I am probably one of those nose-turned-up assholes that takes a certain amour propre in their refined taste in music and will not hesitate to introduce the next poor unsuspecting fella to this little cocoon of elitism. Think Cecil Vyse (played by the ever-green Daniel Day-Lewis) in ‘A Room With A View’. So, you might, just as I do, find it extremely ironic that I am about to praise an artiste whose most impressionable lyrics to me remain “my melody salambolo, warara salambolo, ayayaya” or something of the sorts. I have come to reconcile the fact that Nigerian lyricism will never be much to give glowing reports about and that I should just enjoy the melodic brilliance on offer. May very well have to trade sitting bespectacled, confined within a room that offers a lovely view, sipping tea while listening to “classics” for groovy melodious tunes that have one semi hopping, throwing legs in opposite direction while hands make either what is a terrible cutting gesture or a very unholy sign of the cross. Yemi’s dreadful lyrics and its valiantly humorous critics haven’t managed to hamper the success of Mama Afrique who has managed to brilliantly incorporate the French language in a ploy to amass support from the francophone parts of the African continent, even transcending the continent’s boundaries into Paris, selling out the Palacio (she is already the Yoruba/Igbo girl so why not add French to the collection of infinity stones). I must mention that part because international validation remains very important when it comes to how we view our artistes cos, no matter how shitty you think their music is, if they are racking the big bucks from international shows then they must be doing something right. Right?
If I had a 100 naira for every single time I heard a Nigerian musician say ‘‘give them’’ then I’d probably be able to complete my house rent which is due. Oh, in case you didn’t notice, I am going straight into the album’s content. Well basically there are 15 songs to make you dance and that’s about it really and if you think I am going to find bogus narratives to describe the album any more than this or try to find any faux depth beyond the shallowly presentation then guess what? You are kind of right. It is just that though, 15 songs with no titular reference. It is basically 15 really good-great cheesy singles that you’d imagine Yemi Alade could release after any deep slumber she undertakes. She talks about getting called every “Night And Day”, there is a really beautiful song with Angelique Kidjo named “Shekere”, a song about making a man’s abode her “home” and there’s a beautiful rnb song titled “remind you” somewhere in the middle of it all. You get the drift already don’t you? Must I go on? Great afrobeat sounds, well picked features that include Rick Ross, Duncan Mighty and Angelique Kidjo with amazing production handled by the likes of Krisbeatz and Young Willis. One critic wrote that only a cynic will have problems with this album and that’s exactly what I am. A high-minded/piously opinionated cynic with a laptop (further armed with the thesaurus and a platform for expression) is what I am so here is my opinion – an opinion that bedazzles my aforementioned elitism and which to my musical classism makes no sense. It is that despite severely and I mean SEVERELY lacking in depth, content and showing next to nothing lyrically, Woman Of Steel by Yemi Alade is an amazing album. How? Well she knows what she is good at and sticks to it with dramaesque portrayals of situationships sung on catchy afrobeat sounds with easy adlibs thrown in every here and there. It is her formula and it is hard to argue with as it works for her. She regurgitates it for our enjoyment a couple of times too much on the album but it’s a fine album if you know what you are here for.
I don’t think anybody listens to a Yemi Alade album hoping for the kind of transient lyrical power that an album like Hozier’s Wasteland, baby! exudes or the call to activism that an album like Doom Days by Bastille carries. You are listening to dance and “vibe” and that’s exactly what you’ll be getting. This is an artiste with whom you know exactly what you will be getting, with no deviation whatsoever from the expected and if you come here searching for anything more, you are either stupid or just have a thing for disappointment. So, keep your refined taste to yourself and just bask in the melodic glory of this album. Drop any pretentious notions you have unto what is “good music” and what is not and enjoy all the “wombolos” and “wombalas” that this woman has to give, lord knows there is enough to go around.