Dolapo The Vibe goes from 'Unanticipated' to 'noticed' [EP Review]

Dolapo TheVibe should be in Nigeria, but life has its way of making things funny. Her story is unique; as a member of the US Marines on her last tour, she likes to sing and make music. Discovered by Bankulli, she released her first ever single 'Owo' earlier in 2020.

A little while later, she featured Peruzzi on a remix of the song. Even though she's not in Nigeria at this time, Dolapo and Bankulli crafted the best part of this Unanticipated via tech media throughout the lockdown measures instituted across the world due to COVID-19.

The result is a unique brand of pop music that merges Teni-esque delivery and voice type with the vim of Omawumi's vocal range and freewheeling vocal experimentation at the height of delivery, even without necessarily screaming.

That trait is significantly pronounced on 'Owo,' an aspirational as Dolapo and Peruzzi discuss the power of money as they have lucid dreams on Reggae-Fusion. Dolapo sings, "I just want the money and the fancy cars. Take trips to Dubai just to see the stars..." She has the ability to sound both regular and special at the same time.

Her music is also substantiated like the backdrop of Barry Jhay. The only difference from all those acts is that she is still raw and malformed.

The greatest evidence of the depth of her raw talent is 'Tension.' The beat is markedly different - R&B - from the significant Afro-pop direction of Unanticipated. Even though her delivery is rough around the edges - especially at the start, Dolapo falls back in line and delivers a beautiful chorus that makes life easy for Barry Jhay who sealed the song.

Most of the music on Unanticipated is inspired by life, love and life's experiences. Some elements of the EP are pretty, some are aspirational and some are brazen. 'Orimi,' which opens the the EP is an Afro-swing record which sees a brazen Dolapo sing about the beauty, curves and edges of a woman. The backing vocals on the song basically take the song from nothing to beautiful.

The calmer and more dreamy-eyed 'Love Potion' is more methodical in its horn-aided Hi-life mould of Afro-pop. Dolapo's character is drunk in love on 'Love Potion.' The wild part is that, she doesn't reject the power of the 'Love Potion,' she embraces it. She sings, "Some say na jazz, some say na juju... Baby we nor send..." Ah! E don be o...

The problem with that record though is that its hook is slightly rough towards the end. Its mixing is slightly off balance.

Love also forms the basis of the Reggae tune, 'Slow Down' with Nyanda. While 'Orimi' and 'Love Potion' are carefree love songs crafted from teenage blues, Dolapo breaks the comfort on 'Slow Down.' as she sings about the discomforts of attraction. She bemoans attracting bad boys and how love can be suffocating.

'Ijo' employs guitar-rich production to deliver the best song on Unanticipated. The sad part is that the song is not a single.

Final Thoughts

As noted earlier, Dolapo is still quite raw and that means her range of topical conversations can be quite limited. When she's singing about love, it is filled with the usual insipid profanity, subtexts and familiar language of Nigerian Afro-pop. To stand out, she will need to say more unique things.

The album should also have been sequenced thus;

Love Potion

Tension

Owo [Remix]

Ijo

Orimi

Slow Down

This way, the album would have started with a more alluring, party-esque sound that you could also listen to while laying in a garden. 'Tension' would showcase diversity and the EP would have gone from there. 'The Vibe' should also be cut from her stage name.

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

7.5 - Victory