REVIEW: Asake - Ololade Asake EP
Sometimes being hard to place is a blessing, and sometimes, it's a problem.
Stylistically, Asake seems familiar and easy to place. But on closer examination, it’s hard to describe what he truly represents. While he seems cut from the post-Fuji streets that brought Bella Shmurda, Zinoleesky, Barry Jhay and more, his voice is slightly deeper.
Some might draw similarities between him and Mohbad, but his style is based on less Rap-esque cadences and technique, unlike the Marlian Records act.
While he has a slightly lighter vocal texture, the closest thing to Asake is Yonda. Asake’s 2020 single, ‘Kanipe’ slightly validates this argument. However, he has less quotables than both Mohbad and Yonda.
Regardless of his Yoruba-based delivery, Asake’s exudes Nigerian inner-city culture, replete with Nollywood references like Ololade Mr. Money, commonplace rhetoric about dreams of success and braggadocio, from the perspective of one, who realizes that his success is a privilege.
While ‘Omo Ope’ is euphoric and celebratory, with subtle hints of success, the record also reveals hints of someone who doesn’t necessarily believe what he’s singing, or someone who probably isn’t living that reality yet. Regardless of the identity conundrum, Asake has hitmaker written all over him and his music.
His greatest ability is understanding how to adequately use space on any beat. Most people wouldn’t have even seen the possibility of that choral pre-chorus on ‘Omo Ope,’ but he saw it and absolutely aced it, and it elevated the whole song.
But the greatest thing Asake’s music has pointed towards in 2022 is that, the sonic template of Nigeria’s post-Ampiano-obsessed Afro-pop is changing. Like Asake, the sound isn’t entirely new, but it’s a departure from what we’ve gotten accustomed to in the last two years. For example, where do you place a record like ‘Trabaye’ in recent sonic history?
At first, it will sound like something you’ve heard, but then you’d realize that it doesn’t really sound familiar. While it’s smart to capitalize on the success of ‘Omo Ope’ and his recent euphoric endorsement by the legendary Olamide, via his label, YBNL, it’s difficult to truly say that the EP is incredible.
Honestly, the EP is ‘just there.’ A record like ‘Trabaye’ might yet become a hit in this unpredictable world, where promo supersedes quality, but it seems like a lazy need to capitalize on a trendy phrase.
That said, a record like ‘Sungba’ has that hit factor, but it might need a feature to truly become that hit. To cap it all off, ‘Baba God’ is a refreshing aspirational tune, based on confidence and providence. It also has that choral effect that elevated ‘Omo Ope.’
Ratings: /10
• 0-1.9: Flop
• 2.0-3.9: Near fall
• 4.0-5.9: Average
• 6.0-7.9: Victory
• 8.0-10: Champion
Pulse Rating: /10
6.0 - Victory
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