Let me just start by telling you that this is a full on HYPE post. The difference however in this case is that this is a deserving kind of HYPE. I will not ever hype something that was not totally worth it – DJ Klem‘s Afrofunkydiscosoul is totally worth it – and the interesting part is, wait for it, wait for it…. It is totally FREE!!! Music this good should not be free, there should be a law against this BUT thankfully, I don’t write the rules books.
DJ Klem’s production shows so much creativity and such a diverse body of work like this one can only be indicative of the constant growth and change in the Nigerian music industry. He was not afraid to try something new and “new” turned out to be great. A friend of mine said after listening to the album “It’s a great album. I am not sure if it is great because it is different or it is indeed great”. Whatever the reason, this record has the power and dexterity to do for DJ Klem what So Far Gone did for Drake last year. OK you get the analogy right? But enough with the rhetoric, let’s get right into the music.
Our second pick on this record was rather obvious and its none other than “Footprint” which features Teeto Ceemos on the verses and Iye on vocal duties. I am in love with the beat of this song, there’s just something about how calm the musical milieu comes off and how the synthesis of each instrument is very clear and sharp – from the keyboard chords to the drum patterns to the horn arrangements. I am more impressed with Teeto’s rap on this song, the story behind each verse, his flow – understanding that he did not need to lay it on extra heavy or thick. I love it. I will be remiss though if I don’t say that Iye on the chorus was yet another testament to DJ Klem’s genius in putting together the best artists for each song. Yoruba never sounded so sexier than with Iye on this chorus.
This third pick was also not that hard to decide because… well I would not be a good reviewer/writer if I did not mention this song and just have you listen to it for yourself. “Journey Into Sound” featuring Sauce Kid and Phenom is exactly just that; a journey into sound that you do not hear on the regular, anywhere around the globe. It’s a really beautiful sound with lush synths, electronica elements, properly-used vocoding and thumping drum machine kicks and I’m hoping it gets maximum air play on Nigerian mainstream radio. It definitely gets my vote for best rap song and best production on a rap song. I have never heard Sauce Kid sound better, he went hard and I am not very familiar with Phenom but he held his own as well.
Now comes the hard part – because I feel like I am doing injustice to all the other songs I will not be mentioning on this review but I can’t very well talk about every song. We’ll be here for far too long otherwise. I apologize to all the other great artists on Afrofunkydiscosoul who we’ve failed to mention. You all did a fantastic job on this album and I doff my hat in accordance. This is sooooo hard so how about I plug two other songs from this record that are oh so worth mentioning without talking too much about either?
The last – but definitely by no means least – song worthy of our mention just makes me dance. Come to think of it, any song the self-proclaimed Young Fela, Wizkid is featured on lately has the ability to do just that. “Let The Music Play (Remix)” which also features Zara and Myst is no exception. I don’t need to say much really, just listen and get to dancing…
Keep Tabs on DJ Klem: Twitter
Till the next time,
Can I simply just say what a relief to find an
individual who truly knows what they are discussing over the internet.
You definitely understand how to bring an issue to light and make it important.
More and more people need to look at this and understand this
side of your story. I was surprised you aren’t more popular since you definitely possess the gift.
If some one needs to be updated with newest technologies therefore he must be go to see this web page and be up to date every day.