MC Galaxy’s ‘Breakthrough’ is solid, just enough for dancing

Artiste - MC Galaxy

Guest Appearances - Zinnia, Muno, True Voice, Olamide, Davido, Kaffy, Chris String

Producers - Mr. Chidoo, Big Terry, Shizzi, Uhuru, GospelOnDeBeatz, Spellz, Chris String, TSpize, DJ Coublon

Record Label - MCG Entertainment (2015)

Duration - 1 Hour, 15 Minutes

MC Galaxy comes from a curious blend of Nigerian entertainers. He is young, hungry for success and in many ways, a jack of all entertainment trades.

Having made the trip from University of Uyo many years ago, chasing the bright lights of Lagos, the industrious man has done virtually anything to survive. Dancing, comedy, event-hosting, singing…and many more. Everything and anything is a means to success for MC Galaxy. If it doesn’t make him thrive, it gives him the basic of life; survival.

His debut album, ‘ is exactly what he chose to call it. A personal breakthrough after years of biting the dust.

One cannot in all honesty call MC Galaxy a singer. He isn’t in reality one. He sort of stumbled upon it after years of rolling with musicians, and voila! It became his money machine.

On ‘Breakthrough’, MC Galaxy made no effort to hide his struggles within the industry. He starts off his album with ‘Abasi Amanam’, a song which basically translates from the Ibibio language of South South Nigeria into English as ‘God has done well’. Another ‘Thank You’ song, ‘Oshe Baba’, that has more in keeping with Pentecostal praise singers, than a mainstream album, brings down the curtain on the album.

Another theme that defines the album is the insistence on love. You can split the album along the fine lines of Thanksgiving and Love, with the latter having a greater chunk. But the two themes converge on ‘Waka Waka Baby’. An Afrobeat construction which tells of MC Galaxy’s snub by a gold-digging lady, his acquisition of wealth via struggling, and her rejected return.

‘Breakthrough’ cuts through a number of genres. It is heavy on local Highlife, saturated with beats, synths, sprouting horns, stringing guitar arrangements, and a mild invasion of drums.

MC Galaxy displays his jack-of-all-trade disposition on this album. ‘Amami’ is Highlife, ‘Ketekete’ goes the Folk way, ‘Sekem’,Pop, ‘Ampaulina was cut from Makossa, ‘My Heart O’ is Dancehall, ‘Waka Waka Baby’ is possessed by Afrobeats, ‘Alagalaga Yo’ Old school, and ‘Are you single’ is a fusion of everything. But in all, he maintains a consistency of beats which can inspire dancing.

‘Breakthrough’ also wasn’t made for the Intelligentsia. There is no glimmer or flicker of intellectual content. The lyrics have a numbing rudimentary, disposable feel to them. At some point, they even become unsettling. You learn nothing new from this album. Every line, sentence and vocal construction is rudimentary. The entire album is a crash course in ‘Ibibio’ language. Listen and learn.

In this aspect, MC Galaxy is also unique; he is a musician who sings nothing lyrically empowering and lasting. There has to be some glowing term for that. If you find the term, drop it in the comment section below.

MC Galaxy though, is worthy of praise from the population of Nigerians who define musical utility by its ability to make a man dance. This is a rare treasure to them. For all the shortcomings that this debut effort displays, it is a decent dance album. A 20-track carnival, designed for dancing.

‘Breakthrough’ is the debut effort of a fledgling singer, and it sounds just as it should. Raw, indecisive and sometimes repetitive, but it can also be lovely and dance-worthy, sending sparks of happiness and good chemicals racing through you.

MC Galaxy’s debut effort pales when compared to some of the great Nigerian albums. But much wasn’t expected from him. It is a ‘Breakthrough’ effort. That in itself is enough for the man from Akwa Ibom.

Rating 3/5

Ratings

1-Dull

2-Boring

2.5-Average

3-Worth Checking Out

3.5-Hot

4-Smoking Hot

4.5-Amazing

5-Perfection