Maleek Berry's 'If Only Love Was Enough': Can Good Music Ever Be Late? [Review]

Maleek Berry's music offered a template that combined Afrobeat's vigour and fluidity with foreign exotic elements to craft a sound that appealed to international listeners in search of an entry point into Nigerian pop music.

In 2015 and 2016, when Afrobeats leading stars Wizkid and Davido embarked on the adventurous exploration of the US markets chaperoned by major labels, it was Maleek Berry who crafted the balanced cross-border sound both artists were missing.

His 2016 hit 'Kontrol' delightfully combined Afrobeats production with drum patterns and arrangement that mirrored the Azonto sound popularised by Ghanaian British star Fuse ODG.

However, the melodies were imported with a mesh of R&B flows drenched in the sensuality of dancehall, conveyed with writing that cleverly sprinkled pidgin English and Yoruba.

This exciting fusion would be enjoyed across the hit records that made up his EPs 'Last Daze of Summer' and 'First Daze of Summer', which found listeners both in Nigeria and abroad.

Amidst Afrobeats' global surge, his template has been improved upon, and with his absence in the mainstream, it's easy to forget his role in the sonic path that has brought Afrobeats global attention.

Maleek Berry's debut LP 'If Only Love Was Enough' comes over half a decade late. However, the rush of nostalgia it offers reminds listeners of his genius and role in laying the sonic path that has brought Afrobeats global attention.

At a point when Afrobeats listeners have been overfed with the mid-tempo records that fuse R&B and Swing to cater to a foreign audience, the appreciation of Maleek Berry's album will likely suffer from this consumer disinterest.

Although an early contributor to Afrobeats' lush cross-border fusion, his absence robbed him of an opportunity to be in the mix of things at the sound's peak.

To reach out to a new generation of listeners who may not be familiar with his genius, Maleek Berry recruits some of Afrobeats most recognisable stars.

A gifted producer, songwriter, and singer, Maleek Berry lent his genius to other artists for whom he crafted hit records that still fits into Afrobeats current global spread.

His partnership with Wizkid has delivered memorable records, and it was only appropriate that they would combine again as Maleek Berry attempts a bold comeback.

Their collaboration 'Situation' places the Grammy winner in the lush R&B and exotic Caribbean rhythm he has leisurely explored for half a decade.

This exotic fusion is what shapes the album where Maleek Berry comments extensively on the complications of love, romance, and desires.

The yearnings he shares on the exotic 'All of You' are echoed in the fiery desires and passions that make up the classic R&B performance on '4 My Body', where Afrobeats Queen Tiwa Savage flaunts her unmatchable vocals.

He places the spotlight on his lover whom he colourful hails on 'Onyeoma' whose strings and keys add the cultural context of the Highlife wedding melodies that influence Maleek Berry's writing.

His sensual dancehall flows find the perfect partnership in Ruger, who brings his charged melodies to 'Lately'.

The Reggae production of 'To The Morning' transports Maleejk Berry to the breezy Caribbean Island, where joined by his lover, and they leave all worries behind.

Next to Nigerian hitmaking rapper Zlatan. Berry takes on the alter ego of the "Naija Big Man," who lets the flashy offer of minted dollar notes, fast cars, and exotic vacations do the talking. Even if his westernised Yoruba might have made Zlatan chuckle, the song demanded domestication.

The vibrant hip hop and R&B fusion on 'Turning Up' sounds like some of his early releases, which also reflected the trendy American hip hop tracks of the era.

Although he shines on the song, the datedness, which is also palpably felt in the charged drums of 'Set It Off' and 'Make It Right', explains why the album is a couple of years late.

Aside from his swanky exploration of Log drums on 'Who Be This One,' Maleek Berry clung to his exotic mid-tempo fusion for his comeback album, perhaps with the hope that the nostalgia would draw in listeners.

Although the album carries fine music that conveys Maleek Berry's role in forging exotic Afrobeats fusion, it sticks out in an industry that has long traded the lush sound for the Amapiano Log drum and is now in search of the next frontier.

'If Only Love Is Enough' is a few years late, but can good music ever be late?

Ratings: /10
• 0-1.9: Flop
• 2.0-3.9: Near fall
• 4.0-5.9: Average
• 6.0-7.9: Victory
• 8.0-10: Champion

Pulse Rating: /10
Album Sequencing: 1.4/2
Songwriting, Themes, and Delivery: 1.3/2
Production: 1.5/2
Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.4/2
Execution: 1.4/2

TOTAL - 7.0