#CMIYC: Reviewing the Adekunle Gold-AG Baby evolution
Adekunle Gold's fourth studio album has been released and is already dominating the airwaves. But how does his latest album underscore his career growth?
…If there’s anything I want you to remember, it’s that I’ve been brave…
When Adekunle Gold sang those words on the opening track of his debut Gold album in 2016, it was easy to assume that the bravery was about launching an album on the back of hugely successful singles, Orente and Sade.
At inception, Adekunle Gold was widely received as an alternative artiste with a touch of folk and highlife. He even won the Best Alternative Song at the 2016 Headies Awards. It was until subsequent projects that we would come to realise that his bravery would not only be about the album but also the experiments with sounds and styles.
The experiments would then dovetail into an evolution that saw an innocent-looking Adekunle God become AG Baby, a darling of pop music fans.
Journey across 4 albums
On Gold, Adekunle beautifully weaves together the concepts of love and morality with an impressive command of the Yoruba language. The narrative is one that continues on About 30 but with less feel of alternative and more expansive urban highlife. The 2018 album also showcased the intention of the singer-born Adekunle Moruf Kosoko to use music to teach socio-cultural values.
And on Afropop Vol. 1, we see a full-blown pop artiste who has managed to stay ahead of trends and evolve his career from having an esoteric following the way Brymo and Johnny Drille do to becoming a mainstream Afrobeats artiste.
The movement from one album to another had the motifs of evolution, experimentation and expansion. Just like an artiste does not want to be defined just by a style and boxed into a genre, the Orente crooner proves over 4 solid music projects that his music arsenal is one that contains all sorts of genre weapons, with sufficient range to take on just any challenge.
Unstoppable, yeah?
Do you want to talk alternative, R&B, gospel, highlife or pop? His discography has just about everything.
Particularly, Catch Me If You Can showcases his growth as a person, an artiste, a husband and a father. He bears his mind on the first track, Born again, giving an insight into a theme of the album – something similar to Burna Boy’s Level up.
I’ve been living for people but me, such a shame I didn’t get it sooner… I’m a new man… won… I’m blessed with Adejare, Simi (see me) I dey prosper eh…
He’s gone from “Sabina just give me one chance” to an appreciative man of One woman.
Throughout the album, listeners feel the pulse of a family man.
Downside
In our projections for this year, Adekunle Gold was sounded out as a superstar waiting to break forth. His Guinness deal lends credence to the argument. And his album was supposed to take it over and beyond, presumably with strategic collaborations to crack new markets and audiences.
But this was lacking despite the impressive songwriting and vocals. Stefflon Don, Foushee, Fatoumata Diawara and Lucky Daye are #Grammy hopefuls at best.
To judge by social media following alone, he seems to be the one doing them a favour. Plainly put, they do not have the requisite clout. Davido’s impact on High is staggering. Why not seek artistes of similar stature in other climes?
Ed Sheeran brought the UK to Fireboy’s feet while the collaboration sequence of Drake, Beyonce and Justin Bieber was telling on Wizkid successfully breaking into the American market.
That may be the edge that Kosoko’s craft still lacks. #CMIYC may have completed AG Baby’s evolution but it’s time to be more strategic about international moves.
Adekunle Gold is like a samurai who has perfected several sword forms so that when he shows off a new style in a song I can’t help but be reminded why his songs are on the top of my favorite playlist🤩 I hope he gets the International recognition he deserves soon.