Toju personalises Christian relationships with "The Perfectionist EP"

Jonathan 12:43 - 28 June 2016

Contrary to popular Christian clichéd themes, Toju personalizes his content, and by owning them, breathes new life into his work.

Extended Play: The Perfectionist

Artiste: Toju

Producers: Jopee, Kayx, Mr Magik, Kelly Lyon, XYZ, AmJay

Duration: 36 Minutes

Influenced a galaxy of stars such as Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight, Nas and Talib kweli, Toju started singing and rapping at a tender age. But it wasn’t until 2005 that he began to bring his art to the stage while at the University of Port Harcourt. That emergence earned him a feature with R&B singer, Samsong in the year 2008 on a song titled ‘Mr Busyman’.

Toju released his debut single in 2013 titled ‘Shayo’ and has since worked on several projects with the likes of Casey Ed, Oscar, Natialo Productions, Kelly Lyon, Mike Abdul, Protek and more. In 2015 he was privileged to work on a project titled "Rise" where he worked with the likes of 2face Idibia, Djinee, Isaac Geralds, Provabs and many other talented artists. A year down the line, he has brought forward his debut body of work, “The Perfectionist EP”.

He starts off with a solemn intro to get things working with spoken word defining the meaning, his meaning, of what perfection truly means. There’s a piercing guitar and drumming as Toju gave his testimony of Jesus and his love for him on ‘In love’, and continues on the thumping ‘Promo’. Toju is a highly skilled rapper, but he switches up on ‘2geda’ with singing his way back to love and the mundane arms of love.

‘Soundcode’ introduces a dance dimension to the tape, as Toju shows off his Ghanaian pop sensibilities, while rapping about the goodness of God. The dance continues on ‘Okoto’ featuring Mike Abdul, but gives way to the more introspective ‘Resting’. Metal guitars provide a foil for ‘Ama Success’, before the horns from ‘Pose’ round off proceedings.

Leaning heavily on fusion sounds, Toju shows an unbridled understanding of syncopation and timing to create a standout EP about his relationship with God. Contrary to popular Christian clichéd themes, he personalizes his content, and by owning them, breathes new life into his work.

Ratings 3/5