On his fourth studio album, Iyanya digs deep and delivers effortlessly emotionally resonant pop music.
Despite being largely forgotten by the tide of a cutthroat mainstream that waits for no one and flows in the direction of monentum and radicalism, Iyanya has preserved in his fight to remain relevant. On his third studio LP, Once Upon A Cat the artist attempted to reinvent his sound into a modern iteration and recruited multiple new and budding artists to that effect.
The resulting effect was a mixed one. The album had the right ideas and flashes of brilliance, but the execution was lacking on a sonic level. Many other artists would have spun the block and doubled down in a subsequent attempt to master the elements in a follow-up project, but Iyanya keeps it simple and resonant—recognizing the fact that sometimes more is less.
Album opener, Bluewaters is a soulful anthem of gratitude, that is equal part a call-to-arms to revel in the gift of life and a subtle middle finger to the detractors. Asides a few plucked guitar strings and sparse drums, this song’s production doesn’t have much going for it but it works for the sheer beauty in its simplicity. Lines like “I’m not tryna be you, I’m loving me some more” are so unapologetically earnest that they strike the right emotional chords without much depth.
2Baba’s If Love Is A Crime is sampled tastefully on Sorry ft. Fido and while this writer isn’t the biggest fan of the pop direction this song takes, while drawing from blues roots—the song is executed well nonetheless. Fido is a natural talent and his delivery fits in like a glove, elevating the song despite not saying anything memorable. He understands pop is a performance art and he straddles the beat in a way that would linger in your memory. The lines don’t really matter.
Unlike Sorry despite sampling another R&B classic—Iyaz’s Replay—Sade remains in midtempo territory although it’s still pop. Iyanya does pretty well to remind us how deep his pockets are for his love interest and while that suffices to carry the song’s narrative, the production could have used more instrumentation as it’s composed like an Highlife fusion record, lacking the lively guitar synths and jazz horns.
Peace Of Mind is self explanatory and Iyanya declares his woman is the sole thing he needs for his sanity. Mia Guisse’s vocals is just the right bit of soothing, that buttresses the feeling of one’s lover being their domicile and safe place. Iyanya’s successful streak of samples on the album continues with Orobo, where Kizz Daniel’s My G is sampled. He takes the aspirational pop song and flips it into a premium groovy record, that’s well primed for Owambe ambience and dance floors. Shoday also turns in one of the best guest performances of the album.
Badboy ft. Reekado Banks doesn’t work on the same level, like the other R&B sampled tracks but it’s a decent song nonetheless. The idea is dancehall infusion but the production lacks the punch or innovation to be divergent. Reekado does his bit and his verse packs an energetic punch and the song is better for it. Angelina is a filler track that treads similar territory that Orobo did but with less ingenuity. It’s formulaic Afro-pop at its best and ideal background music despite Boy Spyce’s strong cameo.
Iyanya channels his inner Wizkid on Yebo!, manipulating his vocal textures and cadence to mirror the superstar’s and it works to a tee. The whistling flute is a nice touch that gives the song personality and makes it stark clear it’s not a Wizkid record though, because it’s quite derivative. Iyanya’s Deep borrows from the chord progression of Terri’s My Chest and this time—it’s a pop song he’s flipping into an R&B song, after doing the inverse on previous songs. It’s a slow burn with huge potential to become a deep cut.
Iyanya recruits a plethora of artists on Business. Ice Prince, Dandizzy, Magnito and Moonlight Afriqa don’t get ample time to share the spotlight and the song is definitely crowded and one of the weaker tracks on the LP, but the sentiment is probably the most relatable because there is hardly any feeling more universal than standing on business, these days.
The Forester’s Son is a peculiar title for an album that excels at the basics and never attempts anything maximalist or grand. Perhaps, it doesn’t have a symbolic meaning and its meaning is supposed to be literal, straightforward and effective. Just like the album is.
Final Verdict:
Sonic Cohesion & Transition: 1.3/2
Expansive Production: 1.3/2
Songwriting: 1.2/2
Delivery: 1.5/2
Optimal Track Sequencing: 1.5/2
Total: 6.8/10
