Akon was one of the first artists on the global stage to spot Wizkid’s talent and work with him. Even though he saw the vision, Akon never signed Wizkid to Konvict Music but recently he did sign the man partly responsible for some of the hit songs Wizzy released at a pivotal point in his career: Samklef.
Samklef produced 6 songs on Wizkid’s Superstar album, which is not a small achievement. However, he will also be remembered as one of those who possibly aided the young singer in infringing on other’s copyrights on a number of songs on that album. “Don’t Dull” in particular is uncomfortably similar to fellow producer Ron Browz’ “I Promise”, in fact, it’s just a sped up version.
Listen below:
Ron Browz: I Promise (2009)
Wizkid: Don’t Dull (2010)
Anyway, “Don’t Dull” got so big in ’10/’11 that Akon decided to hop on the remix and that’s the first time Akon and Samklef would appear in the same song credits.
Fast forward to 2017 and Akon made the shocking announcement to add the artist/producer to his roster. The decision was shocking because, while Samklef had a moment when he was one of the go-to guys for beats in the country, his career as an artist didn’t have many peaks after Nonilizing, his debut album – he must now hope for better.
Samklef’s first single on Konvict is ”Philo”, an Afropop love song where he affirms his commitment to the special woman in his life: Philomena. The song was produced by Samklef himself, mixed and mastered by Swaps.
Listen below:
My baby Philo, Philo, Philo
Philomena like to dey fire body
Philomena liketo dey catapult o..
Old habits die hard it seems, again the production on “Philo” sounds disturbingly similar to GospelOnDBeatz’ work on Patoranking’s smash hit from last year “No Kissing Baby”. It’s hardly the best way to restart your career after being given a lifeline.
Anyway, go ahead and watch the video below, and note that it wasn’t directed by Akon’s new videographer Patrick Elis.