by Ore Fakorede
It’s been a while since I gave an individual track the same treatment I usually reserve for albums and mixtapes.
Coincidentally, the last single I ran an all-out musical litmus test on is D’banj’s ‘Mr Endowed Remix’, that much-hyped collaboration with Snoop Dogg which was one of the finest moments of the Mo’Hits, dare I say, experiment. *pauses to reminisce* I guess only another notable D’banj song could make me break convention again.
Saddled with a title pregnant with as much meaning as a caustic Yoruba proverb, ‘Oyato’ is the first D’banj single released in the post-“It’s Don Jazzy again” phase of the, er, singer’s career (please, if you just said “What about that leak?”, you should stop reading this right now!). And coming right on the heels of the record-breaking success of the very much overplayed ‘Oliver Twist’, the odds were stacked high against D’banj’s latest from the day it was conceived.
The new single however had one thing going for it from the studio – it was engineered by Tuface Idibia’s favourite producer, the infinitely talented Jay Sleek. By the way, Jay Sleek is rumoured to be D’banj’s latest signing to his ‘whatever-it’s-called’ record label, joining Davido (of O.B.O. infamy) on an imprint that is undoubtedly being primed to square-off against Don Jazzy’s galactic Mavin Records. Statement made: no kidding.
I was looking, with almost devilish glee really, for ‘Oyato’ to be an epic lyrical fail like the better part of D’banj’s discography, but I was slightly disappointed. The truth is, while the G.O.O.D. man’s lack of any real songwriting skill is still a daunting handicap, he seems to have acquired one prosthetic limb upon which his hitherto legless lyricism now assumes the semblance of uprightness. Or perhaps he hired a songwriter. Whichever way you dice it, ‘Oyato’ actually means something, and until he decides to recruit Rugged Man for an hour-long rap critique of the Nigerian music industry, this is as close as D’banj will ever get to releasing a proper diss track directed at you know who.
Sadly though, the forced rhymes still linger – ‘And at the end of the day there’s no contest, there’s no reason talking out of context, dem know me, dem know what I’ve accomplished, so why you copycat with no conscience?’ Hmmmm… ‘deep’. *falls off seat*
Never one to take sides in any battle, war, contest or argument whose outcome has no direct bearing upon my life, I stood on the sidelines during the dramatic mudslinging fest that was the Mo’Hits split while many unconcerned persons rushed to pledge allegiance to D’banj or Don Jazzy, as the case may be, swearing on their mother’s graves to follow one or the other till the end. *rolls eyes in slow motion*
Frankly, I don’t care what part of the metaphorical ocean you like to swim in. So, for those who derive a sadistic joy from revisiting the irrelevant past, I won’t indulge you. I will however bring up one point of import – the (paraphrased) mantra of Camp Don Jazzy, “D’banj can’t succeed without Don Jazzy.” Sorry, but ‘Oyato’ debunks that already dubious claim with one melodious loop of its brilliant instrumental. I mean, the song literally has one verse that lasts for all of 35 seconds! The rest of it is essentially an audible exhibition of Jay Sleek’s incredible finger work punctuated exquisitely by D’banj’s trademark ad libs and a catchy, self-aggrandizing chorus.
Methinks that Africa’s hottest artiste is still very much on fire without Africa’s most acclaimed producer fanning the flames, and ‘Oyato’ is all the smoke you need. This track is the final nail in the coffin of the dead and putrefying Don Jazzy-D’banj partnership. From here on out, there’s no going back and no hope of a resurrection. Say what you will about his musicianship, the only thing that can stop D’banj’s next album from being his biggest hit yet is a failure to record said album.
Jazzy? Forget.
really thank God 4 creatin music,its sweet, gud nd nice,Dbanji music is entertainment,there's a lot of fun,u can easy turn Ūя̲̅ sorry 2 happiness,i kw dat oyato its nice one,keep its up,i ℓikε̲̣̣̣̥ its
Brilliant article!! Even Soyinka said if everyone understands when you write you haven't done well. Brilliant article, hilarity for days!!!
Well done Ore!
*off to Twitter to check if you're the same Ore I know there*
Whether you guys like it or not, you will dance to this monster track, I think this writer here has little knowledge about dbanj kind of music, it is a simple street music, if you want to go lyrical go to ASA pls.
All the awards this dude got across the world?,(you can even leave Nigeria awards out of it), I think we Nigerian have issues with success, we have been nailing joshua, pastor chris all these years….are they not going forward? while the critics are all behind them, Naija!!! we shld rethink and read adjust. Word up!
dbanj oyato awesome.
I am ghanaian and I dun get the yoruba language but if u appreciate music, u'll be feeling his feel in this music…truss.i think its not a hit but it's passing a message to all his haters like u saying its trash…
Well written piece. Don't mind these people that always expect English to be broken down to alphabets before they can understand. As for the song itself, I don't see anything wrong with it. But hate it or love it, it'll still fill the airwaves. People should stop comparing artistes, D'banj Oyato! Lol.
the day we stop comparing dbanj, don jazzy, j sleeky sleeky, et al, will be the day we will listen to the music of any of the aforementioned without bias…and whatever happened to supporting a fellow naijaman.
This is a terrible piece to be honest… Unnecessarily ambiguous and inconclusive. Hard to get your point if you had one Ore. You're better off using simple English as long as your sentences are structured properly!
This is write up is a mess as well as the song.
The writer of this article tried to soooo hard to use unnecessary vocabulary. So twisted that it doesn't make any sense.
Use simple English terms next time…
Oyato was Nice nd d truth is dt its one of Dbanjs track wf meaninG nd Lyrics. It will still be a Hit. And nOoooooooo KinGsley U didn't just mention Kennis music Likee seriously….dnt inSult DbanJ
I think Dbanj's oyato is a complete mess…its just trash, I kinda feel for him though.
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Touche! Beautiful piece. I always look forward to reading your articles. You're an impeccable writer. Weldone
So what have you said? Truth in simple language:Dbanj's 'Oyato' didn't walk the talk.Point two;The song is steps down from the hieght of Dbanj's three past works. I careless about the unproductive devide tagged as team DonJazzy and team Dbanj.I was expecting something G.O.O.D and never bargained for something as wack as the emptiness on the Jay Sleek's Instrumental.Jay Sleek can't last any comparism battle with DonJazzy(so why start?). For me, independently me, The song is a flop worthy of your convention rule breaking,but, you must spit it out without remembering ever collecting a tip from D'banj.That song took Dbanj from his 3rd spot to the 18th spot in our competitive industry of the day. You won't hear that trashy crap in any of the competitive music camps; Choc boiz,EME,PSquare rocords,Kennismusic,QuestionMark,Hypertech,storm…(Deliberately left out Mavin records).
So what have you said? Truth in simple language:Dbanj's 'Oyato' didn't walk the talk.Point two;The song is steps down from the hieght of Dbanj's three past works. I careless about the unproductive devide tagged as team DonJazzy and team Dbanj.I was expecting something G.O.O.D and never bargained for something as wack as the emptiness on the Jay Sleek's Instrumental.Jay Sleek can't last any comparism battle with DonJazzy(so why start?). For me, independently me, The song is a flop worthy of your convention rule breaking,but, you must spit it out without remembering ever collecting a tip from D'banj.That song took Dbanj from his 3rd spot to the 18th spot in our competitive industry of the day. You won't hear that trashy crap in any of the competitive music camps; Choc boiz,EME,PSquare rocords,Kennismusic,QuestionMark,Hypertech…(Deliberately left out Mavin records).
Well written, bruv! At last, a blogger with actual literary skills. Oh, and about Dbanj's new single, it really is not very good but will be a huge hit nonetheless. (already is)
I can't understand this article.