Ever since his breakthrough in the industry, ODUMODUBLVCK has become more inevitable with subsequent years passing. At this point, you can’t deny his place as the frontrunner of the country’s hip-hop scene.
Rap purists and some sophisticated Afrobeats listeners alike don’t like ODUMODUBLVCK for differing reasons. The former because they believe his brand of rap is over diluted with pop and elementary rhyme schemes. The latter because his mannerisms and lingua franca is quite crass, which is reflective of his street-hop roots. At least, that’s what they say but if you look a bit deeper you’ll realize that was never a problem when Olamide was the frontrunner of the country’s hip-hop scene.
Sure, indigenous rappers had their detractors but that had to do more with their language, than their brand and how they carried himself. Bottomline is Olamide, Phyno and Reminisce were also criticized by rap purists, but the masses loved them and they were hardly controversial figures, outside their music. ODUMODUBLVCK on the other hand is the epitome of controversy. His sometimes abrasive persona has something to do with his brand perception and while it’s clear, the people love him alsoโas evidenced by his streams and motionโit’s not a ‘cool’ thing to like ODUMODUBLVCK in select spaces.
And he has leaned into the villain persona, using it to elevate his position as an outsider who powered through the propaganda aimed at him and remained at the top, nonetheless. His first major release after his breakout year, EZIOKWU has pretty much attained classic status and now he’s gearing up for another major release. But for now, let’s dissect the prelude mixtape that is, The MACHINE IS COMING.
LEGOLAS opens with the sort of old-school guitar chords that defined Dog Eat Dog and made it nostalgic of an older Nollywood era. On the opener, ODUMODUBLVCK bigs himself up and emphasizes his magnitude in the country’s current Hip-Hop scene. He was an underground artist for a longer period than most artists, so the sentiment translates well and when he affirms that he is now at the top of the game and the “principal” it’s not an empty statement.
TOY GUN retains the same sonic elements, except instead of a trap fusion beatโit is konto-fusion. The topical direction on the song is self-explanatory and Modu sings about a promiscous lover who uses men for their material possessions. EARLY MORNING departs from that sonic territory and dials the tempo a notch for a feel-groove record with a disconnected narrative. On one part of the song he sings about making sweet love to his woman in the morning, being a pillar for his family and how some of his detractors have become his fan. It’s best you don’t pay close attention to the topical progression.
PITY THIS BOY was a good single and sounds better as a part of the album experience. It’s cut from the same sonic fabric of the recurring classical guitar strings that defined the first two songs on the mixtape and Victony’s vocals are smooth like butter over the Highlife indented soundscape. Despite the title, WAGE WAR has a solemn beat and a calm, soothing hook and the verse is more of the same chest-thumping, well earned braggadocio that defines the album. The production has subtle synth-pop elements that elevates the production and the track, invariably.
GO REPORT is a reminder that ODUMODUBLVCK can still do the heavy, weightlifting grime he was renowned for before EZIOKWU. Like Blood On The Dance Floor, ODUMODUBLVCK’S innate talent to unify loosely related themes like eliminating his enemies, partying hard till dusk and entertaining the advances of baddiesโsounds ridiculous in theory, but he finds a way to tie them all up in the song. ISAKABA MAN is an extension of GO REPORT and transitions smoothly into it, but Modu hardly does anything dynamically different on the record. Rondodasosa impresses on the beat though and while this writer doesn’t understand most of what he’s saying, his flows and cadences are edgy and match the beat’s aggression.
BALLON D’OR is an Afro-House record that is one of the more forgettable moments on the mixtape. Not because it’s bad, but Modu deplores a trademark flow that has heen rinsed to death by him and the subject matter of genuine loveโwithout a violent, extremist edgeโisn’t his strongest suit. KYLIAN is more of the same, except it’s a better song because of its stronger hook and better harmonies, courtesy of well stacked adlibs and layered vocals
We arrive at hiplife territory on BTC, replete with the cultural rattles and airy flutes. Modu is content with taking a backseat on the song and letting Bobby Ibo shine and he doesn’t fail to impress, delivering a melodic rap verse that’s so easy on the ears, you’ll be deceived its just good singing. Knowledge of Ajebo Hustlers glides on the trap beat of AJEBO HUSTLERS and is the highlight of the song. Modu’s choice of using a romantic focal point on the hook of the song, when it’s his kryptonite and the sentiment of the song is about going hard and hustling hardโis lost on me. It’s a good song, but the hook is jarring as it removes you from the jaded sentiments the artists were going for.
BARRISTER TOFO has a galala bounce Falz struggles on but Fatboy on the other hand coasts easily on it. PUSSY NIGGAZ is a filler track on Modu’s signature drill fusion beats and its a skip because he’s not saying anything substantial on the song. On other parts of the mixtape, where he aims at his detractorsโthey were defined talking points, like people doubting him or discounting his influence which he has debunked with his success. Now he’s just making fun of people who aren’t as relevant as before, which is a natural law that takes it course on everyone eventually.
RAMADAN KAREEM is clearly inspired the tungba drums of Kizz Daniel’s Twe Twe and Tolibian’s vocals are pitch perfect on the production and his Fuji textured voice, brings some much needed refreshing dynamism on an album densely populated with rappers. GASOLINE ft. Vector is this writer’s favorite song on the mixtape. It’s nothing ingenious, but it’s a great midtempo pop song with soulful palmwine melodies and one of Vector’s most technical verses in recent years. It ends the mixtape on the high note it starts out with.
As the prelude project to the main album, THE MACHINE IS COMING is a decent offering that primes the listener for greater things to come. It’s defined by the same sonic elements of EZIOKWUโhighlife melodies, trap fusion beats, hiplife cultural elements and pop-rap deliveries. The formular isn’t broken, so Modu sees no reason to fix it. However, he would need to bring much more dynamism and reinvention to this approach if he doesn’t want his upcoming album to pale in comparison to its predecessor.
Final Verdict:
Sonic Cohesion & Transitions: 1.5/2
Expansive Production: 1.4/2
Songwriting: 1.3/2
Delivery: 1.4/2
Optimal Track Sequencing: 1.5/2
Total: 7.1/10
