Amidst a keenly contested New Music Friday, Pryme reinforces his new era with the Bella Shmurda-assisted ‘Gbera‘. Originally slated for an earlier release, Pryme delayed the single by a week in honour of Shmurda’s Mohbad tribute EP, R2 Sept 12.
The single is Pryme’s second as a G-Worldwide Entertainment signee, having joined the label in 2023. It follows ‘Lavida‘ which made multiple chart appearances, with its YouTube video amassing over 102K YouTube views. Xtofa, who produced the single and Kizz Daniel’s ‘Anchovy’ off the 2023 Maverick album, returns to capture lightning in a bottle.
On the record, there are no holds barred as Pryme lets listeners on a transformative and impassioned romantic experience. Pryme leads the line of attack on steady instrumentals:
‘I give you love and affection‘/’You can take all my affection‘/’No need to thank me, no mention‘/’Girl, you dey cure hypertension‘
Treading familiar but resonant Nigerian loverboy routes, Pryme sings:
‘See, the street turned me into a casanova‘/’But my girl, with you izova‘
Bella Shmurda reins in with cheeky lyricism, making for an enjoyable contrast with Pryme’s more direct lines. He sings:
‘Girl, I no go lie na you wey dey test e my patience‘/’You be doctor, I be patient‘/’Oya, give me my tablet‘.
The track contains a handful of sonic callbacks for more attentive ears. While it may qualify as derivative, it takes nothing away from its entertainment value. With a music video coming, ‘Gbera’ is in the running to be one of the year’s defining Afrobeats records.
