I went to school with a lot of PH boys who introduced me to music from Tuck Tyght Allstars and swore that the crew was the best thing since SWAT ROOTS and sliced bread.
Years later, popular OAP and one of the group’s members, Andre Blaze would emerge as a fine VJ on Nigezie and it made me realize real creatives have no boundaries and just because they have already made their name in A, doesn’t mean they cannot go and make a name for themselves again in X, Y, Z. Well, as long as said creative is good enough from A-Z. VJ Adams made the reverse transition from TV presenter to artiste and what everybody now wants to know is if this particular VJ’s work is good enough – from A-Z.
Of all the different types of recording artistes, VJ Adams sounds most like a rapper, most of the time. “Survive” is a record of defiance delivered in two 16-bar verses and rapped with the confidence of a commander at a parade ground. Lots of confidence but very little clarity – first, Adams calls us to take charge of our lives, then he questions whether Jesus actually died, then he wants us to acknowledge that racism is still alive – that’s right, in the diverse, multi-racial city that is Lagos. The song itself is quite random, and takes sonic components from Kanye West’s “Never Let Me Down”, but the entire project is actually thematically consistent.
The EP isn’t just a collection of the VJ’s most popular singles compiled and re-released, rather Pursuit of Happiness contains 7 new songs that try to tell stories that loosely fit the theme of the EP’s title. For being so open about his personal life, VJ Adams deserves 3 gbosas. I say “try” because the records don’t always reach their goal of being introspective and thought-provoking. “Lowkey” and “Chidinma” contain heartfelt words of appreciation to Adams’ significant other but with the occasional cheeky albeit, again, completely random line.
I am not a Casanova / But I get paid to talk Cyril Stober
In contrast, when you take away the ever-brilliant Praiz from “When a Man Cries”, Adams struggles to express the kind of angst and despair a record about love lost requires. The presenter delivers his verses in what is essentially a recital manner, similar to how he does on the mellow “My Dream II”, where he reminisces on his journey in the industry. The VJ’s delivery is way too hollow and his raps far too hurried to pass across the emotion he’s gunning for on both songs. And when he’s trying to communicate depth and meaning, Adams unwittingly finds himself swimming at the shallow end of the pool sometimes. The EP’s introduction spends the best part of 2 minutes trying to dissect the non-existent difference between succeeding and winning, for instance.
The other thing that lets the EP down is the really basic stuff that professional artistes usually sort out at the start of their careers, “Your Love” is so poorly engineered that the the engineer’s closing tag is cut off mid way. It’s a problem on other songs on the project too. Then there’s the rawness – some of Adams’ raps aren’t actually badly written but his bars are structured and eventually recorded with the skill level of a rapper who hasn’t been doing this very long.
I’m not sure what his true intentions are but if VJ Adams truly wants to pursue music as an alternative career, then he’d have to first, hone his craft away from public scrutiny and then approach his music projects with the same professionalism as he would if he were conducting an exclusive interview and his job depended on it. Else, we’ll have to categorize his budding rap career as a hobby on his behalf and move on.
Buy/download VJ Adams’ Pursuit of Happiness EP here