September has come and gone and with it, came some memorable projects that are worth highlighting. From debut albums tasked with showcasing a myriad of talent to ambitious sophomore projects keen on trumping the sophomore slump, it was quite a handful with many highs and equal lows. Here’s our best 5 projects of the year, in no specific order;
1. Ru The World – Ruger
Ruger has been one of the most exciting talents to breakout in the mainstream in the new generation of artists, because of his unique profile as a singer. Whilst majority of his peers are R&B and Hip-Hop artists, he leans more towards the Dancehall and Carribean side, fusing it with Afrobeats to make great music. However, because of his versatility—curating a body of work that would adequately showcase all facets of his talent was never going to be an easy task but he triumphed.
Across 17 songs, Ruger seamlessly treads the line of fusion that binds R&B, Afro-Pop, Dancehall, Afro-Swing, Hip-Hop and House music in ingenious ways, that we haven’t heard in a very long time, depicting the fact that he is indeed a real master of his craft who has honed his skill to great levels. At an hour long, it could be a bit cumbersome for some but the project is not found wanting for filler tracks as almost every song on it is great in its own right.
2. The More The Better – Tekno
Tekno’s sophomore album arrives 3 years after his debut album, that dropped a couple of years too late past his commercial peak and failed to establish a legacy for him, at least on the discography front—as a result of it being too emblematic of all his flaws as an artist. Poor writing and one-dimensional deliveries over an entire project made for a monotonous album experience and a very forgettable project that didn’t strike any meaningful chord in the mainstream.
However on The More The Better, Tekno is more intentional with the music and the effort is palpable. The writing is more focused, the production is more cohesive and although the LP might not have very large and grand concepts in its themes, for what it is as an Afro-Pop album, tasked with the duty of reintegrating Tekno back into the mainstream and current mainstream age, it excels and delivers some really great moments.
3. Pan African Rockstar – Lady Donli
After her debut album and cult classic, Enjoy Your Life established her as a force to be reckoned with in the alté scene and positioned her as one of the artists pushing boundaries and willing to experiment with various forms of genres, Lady Donli had an upscale task to brace in her second album in order to triumph and not fall victim to the sophomore slump. Unlike the aforementioned artist before her in this article, her debut album was great so she had her work cut out for her.
And she does succeed, drawing sonic influences from a plethora of western genres like Jazz, funk, R&B, 90’s Hip-Hop and fusing it with more fundamental African genres like Afrobeat and Highlife. The LP is very alté in its avant-garde approach to execution and non-mainstream choices in its production, so it’s sure to alienate listeners not familiar to the soundscape territory. Devotees however would surely find it delightful.
4. In Case I Never Love Again – Oladapo
Oladapo created something of a pivotal moment for himself in 2021 with the release of his debut EP, Blind that delivered the goodies on a soulful, heartfelt Afro-R&B record in Alone and party starter pop anthems in Priceless and Isakaba. Since then, it’s been something of an hiatus for him as he failed to release anything in 2022 and appeared only on a number of features. In 2023, he’s back with a new album—sorry EP and the project sees him explores familiar sound templates that have him at the peak of his powers.
Topically, he gets even more vulnerable, wearing his heart on his sleeve and putting himself at the mercy of his love interest. The project does not really hit the highs of the best cuts off his debut EP, but it has good enough songs nonetheless and makes for a more cohesive, wholesome album experience. Perhaps, it’s the play for tight cohesion that detracts a bit from the ability of any song to particularly standout.
5. I Love It Here – Nasty C
Nasty broke out as a young prodigy and Hip-Hop sensation at the young age of 14, and garnered both critical and mainstream acclaim, years later with his debut mixtape before going on to notch a deal with international major Hip-Hop power house, DefJam—cementing his status as one of the biggest Hip-Hop prospects out of the continent. On his fourth studio album, he revels in his reality of success just like the title implies.
The album is bolstered by rich and sophisticated melodic production that makes it very accessible, despite it being quite thematically dense at tines with its topics of loss and grief on songs like She’s Gone & The End and Endless, a song that grapples with fame and its steep price. And of course, it isn’t a great Hip-Hip project if the rapper doesn’t exhibit braggadocio and take a shot at their detractors like Nasty skilfully does on Prosper in Peace and Fuck That.
