A Pulse review of 'Odù' album by Mo'Believe

For his debut album 'Odu', Mo'believe taps into his mastery of the Yoruba language over a combination of genres that blends with an imposing traditional essence that runs through the project.

Odù Ifa is Yoruba religious documentation similar to the holy books of other religions. Odù Ifa contains the moral and religious code that shapes Ifa worship. It also comprises folklore, proverbs, and narrations used in passing knowledge and passed down orally from one generation to the next.

In 'Odù', Mo'belive makes a move to tell different stories using the narrative style of the Odu Ifa together with rich Yoruba music to entertain.

Panegyrics is poetry used to praise an individual, family, or group in Yoruba culture. Aside from serving its primary purpose of praise singing, Panegyrics is also used to entertain, often used in opening a show, serving as an interlude, and also ushering in the curtain dropper. Also, Panegyrics is used to prepare and usher in an entertainer similar to how a hypeman warms up the crowd and prepares them for a performance. A praise singer warms up an entertainer be it an artist or a wrestler and gets them hyped to put up a stellar performance.

This rich cultural aspect of the Yoruba culture is deployed by Mo'believe in 'Odu' whose intro 'Mobolaji Akanni' is a rendition of his Oriki (personal panegyrics).

In Yoruba culture, beyond entertainment, music is used to tell a story which makes with an essential part of oral tradition and history. Through music, an artist documents the societal realities, capture the zeitgeist of different eras, and offer didacticism through satire, while also entertaining through praise, humor, and folklore.

In 'Odu' Mo'believe brought together the cultural essence of Yoruba music by taking a trip through time to deliver the sounds of different eras while carefully infusing contemporary sonic elements.

In 'Emo', the Highlife record, he uses folklore to tell a comical love story of a thief, a slacker, a drunk, and a rich man's daughter. The storytelling and the use of horns and the percussions deliver the cadence of palm wine nightlife music of the Yoruba people. The call and response with the backup vocals is also a significant element in nightlife music.

The lighthearted and feel-good nature of Yoruba Highlife that manifests in Afrobeat is captured in 'Pere' where he delivers the YOLO message and encourages listeners to "Bring out the Palm wine and dance". This is similar to the way an artist performing live before some good timers entertains the audience through lighthearted music that strips them of their worries.

The use of proverbs and metaphors in 'Asiere' which loosely translates to 'Mad Person' where he says "We are all mad in my father's house" is a stunning use of poetry to deliver a didactic number that captures the realities of Nigerian society. The heavy folk element together with his delivery will expectedly draw a comparison to Brymo who is known for his use of folk and narrative style of music.

Mo'believe is a student of music and his knowledge of sound was displayed in bold and subtle elements. In 'Jara Joro' which is a Yoruba slang popularized by Fela he switches between English and Yoruba in an Afrobeat record where he engages in self-adulation which is a big part of Yoruba music. Similarly in 'Faya' which is a chest-thumping Highlife rendition, Mo'believe said in Yoruba - "Its the musical instruments that got burnt, the music wasn't lost in the fire", this line showcases his rich knowledge of music as it can be traced back to the story of Apala master Haruna Ishola who was said to have lost his band instruments in a fire disaster and which inspired the song 'Shikobe'.

A common thread that runs through all of Yoruba music is the act of praise-singing. Yoruba musicians across different indigenous genres are skilled in the process of rolling out accolades to high-ranking personalities in a bid to get them to open their pockets. In 'My Way', Mo'believe rolls out the red carpet and hails friends and associates. He combines a heavy baseline with percussions for some Afrobeats cadence in what remarkably sounds like an Adekunle Gold song. While the song is great, the beat doesn't quite fit the content and delivery. Such a praise-singing anthem could have used a smoother and plain Highlife beat elevated by horns and backup singers as opposed to a Pop composition. I would have replaced the beat of 'Santa Buri' with 'My Way' to achieve the musicality needed to elevate the track.

'Don't' which is the only English title on the project had a perfect blend of Pop and Highlife. The writing that combines Yoruba, English, and Pidgin as well as the Pop delivery combined with the Highlife leaning riffs and percussion create a Pop song that might be the best on the album. The song had Mo'believe again sounding like Adekunle Gold in 'Afropop 1' through a rich combination of Highlife and Pop.

In the growing laissez-faire approach to romance in Afrobeats and the underlying "Yoruba Demon" theme that makes up the subject of recently released songs, 'Wadomi' feats in perfectly for its vulgarity and subtle masculine toxicity which is maybe very cultural. The reggae progression combines with Mo'believe's Pop delivery for another Highlife-Pop record.

In line with Yoruba custom, Mo'believe pays homage to seen and unseen forces as well as the young and the old in 'Iba'. He asks that he be allowed to succeed and that's sound travel far and wide. And that homage and the very manner in which he delivered the song brings to mind the Odu Ifa.

Final Notes

Overall, 'Odu' is a culturally rich project from an artist who uses his talent to uplift his culture and uses contemporary sounds to bring it closer to a new generation.

Topically, the contents of folklore, self-adulation, praise singing, didacticism, and even lasciviousness are recurring subjects of Highlife music.

The album sequencing is decent as the album achieves sonic coherence through a significant Highlife cadence that runs through the different sounds explored.

In terms of track arrangement, every track strives on its merit and together makes up a solid project. However, I think 'Iba' could have been a better outro and he could have done away with 'Ohun'. Also, 'My Way' should have been the penultimate track on the album coming just before 'Iba'.

In terms of sound, the album straddles both mainstream and niche sonic appeal. This can be a good thing in that lovers of Pop can enjoy selects songs on the project like 'Don't' and 'Wadomi'. However, the bulk of the songs and the projects as a whole will appeal to listeners who enjoy traditional music and are more deliberate about consumption.

With his talent and the quality of his compositions, Mo'believe can focus on building himself strong followership that appreciates his music and loves it for what it's similar to Brymo.

There's a lot of talent from where this project comes and it's such that you don't even have to listen too closely to spot it.

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: 1.5/2

Songwriting, Themes, and Delivery: 1.6/2

Production: 1.6/2

Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.6/2