In recent times, especially since the ushering of a new decade, there has been a burgeoning trend of deluxe album releases. Deluxe albums usually entail a re-release of the initial album, which may include new songs, remixes, or track rearrangements, while retaining the peculiar themes of the previous release.
Deluxe albums in the Nigerian music scene are not entirely new and have been introduced previously. Their existence could be traced as far back as 2010, with one of the earliest credits to veteran artist, 2Baba who released The Unstoppable International Edition, an improved version of his third studio album, Unstoppable, released in 2008.
At the time of release, Unstoppable International Edition was branded as 2Baba’s fourth Studio Album even though it comprised songs from his previous album, Unstoppable. This could be for the lack of a better term at the time, but regardless of the reason, it encompasses the concept of deluxe albums and how effectively they could drive commercial success.
There are speculations that Unstoppable faced a lukewarm reception at the inception of its release, but all the negative criticism would eventually fade with the success of the Unstoppable International Edition, winning The 2011 Headies Best R&B/Pop Album and Album of the Year simultaneously.
In 2014, Falz released the deluxe version of Wazup Guy: The album, a rerelease of the initial album with the addition of two songs, Prouding and a second release of Oh God with Dr Sid.
Yemi Alade dropped Kings of Queens Deluxe, a French version of the King of Queens which was originally sung in English. The deluxe was aimed at extending the reach of the album on the continent. Following the success of the deluxe release, Yemi Alade went on tour to several African countries.
Tiwa Savage released the deluxe edition of her second studio album R.E.D in 2016. Originally composed of 15 songs with zero features, the deluxe comprised an additional 3 tracks including features from Don Jazzy, Olamide, Dr Sid, Iceberg Slim, D’prince, Busy Signal, Reekado Banks, Wizkid and P Square.
Two years later, singer and songwriter Simi, released the Deluxe version of her acclaimed Simisola album. The deluxe album contained two remixes and all the tracks (including the original versions of the remixes) from the initial Simisola album excluding her hit song, Tiff. She featured 2Baba on Original Baby- Remix and sealed the deluxe with Sigag Lauren’s Remix of Smile For Me.
In 2021, the exact earmark of a new decade, what appears to be the deluxe album trend began.
Ric Hassani announced the coming of the deluxe version of his sophomore album, The Prince I Became, originally released in February 2021. The deluxe dropped in May 2021 with the addition of new tracks and the removal of some tracks from the initial album. It also included a guitar acoustic and dance version of Thunder Fire You, an acoustic version of All My Love, and a piano acoustic and Spanish version of Everything.
Wizkid’s Made In Lagos: Deluxe Edition was a successful feat. The deluxe album dropped a year after the initial release of Made In Lagos with four new tracks, Anoti, Steady, Mood featuring Bnxn and Essence Remix featuring Justin Bieber and Tems from the original track.
In the same year, 2021, Blaqbonez released the deluxe edition of his first studio album, Sex Over Love, with new tracks including 4 Door Jeep, Okwaraji remix featuring Bella Shmurda, Medicine featuring Oxlade, Shut up remix featuring Kwesi Arthur, Tellaman and Kuami Eugene, and Run My Race featuring Prettyboy Do and Kida Kudz.
The influx of deluxe albums began after this. In 2022, Ruger announced the release of The Second Wave (Deluxe), a rerelease of the 4 track EP — Champion, Useless, Snapchat and Dior— plus 3 new songs— Girlfriend, WeWe and Warning. Ayra star released the deluxe version of her debut album, 19 & Dangerous, featuring Kelly Rowland on Bloody Samaritan Remix and Zinoleesky on Lonely Refix. Billion Dollar Baby 2.0 by Seyi Vibez also found a base in the deluxe album evolution in December 2022, a month after the release of the initial album, Billion Dollar Baby in November 2022.
By 2023, the number of deluxe albums increased. Rema released Rave & Roses Ultra on April 28, 2023, with additional tracks —Holiday, Charm, Reason You, HOV, Calm Down Remix featuring Selena Gomez and Dunno Me— alongside previous tracks off Rave & Roses.
In June 2023, a day apart from each other, Omah Lay and Ckay dropped the deluxe editions of their albums on June 15 and 16 respectively. Omah Lay’s Boy Alone Deluxe featured 6 new songs with guest appearances from Aitch on Imagine and Ozuna on the remix of his hit single, Soso.
Ckay’s Sad Romance Deluxe premiered with 3 extra songs all of which featured an artist. The songs include Capture My Soul with Joeboy, Nneka featuring Tekno, and Hallelujah featuring Blaqbonez.
Budding R&B/ Soul artist, Bloody Civilian also joined the train and released a remixed version of Anger Management in November 2023. This version was titled Anger Management: At LEasT wE tRIED, featuring at least one artist on each song off the 6-track deluxe. By December of 2023, fast-rising star Odumodublvck released Eziokwu Uncut, an extended version of Eziowku, released two months earlier in October. The Uncut version included 6 new songs—Abuja People, Hotel Lobby, Badman Bounce, Minimal Fuss, A1 Perico, No Protocol, and Wotowoto Seasoning.
PsychoYP wasn’t left out of the trend. He released the deluxe edition of Osapa London comprising 3 extra songs, Do What I Like featuring Prettyboy D-O, Lean! featuring ECEE, Rhoma BTW, Zaylevelten, and Wreck on December 7.
You might then wonder, why are deluxe albums becoming the new norm?
Following the successes of most of the aforementioned deluxe albums, they have proven to be a creative way of reintroducing existing albums and widening their reach. Made In Lagos on its own had been nominated at The 64th Grammy Awards for Best Global Music Album, and won Album Of The Year at the 7th African Entertainment Awards USA. The Made In Lagos: Deluxe Edition earned additional nominations at The 15th edition of The Headies for Album Of The Year and Best Afrobeats Album. Boy Alone Deluxe surpassed 500 million Spotify streams a few months after its release. Rema’s Rave & Roses Ultra recorded over 1.5 billion Spotify streams and was also certified GOLD in the US.
For artists, a deluxe album is not only a means of boosting commercial success, but also an avenue to experiment and improve already existing bodies of work. And even in cases where an initial album may not be received well, a deluxe edition could salvage the damage. Deluxe albums are also effective in reigniting the love of old projects in the hearts of fans.
In 2024, it is expected to see more artists jumping on the trend. Bnxn announced the coming of a deluxe version of his latest album, Sincerely, Benson.
The African Giant, Burna Boy in an interview teased a Sequel of his newest album, I Told Them. There are also speculations that there might be a second edition of Davido’s Timeless. There are no confirmed release dates for any of these, but we’ll be glued to our seats as we await the return of these masterpieces as well as many other surprise deluxe albums along the way.
