I remember when the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu came on national TV to tell Nigerians that the fuel queues we were experiencing in March wouldn’t go away until some arbitrary time in May. There was outrage!
Some called for his head, while the vain ones among us called dibs on his fancy clothes. Kachikwu was then arm-twisted into sugarcoating his earlier prognosis. However, it’s dangerously close to May and the fuel queues haven’t gone anywhere. The truth can be a bitter pill sometimes but we always have to find a way to swallow it.
A lawyer by training, Maka knows a thing or two about being honest *clears throat*. On her introductory EP The Truth, the talented alternative soul singer speaks candidly about her hate-hate relationship with commitment-phobic men, her love-hate relationship with Lagos city and her love-love relationship with some good ass weed.
The first three songs on the EP tackle these 3 talking points head-on.
But you don’t want to label it / I see you’re calling me a friend with benefits” (Forever)
Have you ever loved a city the way that I love mine?” (Lagos)
Won’t you light that up to take away the pain?” (#FMH – Feeling My High)
These songs typify Maka’s approach to making music. At times she’s quizzical, most times she’s assertive but every time, she makes sure to carry you along. Smooth and chatty – the Truth is like a conversation. The conversation is one-directional and occasionally foul-mouthed, but it’s engaging all the same.“Circle” is a sluggish tale of falling in and out of love, awoken by gentle warnings that Maka will treat her lover’s next f*ck up accordingly. We believe her. The passive aggression gives way to measured celebrations on “Good times”, a breezy number that contains more references to what just might be the singer’s favorite pastime – weed.
Way to go Counsel!
The song is multilayered, with jazz at its core but hip-hop at the edges. There’s a random rap verse to go with some random rap adlibs but the singer’s EP was never going to leave Teck-zilla’s studio without heavy references to rap music, so no surprises here. It’s no surprise either how comfortable Teck’s production makes young artistes sound musically mature, even when they are performing over music the same age as they are.
However, warbling over familiar samples from Chaka Khan and the likes is cool but I’d really love to listen to a Maka project with a lot more original compositions to see if her music is still relatable even when the beat isn’t. But I guess EPs are for getting acquainted, so Maka, fans of alternative soul would be glad to meet your acquaintance.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a fuel queue I need to hurry up and join.
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