ALBUM REVIEW: JESSE JAGZ'S HERETICAL "THY NATION COME"

Thy Nation Come album cover (Jagz Nation)

Those looking for full-on raps from start to finish will be thrown several curves on Thy Nation Come.  The Jos artist and producer is defiantly heretic. Those of you with a little rebel in you should pop it on full volume and close your eyes. Musically, Thy Nation Come is avant garde- fascinating and very powerful.  Jesse Jagz created this record with love and as far as he is concerned, critics can go to hell. The album creates a new era of thinking and challenges the whole industrial Nigerian hip pop. The production is head-spinning with plenty of romance with reggae.

Thy Nation Come is the sound of a man just doing what he loves without no boundaries. Jesse Jags  intent arrives on the third song, during a song called “Bed Roses.”  It involves two quotes: “If you want to give birth to stars, start fucking the sky” and “there is no bitching around when I’m feeling forsaken.” The line are used by Jagz to say if “I’m gonna reach a bill, take a different route.” He is creating a class for himself.  He continues to rap on that song “Now this is how we r gonna determine the best.J town flow until infinity yes.”

What is new is his disregard for conventional rap. The best of them, “Desire” is a rhythmic aggressive jam, very potent yet commercial. Being a Jesse Jags product, TNC is a brilliant career re-birth. Every single track has a maximum impact with Jag’s lyrics focused and articulate.  On "Mamacita", a mid-tempo jam with a chorus for the ladies he say “my music is the definition of what brilliance is.”

TNC weighs a ton and full of  mouthiness as Jesse rap on “God on the Mic”: “I’m the rod that will strike/Make way for the god on the mic/His sword is full of light”. The feeling and lyrics on this song is jarring and the production is rich as ever.  Jesse embodies extraterrestrial and sounds poetic and revengeful with “Fallen from the sky like a discuss, a god has fallen from Olympus.” “God on The Mic" is elegant hip pop delivery and very impressive. “Steady Going” is another song where Jagz show how comfortable he is with his craft and the vibe is super-chill. You will definitely “Get around.”

The guest appearances don’t come until the second half of the album. The most impressive are with 9ice and Brymo. The former gives a nostalgic feeling about how a brilliant artist he could be considering the below par outings he has had in the last 6 months.  9ice and Brymo’s cliché produce two outstanding records on the album. The collaborations are an inventive kick in the head that reach beyond the norm.

Listening to the album in one sitting is a gripping experience and truly is unlike anything else. Cohesion and audacious intent are at a finest on Thy Nation Come. Each song is cautiously created and bolted into its right place across the album. Jesse jagz deliveres a monster and we all have to deal with it now. Thy Nation Come is a multi-layered body of work that definitely be debated all summer.   

ALBUM REVIEW: WAJE ARRIVES ON W.A.J.E

Waje is one of those singers so gifted, she often sounds like she’s laces her voice on any beat without breaking a sweat. After six years of carefully creating her niche, Waje has finally arrived with her debut album. She is often touted as one of Nigerian best vocalists and now we can measure that claim by Words Aren’t Just Enough (Waje Music Entertainment).

She has in the past flirted electro pop R&B production and it wasn’t a surprise she opened up her album in a comfortable zone. Songs such as "Ijeoma", "Fine Girl", and "No Tomorrow" showcases her mastering of this genre. Continuing with the R&B theme, Waje experiments with Reggae on “I Wish”. The song is a moment of vulnerability as Waje reflects on being a victim of nonreciprocal love and she wishes “she had not heart.”

 What seems to be a subliminal purpose of the record is to elevate herself from the level of her contemporaries; Waje delivers her best vocal performance on “No Be U”. This song is a blueprint in understanding how gifted and passionate she is about her work. It has a potential to be one of her biggest songs if properly promoted as a single. It is a masterfully crafted love song.

 Waje wants to be taken as a serious artist, she played to her are strength and the results are impressive. In order to avoid the long shadows of big names, she only features a handful artists; MI, Tiwa Savage, J.Martins, Sarkodie, Eva, Phyno and Burna Boy. Needless to say, her effort with M.I and Burna Boy stands out the most. Waje and M.I chemistry is written in the stars- "Only You" is another huge single.

Besides being solidly built and not overstuffed at 14 tracks long, the album triumphs by not overly experimenting. She doesn’t fall into the trap of having very song she recorded on the album like most albums these days. The album is consciously R&B and Female power driven. On "Fine Girl" she sings “cos I am grown. I hustle…diva toh bad.” Waje goes inspirational on "Ijeoma" with “ you’ve got to work to grow and the road can be rough.”

 Many artists are afraid to grow and get complacent. This isn’t the case with Waje. She worked with an established and upcoming range of producers Del B, Spelz, Ekely,Sizzle Pro, Cobhams Asuquo, Leriq , M.I, who all bring their cliché to bear- producing a solid album instead of a quickie. The result is a brilliant debut project that shows maturity and professionalism. Words Aren’t Just Enough is definitely not the average album. Waje has proven she can be a strong vocalist, a lyricist and an entertainer. With her almost perfect vocal abilities with polished production, W.A.J.E sees Waje inching towards Nigerian R&B upper echelon, while still exhibiting the hunger of a single album artiste.