Lisa Yaro & Jeivy Dance adds to the list of great African crossover collaborations with a record that shows the power of music in uniting people sonically, thematically and culturally.
The Afrobeats movement has evidently made crossover into various cultures all over the world. Every year new superstars go on to release records that expose the magical sound of the continent to even much more diverse demography across the world gaining acceptance and inviting them to explore more of what our sounds entails.
While Afrobeats definitely draws from numerous influences all over the world, the world is now looking back to us for influences as well to create records that are alternative to the norm in their part of the world. On such reverse symbiotic relationships stems out “Boquita“. In keeping up with global Afro trends and Latin fusions, Boquita was born out of a collaboration between Colombian artist, Jeivy Dance, and the talented Nigerian artist, Lisa Yaro.
This collaboration became possible through Colombian record label, SNDY, which saw the possible chemistry between these two artists. Recorded in three languages, Boquita is a song that talks about chemistry in the language it is performed in. This is infact a celebration of love being a universally embraced theme.
“Boquita” is not just a love song. It’s a homage to the small, beautiful moments that bring two people closer together. Inspired by real-life experiences and cultural expressions of love, it conveys a powerful message that the little things can mean the world. The song’s playful and affectionate tone invites listeners to celebrate their own “boquitas,” whether through a kiss, a sweet word, or a simple smile. It’s a reminder that in love, sometimes, it’s the everyday magic that creates the deepest connections.
Lisa Yaro & Jeivy Dance on the record theme of “Boquita”.
“Boquita” starts on a colorful note with the production simmering of elements of each culture, the drums are visceral and the bounce is tight and very much African in its patterns. The singers take turns to express their intentions through their preferred language with Jeivy Dance opting for a Latin yet nearly Spanish inflected dialect while Lisa Yaro sticks to English, with a touch of pidgin and basic Hausa.
Records of this nature ought to carry a light theme and more intentionality with delivery in order to ensure appeal to its diverse demography, Jeivy Dance recognizes that and crafts a hook that’s not crammed into ensuring perfection but seamlessly loose and playful to make it danceable and easily resonate with listeners. Lisa Yaro balances the record with her emotionally charged verse yet sonically matching delivery.
Being a cross cultural record will mean that it is supposed to draw influences from both cultures, “Boquita” achieves that with its production and songwriting. The artists use their native languages to lay bare their symphony of love while the production featured a collaboration between JeyBeat and DJ Dever, who gives it an Afro-Latin touch that is very important to the whole record composition.
Similarly to few records that have excelled in this terrain in recent times such as Asake’s “My Heart“, Wizkid’s “Flower Pads“, they required other influences to guide them to the success of the fusion, “Boquita” likewise also excels sonically due to the guidance of the artists involved and the collaboration between the producers of different background to make a record that taps into the sonic beauty of what an “Afro-Latin” record should mean. Through the record, they create a template and might just as well open the door of exploring more of these cross cultural collaborations that draws influence from the Latin rhythms as much as it copies the African sonic patterns.
[LISTEN]: Boquita by Lisa Yaro X Jeivy Dance X sndy music.
