It breaks my heart every time we have to work on a story on some “new revelation” from Tiwa Savage and Tee Billz’ estrangement. It really does. However, after we post the story, I quickly pick up the pieces of my broken heart and watch the traffic on the site as it does the same – pick up. It’s their life but they made the choice to make it our business, the world didn’t need to hear it.
Stella Damasus’ personal life has gone through similar public scrutiny over the years. Her marriage to Daniel Ademinokan however made it through the storm in one piece, unfortunately for Stella though, her reputation didn’t. The Nollywood star is aware that her personal struggles, and previous profession, disqualifies her from her new profession in gospel music in the eyes of many. So she addresses the elephant in the studio on the “Saints and Sinners” skit. Yes, she’s had all those wild allegations. No, she’s not perfect but then again, neither are we. At nearly 5 minutes long, it is probably one of the lengthier skits you’ll hear but it’s so engaging and Stella is passing across so much information that you might not notice. I wish I could say the same about the 16 songs on The Alternative LP.
If an artist so obviously places their stronger cuts at the start of an album, it gets frustrating when the track list extends into double digits. Stella’s children introduce her music piece with a quasi-prayer to the heavens but as a musical composition, The Alternative climaxes soon afterwards. “Ka biyo osi” is a sweet-smelling offering to the King of the earth; drum rolls and an expansive production give it a grand feel. “Open Up Your Heart” has a more chilled R&B/hip-hop vibe, with a solid verse from little-known rapper JQ. Stella shows off her vocal range here, bellowing gloriously as the song draws to a close but also showing masterful control when “I Am” requires a more measured delivery. Stella’s voice is trained – she actually started off as a singer before Nollywood stole her heart – so no surprises here.
There are surprises however as you progress into the album, Stella becomes increasingly more adventurous with the sound – “Addicted” has a reggae ring to it, “Get Loud” taps into the trap sound, “This Love” is holy house and “Let’s Dance” is righteous rap. The adventure is good but when her voice is overshadowed by some other element on the song, that’s when you notice the lack of care in penning some of the lyrics.
Take for instance on “This Man”, she goes –
I know a man so fly, He can walk on water
Sounds like we’re talking more about an aquatic bird than a man.
Then there are topical limitations that, to be fair to her, affects most faith-based singers. Praise and worship, worship and praise – it’s a gift to be able to record songs about these two that work when the listener is actually doing neither of them. If you’re looking for an album from someone with that gift, The Alternative is not for you.
Buy The Alternative album here