DJ Spinall – ‘Grace’ is the quintessential playlist [Album Review]

From the throes of Raypower FM, he has been in a position to brand himself and transcend average conversations.

On his new album Grace, he additionally produced a significant quantity of songs. Whereas lots of albums sound shabby, deliberate or forced, different albums are similar to playlists. An album like that is Olamide’s critically-acclaimed Carpe Diem. However you see, even that album had a nexus – Olamide’s honest. Spinall’s ‘Grace’ is the quintessential playlist.

It has no particular nexus or idea to tie all of it collectively, neither does it sound shabby. As an alternative, it’s crafted around resonant subjects and constructed just like the playlist to a lowkey rooftop party in Lekki, Lagos.

The underside line is that ‘Grace’ is Afro-pop – typically it’s Wizkid-esque with the mid-tempo essence, different times it’s Street-hop, typically it’s new-age Afro&B and some instances it goes out of Nigeria for sonic influences. Commendably, Spinall picks the options for each song to perfection. His options steadiness the service and streaming technique views to a ‘T.’

When the album went within the love direction, Minz and Bella Shmurda deliver furtive love-filled approaches from the admiration and first encounter perspective on ‘Energy.’ ‘Confam’ featuring King Promise is the quintessential Ghana-influenced Afro-pop record. If Minz and Bella Shmurda had been furtive with admiration, King Promise is vocal along with his intentions.

He guarantees the woman the finer things of life after being stunned by her beauty and charms. Niniola and Wurld then take it up a notch on the Amapiano record, ‘Pure Water.’ It appears like that preliminary ‘sex talk’ flirtation during these corny-cut WhatsApp chat moments whereas dating.

It’s really fascinating how Wurld conveniently uses ‘Pure Water’ as a metaphor for a lady. Hmmm…

Fireboy then got here with the wash as he invited a lady out to ‘Sere’ aboard a Kel P-produced Funk-Pop/Disco-pop/Boogie-esque, bass guitar chords-aided piece of eccentric Afro-pop. Fireboy additionally drops the corny, but resonant lines, “I nor fit fight kung-fu, but I can fight for you… I nor fit die for you, but I fit live for you…:”

One time, love saw Crayon liken a lady to ‘Tatashe’ – which is Yoruba for a species of pepper. The metaphor is supposed to underline and amplify the warmth the woman emits. Crayon additionally sings that, “My baby is a fire dispenser…”

‘Tatashe’ is one of the best song on this album.

Love additionally forms the idea of ‘Dis Love,’ the 2019 sleeper hit which features Wizkid and Tiwa Savage. Other instances, love additionally evolves into sex, Omah Lay’s area of specialization aboard ‘Tonight.’ The issue with the record though is the lack of cohesion between the hook and verses on the record.

‘Jabole’ additionally saw Oxlade ask a lady if he could give her on “standing.” I wasn’t right here, plis… ah!

Probably the most specific sex talk came from elite vet, Reminisce. On ‘EDI,’ he employs a call and response type to adulate a model-esque woman on a street-hop record. He additionally embodies a confident, rich Yoruba man who swaggers into a possible relationship. Oja D wildly raps, “Oloko nla no dey talk o…:”

In English that means, “Whoever has a big penis doesn’t brag…”

Let’s simply chalk that to the brilliance of absolute wildness. Regardless of the explicit sex talk, the general spirit of the track makes it really feel like the early levels of a love story though, not the thick of it.

The brilliance of the record is in how it borrows from completely different sounds to cement its rounded Afro-pop expertise. Whereas Reminisce raps in Yoruba, his verse is deeply rooted in Ghanaian Afro-pop flows.

The beat feels South African – Gqom meets subtle Amapiano hits – in melodies, use of horns and its peripheral instruments, however the drums are straight from Nigerian Street-hop lamba. ‘

‘Everytime’ is one of the best single that Spinall released. Its Bashment essence comes through as a canvass for sensuality. Kranium sings, “Everytime you call me, me know you want it. Me know say you wan give me the p*nani…”

At first glance, it seems like another track laced with random sex talk, however in reality it underlines the consolation of a lady who asks for a sex in a society that vilifies ladies for asking for sex.

It’s not all love and sex though, typically it’s in regards to the struggles of life on the road to success. At the end of ‘Pressure’ featuring Dice Ailes, Spinall says, “Pressure is real, iyanu a sele…”

In English, “Iyanu a sele” means “There will be a miracle…”

The record sees Ailes talk about the ‘Pressure’ as he sings, “The kind pressure man dey face scatter man eye o, the kind tension man dey see… It’s very mighty o…”

‘Grace’ additionally discusses the power of money on ‘Dollar’ featuring R2Bess and ‘Money’ featuring BOJ and fast-rising British-Nigerian rapper, Shaybo. Once again, Shaybo shines along with her personable lines, Nigerian-Yoruba tongue mix and her ‘highly Hip-Hop’ technique.

Final thoughts

On the basis of this album, ‘Grace’ doesn’t seem to be an acceptable title for a topically decentralized album. Nonetheless, ‘Grace’ might additionally simply be where Spinall is as a person, per his journey and not essentially as regards his music. If you take a look at his journey, he has a variety of reasons to really feel gratitude.

On the entire, the album has some vivid moments and resonant subjects, however its sequence means the album lacks topical development and that it blows cold and hot. At times, a listener goes through three to four songs with recognition of appeal, however with out genuine appreciation that comes with nice records.

Lots of that has to do with the production which isn’t bad or average in musicality, but isn’t good enough to convey excitement either. For these reasons this writer feels like this track-list/album sequence would have higher served the album;

Words of Grace

Energy

Confam

Pure Water

Sere

Tatashe

Dis Love

Tonight

Jabole

EDI

Everytime

Strain

Dollar

Money

Everytime [Remix]

This way, the album could have come in two parts; one part about a relationship that blossoms into nice sex and the other about strain, the worth of money and success. Lots of these topics had been additionally excessively targeted on female adulation, love and sweet-nothings. It needed more topical diversity.

Ratings: /10

• 0-1.9: Flop

• 2.0-3.9: Close to fall

• 4.0-5.9: Average

• 6.0-7.9: Victory

• 8.0-10: Champion

Pulse Rating: /10

Album Sequencing: 0.6/2

Songwriting and Themes: 1.3/2

Production: 1.2/2

Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.2/2

Execution: 1.3/2

Total:

5.6 – Average