Despite 2baba's legacy and discography of hit anthems, Peruzzi is the reason why we scream to 'Amaka' every time it gets played and while the world longed for his solo singles, he kept our appetites whet with timely clips on his social media pages of him singing in the studio that served as an assurance that our man was working and with time, we shall see the result.
Having lost out to Teni in the Headies 2018, Rookie of the year category, the duo again went head to head all year and while the former consistently set the pace with her singles, Peruzzi kept up on her heels with an impressive list of features.
And on Friday, December 21, 2018, he released his debut EP, ''Heartwork.''
Now there is one thing common with pop music in recent years, an artist discovers a particular sound that captures the attention of young listeners, then they repeatedly deploy this sound over the next couple of songs, so that people would be forced to get into it, making it more of a trend chase than actual musical growth and in the chase for appeal and instant success, they lose their originality or ability to create from their heart and that is what ''Heartwork'' suffers from.
The EP opens with the 'Intro' featuring Sugarbana, a mellow tune that sees Peruzzi officially announce himself and what he is about with Sugarbana lacing with some melodious reggae vibe with the next track, 'Did You'? following an identical pattern but this time narrating a tale of dishonesty in a relationship.
On 'Champion Lover', the project's first guest artist comes in form of Burna Boy as they deliver one of the EP's choice records. The lyrics isn't really anything memorable, but they casually await that lover's call as Burna adds some spice to the song making it a truly enjoyable listen.
'Craze' has that clean stylistic approach to his sound as he brings the 'Amaka' character back to life. On the reggae-inspired 'Dina' featuring Jamaican superstar Popcaan, the vocal styles of himself and Popcaan provides a good blend to make this a vibe.
'Bleed' is a powerful record and a personal favorite. One that takes a fairly different route, delivered on soft drumming beats as he talks about waiting for love.
Davido lends a helping hand on 'Try' as they create that rhythmic sound that we have become accustomed to. 'Majesty' is that standout record that can easily make for a radio single with the EP closing with 'Sangbana' which sounds like something better suited for a Wande Coal.
Peruzzi had a really busy year, doing enough to catapult his name to star status, largely with the help of his DMW family, ending the year with more than 20 collaborations/features to his name.
He is a lover boy and that is evident in his topics; [love and good vibes] on the project.
'Heartwork' is eleven tracks of what we have come to expect but not what we hoped it will be. Very few surprises or stretch of his limit with each track having identical flows, similar beat structures and recycled lines.
All in all, the story of Peruzzi in the last year will likely read thus; a talented singer, not entirely unique but armed with infectious vocals and well crafted hooks that almost always compels an exciting listen.
Pleasant in most songs, average on many others but doing enough to become a dominant leech on the pop scene in 2018 but when it mattered most, on his own body of work, he somehow stutters on the shoulders of expectations failing to provide a climax to match the build-up and fandom he enjoyed all year.
''Heartwork'' EP provides more of a good starting point rather than a compelling introduction into the world of one predicted as the next big thing.
![Peruzzi [Instagram/Peruzzi]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'495'%20height%3D'502'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Peruzzi [Instagram/Peruzzi]")
