Omawumi discusses love, peace and happiness on 'Love Deep, High Life' [Pulse Album Review]

‘Love Deep, High Life’ is Omawumi’s fourth album and fifth overall body of work, in an illustrious career that’s seen it all. The album is a follow-up to the riveting emotional expressions of In Her Feelings.

At the 2019 listening party for ‘In Her Feelings,’ Omawumi constantly deferred to and celebrated her husband, with whom she shares one kid and a visibly happy home.

When she visited Pulse Nigeria in June 2021, she was visibly peaceful and happy. Dressed in a pair of shorts, her husband’s shirt and a pair of sneakers, she was accompanied by her longtime friend, Chigurl. While the outfit seemed carefree, it was the type of ‘carefree’ that comes with contentment, genuine inner joy and gratitude.

During the interview, she joked about picking weight due to the lockdown, stealing her husband’s shirts and making her album, while raising her kid. She openly spoke about collaborating with songwriters and producers, from the comfort of her home.

‘Love Deep, High Life’ is like a continuation of ‘In Her Feelings,’ albeit on a higher level. Omawumi’s happiness, peace and personal content come to the fore in a rare showcase of Adult Contemporary Pop Music [borrowed from Adult Contemporary Hip-Hop].

Omawumi’s topics are a threesome; a multi-track celebration of love that feels like a dedication to her husband, a need for a good life, filled with happiness and a desire to make more money.

At the nucleus of this EP is ‘My Life’ featuring Phyno, on which Omawumi sings out, “Leave me make I live my life, so why e dey pepper your boy/Why e dey peper you for body? So na why you dey try show concern? Na you dey epp me spend my money?”

One track later, she highlights the pretentious, hypocritical ‘BS’ that’s become the enviable toast of an entire social media generation. While Omawumi herself is a millennial, she’s from the older generation. Thus, she doesn’t subscribe to some of our current realities.

She chastises everybody; including older Nigerians, government officials and even Lagos traffic. She is so about happiness that she only aims to focus on anything that brings her happiness. And if that be a Brazilian Butt Lift, then so be it.

Omawumi also declares that she is tired of having an opinion on everything - something that she shares with Pulse Nigeria in June.

While the album doesn’t quite reflect Omawumi’s famous ebullient character, it reveals the positivity she usually moves with. ‘Billionaire’ is celebratory, and contains another theme, which populates this album - love. A chunk of those amorous records seem dedicated to her husband.

To expand her creativity, the Delta-bred Omawumi spoke Yoruba on ‘Joy,’ ‘Sugar’ ‘Baby,’ ‘Milk,’ ‘Honey,’ ‘Coast To Coast,’ and ‘My Darling.’ This shows the creative license, which she employed on this album.

While some bouts of delivery on this album are roughly delivered, there is an audience for this album. More importantly, its median tempo and canvassed topics make it a ready-made bed for ‘wedding music.’

While all tracks are good and impressive, the only issue on this album is the lack of a standout track.

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

6.5 - Victory