Here’s how best to describe the Mavin 2.0 singers

Signed in 2014, the trio signaled a new beginning into the Mavin Dynasty, after the departure of singer Wande Coal. In true reality, they weren’t replacements, but rather marked a new direction for the group which has continued to rule Nigerian music.

Pulse Music brings you the three artistes, effectively describing their strengths after over a year of thrilling Nigeria with good music.

Reekado Banks

Reekado Banks is an amazing singer, songwriter and composer. The young man who prior to signing up with the Mavins was named Spicy.

He had a following in Unilag, worked on some singles which put him on the map, but ultimately got his name stolen by some other artiste. The good part of this story is that Reekado Banks cooler than Spicy. Spicy Chicken.

Reekado is awfully talented, combining his Afro Pop sensibilities with romantic songwriting and introspection, to provide music as art. Credited for his part in the emergence of the Mavin 2.0, the singer has played a huge part in most of the sound coming from the Mavin camp. His magnum opus so far still remains his work on Dorobucci, and Adaobi, two songs that came from his prolific songwriting skills.

Many on the surface, the fans can only perceive and appreciate the man who appears on TV and gives them good music, but behind those bright screen scenes, he is a creator of content.

Reekado also has his failings. Some of which are beyond his control. He doesn’t possess the looks of Korede Bello and Kiss Daniel, neither does he have the vocal ranges that can add holistic dynamism to songs. But he creatively works through all of these, with impeccable grooming, key collaborations, and tweaking of sound to come out super.

Korede Bello

Korede’s strength lies in his weakness of play. The young man is breezy, fantastical, and Jheri-curled. Possessing a ‘cute’ frame, and a smile to kill, the singer is a cross between Bruno Mars and a younger Michael Jackson without the dance moves.

He is being groomed and branded along those lines, with comic sensibilities thrown into his work to give him an appeal that few in the Nigerian music industry possess.

This has been devastating in its effects. Korede Bello is the most loved singer of the new Mavin stars. Why young women love Korede Bello is simple to decipher. He appeals to the little girls in them and evokes feelings of love, cuteness and beauty. They want to hug him like a stuffed doll, and feel his warmth and innocent energy course up their veins and warm their hearts.

Korede’s creative process is to make songs that stride the fine line between alternative and pop. He also throws in teenage love for effect. ‘Godwin’, his one true hit song so far was off the radar, an anomaly that struck a general nerve, and lined his pockets with financial reward.

Di’Ja

Di’Ja is still a conundrum for many. The singer is unique, perhaps too unique to be understood and appreciated by all. Possessing a slim frame, she lacks stark sexuality, coming off as your crush in high school, and that best friend that you would love to marry after sowing your wild oats.

Her music is fantastical too. Di’Ja’s Senegalese Krio and Northern Nigerian heritage is reflective in all many of her songs. Di’Ja has been in Canada, where she studied the ropes, put work in, and got some recognition for her work. In reality, Di’Ja is not Nigerian. She is Senegalese, by virtue of her father’s nationality. But her time in Northern Nigeria, Canada and the USA have been a blessing to her craft.

This uniqueness and fusion of influences can be a curse too. The singer is still on a quest to find her one true sound, with each new music release feeling like an experimentation. The success of ‘Aww’ did help her status, but other songs have failed to fare so well.

According to many sources, Di’Ja is also married, but the veracity of that claim is inaccurate. If that were the true state of things in her life, she might have to balance the demands of a home with her quest for musical satisfaction.

Di’Ja still continues to retain her fans, with the majority of people drawn to her personality belonging to the elite demographic. People with more metrosexual and Afropolitan inclinations. This is a good thing, through and through.