Wale Adepoju aka W4 is a star, please save your arguments for another day.
When dude bounced back into the scene with the release of “Foreign Dance”, we roused with elation. And compared to music out there today; this feels like some weird, old school refashioned hit song, whose non-conformity with regular standards sticks it out.
In other words, this is some Afrobeat, Fela-typical material brought back to our screens again. Shot on that fresh bush-raffia mise-en-scene with sparsely clad women, this one brings our roots to mind. What brilliance! In lay person’s terms, that’s like saying “W4 sabi. Him dey perform music like pesin wey dem done jazz. Him forget the oyibo style come take black man concept take sing this one for him people dem. Better music.”
I didn’t even have to see it to the end to write this. Somewhere in the 55th second or so of the visuals I just got on my laptop and let the eccentric sounds of “Foreign Dance” cascade into this review as e dey hot. Then I went back and rounded off watching. Maverick output through and through, I don’t see how this isn’t going to smash through our gigs and big stages again.
His other hit single, Kontrol, was one of the dopest cuts across mainstream music a while back, we must do well to remember, and perhaps regard him for that. And although this one might not be that much a game-changer, it still portrays W4 in that light of originality and verve and excellence. A comeback doesn’t get any better, really.
Oh, and Clarence… sometimes you want to write off Clarence, you want to nail him for undue complacency and monopolistic wish-wash, then he rises like a phoenix and breaks further grounds that sink many a critic into silence. That’s some rare artistry from the ‘camera man’ in all sincerity, some proper artistry.
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@ChibuzoHI