with Ehen, a verse from him was the holy grail that rappers sought, the likes of Wizkid and Olamide have also passed through this route and internationally, names like Rihanna, Akon, TPain were most prominent during the time of their come-up.

But as great as putting out more music sound, less can actually be more especially for an artist like Duncan Mighty, who is not exactly a newbie.

For long, his legacy powered by his talent has also been fuelled by this myth around his music with the conservative stance that he chose, remaining in his Port Harcourt region at a time when every artist jumped on the next bus to Lagos.

 

It is understandable when artists try to cash in as much as possible on their '15minutes of fame', but there is a greater risk of early burnout as against a sustained period of influence.

From May, when he enjoyed a 'rebirth' of a sort with the release of Fake Love, Duncan Mighty has featured on over 15 released songs in the last three months.

An average of 4 songs every month, one song per week and while he has scored some hits along the way, evidently there have been misses as well.

The past few features especially are becoming far too predictable, less intimate and not as refreshing as the chants were.

The majority of his features are tied around the same topic, ''Love'', so his lyrics are also becoming repetitive and you find him even bringing back lines from his old songs like he did on Lova Lova with Tiwa Savage, with the lyrics, ''If I break your heart, it's like oil spillage'', originally used in the song 'Killing me softly' released on his last studio album, The Certificate.

 

Outside the fact that he delivered a stellar verse on Fake Love, one thing that also worked in the favour of the Wene Mighty was that listeners had become tired of the saturated and now monotonous 'Shaku Shaku' vibe, and the world hadn't heard from him in quite some time, so his sound was a breathe of fresh air allowing his fans enough time to fully soak up his melody.

There was also the feeling of nostalgia that music lovers who listened to him when he released his debut album, Koliwater in 2008 could associate with.

But 15 features down the line and there is no evolving, little experimenting and everything is starting to sound the same, and heading for the stale door faster than the last trend did.

The attraction of the now is blinding the brilliance of his creativity, and preventing him from taking time to rebooth and deliver more special offerings.

So yeah, we understand that the newly found attraction is good and acknowledge his work ethic, but it will be interesting to see him take a few steps back, be more selective with the collaborations he jumps on and judging by how he has consistently delivered a new project every two years, maybe power that energy into releasing another defining body of work before the end of the year.

To leave a legacy, Duncan Mighty doesn't necessarily have to be ubiquitous on every song, but for his songs to meaningfully live longer, have more gripping effect and consistently remain on listener's playlists and in their hearts.