When D’banj scored a hit with ‘Emergency’, many expected it to be the turning point for the singer who is still loved mainly for his swashbuckling time at Mo’Hits.
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But with every new release, he takes his fans further away from all of that glory. ‘Emergency’ was meant to mark the start of a good run. The song is regarded as one of biggest songs of 2016, with a video that had thrown him into the upper end of the music conversations.
His follow-up single to that good hit was ‘Breaking news’ a song co-produced by by Sarz and DJ Maphorisa. The talented producers have history as having contributed to Wizkid’s involvement in Drake’s ‘One Dance’. But on the single, which relies heavily on Maphorisa’s muscular sound and syncopation, D’banj appeared too raucous and uninspired.
His response to that was ‘Superstar’, another dingle which failed to spark. A thanksgiving song which pandered to Christianity, ‘Superstar’ has had difficulty in finding acceptance. The acceptance is lukewarm at best, and the video, which was released across all channels isn’t gathering the needed traction.
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“A musician is supposed to know how to play good music or collaborate with others to make good music in order to get paid for the services,” D’banj told News Agency of Nigeria.
“We are not releasing music for it to be on You Tube or some other social media to make us popular. A musician should create room for some other persons to contribute to his music to make it worth the people’s while.
“We are releasing music to make money and to have money to help ourselves and our families,” he said.
Perhaps the aim is digital sales, where the singer is making a killing from the utilisation of his music by telecommunication networks to generate value. He has also been in the centre of a court case.
His new single ‘Focus’ is meant to give a new focus to people and take away attention from his off-the-mic troubles. D’banj dips into his Afrobeat repertoire on a beat provided by Killertunes. With spanking guitars, rattles and horns, the singer works hard at creating another ‘Emergency’.
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But it falls flat on its face. D’banj’s delivery fails to carry this song to its full potential with incoherent singing bringing what should have been a great track to bad place. ‘Focus’ is D’banj aiming to replicate his earlier success and he fails at it.
You Need To Hear This because it is D'banj giving you a lesson on how not to make music.
