The legendary Jimmy Jatt brings together a pack of wolves for his Industry Album, and together they prey upon the track “I Am Legend”. Gosh, the damage is swift. And very on point. Jimmy understands the music scene enough, so in part the song owes its lustre to the man who initiated the collaboration. And then the individual brilliance of the Arts. Damn, I Am Legend is a banger and half.
Enter Waje.
The Singer plays her role enough, tickling our ears and steering the chorus masterfully. Her rendition has a sweet composure and balance, and as the song closes, she hits certain high notes that speed up the entire vibe into a frenzy like a chariot in ancient Rome.
Enter Eedris.
O’ my! Who woulda thought!? Eedris leads the Rap trio, and when he passes the baton to erstwhile adversary, Rugged Man, we are already nodding and giving standing ovations. Eedris is confident, and cocky. And we love it. The first verse has him going:”Hiphop was born for the legends…/ Multinationals can’t sell without our music…/ Used to be the king, now I’m a kingmaker….” Eedris delivers like a Pizza man, and we are loving it till he goes tongue-twisting, robbing his end lines of clarity.
Enter Rugged.
He stepped in on the track real good and flies his Abia flag, which is cool. He also tries to impress us with his usual braggadocio and he does fine until he begins to make us see him as the new Apostle of Christ because “…[he is] the only Rapper that don’t need w#$d to attain a level of highness”. After that, it’s an average set of lines from the Rugged Man as he struggles to keep the momentum. Funny how time flies, he used to be the best down here, now he spews lazy lines like “Got so much energy I piss Red Bulls/ …So underground you can call me basement”. Now, if you can read my mind I’m actually asking how Rugged transmogrified from commercial into ‘underground’ all of a sudden. But let’s save that another day.
Enter MI Abaga.
Jude Abaga has one edge over others, which is his ability to step into booths and make something out of nothing. This is another instance, and not even his long unexplained break holds him back. He hovers briefly with a tune from his “Talk About It” album, stealing one last shine on this, at a point where the world thought he was over and done with.
The song is an impressive effort after all said. Listen and tell us what you feel.
Henry Igwe (@ChibuzoHI)
My Ol’ Man, he says to me, nobody knows nobody. What goes around comes around like a hula-hoop. I stayed close to the heat, and even when I was close to defeat, I rose to my feet. Music. Soccer. Barbecue. Beer. And Music!