For more than a minute, Seyi Shay could only do wrong in public. Every time Ms. Shay trended during what might have been a nightmarish period, it was based off outrageous comments, one after the other. Highlights include but are not limited to: Claiming not to have ever heard of Amber Rose (which is possible only if you’re Amish,) pronouncing “t-w-o” as “tu-w-oh,” making unsubstantiated accusations (that may be true) that “One Dance” was mostly created by Wizkid and gifted to Drake.
Pitchforks were hoisted, Tiki Torches were lit on the virtual streets of the internet, and the roasts/banter piled up. As expected and thankfully for Ms. Shay, Social Media’s ephemerality and mild amnesia kicked in. Running with the ease up, Ms. Shay went with the flow, going semi-incognito while easing her way into a comeback. She performed earlier this year at American music festival SXSW, hosted the recent edition of The Headies, starred in a lead role for the upcoming movie Lara And The Beat, while pushing solid comeback songs in the past few months. Not too shabby, if you ask me.
There’s a traceable rejuvenation lodged in two of Ms. Shay’s better comeback singles “Yolo Yolo” and “Bia.” Both songs are up-tempo, diving into Salsa and Afro-Cuban music with a colorful splash while finding common ground with contemporary afro-pop. This experimental approach adds an extra layer to Ms. Shay’s beaconing suave, and it’s on this combination of exotic and modish that Electric Package, her new 6-song EP named after her infamous blunder, is built on.
Released as the only single off EP (pun intended,) standout track “Alele” is a delightfully whomping, neo-highlife song that’s as likely to stir up improvised routines from a dance crew in a sophisticated dance studio as it is to induce full bodied sways at a local bar in the Eastern part of Nigeria, which is kind of the point to the song if you can focus on Ms. Shay’s lyrics. “Alele” features Flavour, the new school highlife impressario doling out the shirtless charisma he (rightly) shelved on his last offering.
Also resting on an impressive chemistry is “Surrender,” which features the smoking hot Kiss Daniel. Bound to be added to wedding playlists, “Surrender” finds both artists take turns in showering each other with words of love and commitment promises. Kiss Daniel’s rasp compliments Ms. Shay’s fluid delivery, over a mildly chirping, contemporary Yoruba folk groove.
Ms. Shay’s debut album Seyi Or Shay showed she had a good ear for production, EP relies on that innate ability for sustenance. While the beats cozy up to trends (especially latching on to the Gqom-inspired Shaku Shaku style for “D Vibe”) in order to appeal to a core Nigerian audience, there’s an affection for plinking guitar riffs and horn scats that inverts the sonic cliché-ness of the EP into a more enjoyable and ambitious turn. Also there’s the quite genius move to feature a DJ on every track, further contriving her aspirations.
While there’s an innovative edge to the music on EP, there’s a telling limit to Ms. Shay’s vocals. Obviously not due to lack of range, the competence Ms. Shay displays on the EP leans more on the side of safety, downplaying the amount of intrigue she could have added by dipping further into her vocal bag. Also safe is her songwriting which swings between calculated (“boy, you’ve got the melody/I wanna sing you a song”) and corny (“I think I match banana peel”) – it’s more of the former, most of the time.
Little missteps aside, though, Electric Package continues the positive reset for Ms. Shay’s comeback. It should only get better.