Singer’s mixtape needs to start his lyrical growth

The world is Wizkid’s oyster as he journey’s through diverse lands in pursuit of new music and the attendant possibilities. The young man is on a high after recording with a number of international stars.

Over the past months, Wizkid’s name have come up in circles around Drake, TY Dolla Sign, Angelique Kidjo, Rihanna, Coldplay, Chris Brown, Tinie Tempah, Nico & Vinz, and many others. The singer has been a global beast, creating alliances, forging relationships, recording collaborations, and most importantly showing growth.

A tangible result of this was seen with the release of Drake’s ‘One Dance’, a song where the singer collaborated, taking a bridge on the dance track which also samples Londoner, Kyla. Wizkid also makes the cut as the first Nigerian pop star to enter the hallowed halls of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, debuting at number 21 this week.

The singer has taken advantage of the situation, and is working hard at releasing an EP. Promotions for the first song off the EP are underway. The single is titled ‘Sweet love’, with production from long-time collaborator, Sarz, who has been the brain behind some of Wizkid’s major hit songs in Nigeria.

This EP, which is still untitled, has taken its time to reach a released date. First announced in late 2014, Wizkid pushed it to 2015, only to promise Nigeria an album, and rip up the promise. The Ep was also announced last year, but New Year rolled in with festivities and no Wizkid EP. But to alleviate the desire for new music, Wizkid came through with the party banger, ‘Final (Baba Nla).’

In those 2 years since he first announced this forthcoming mixtape Wizkid has grown heavily. That growth is evident and continues to pay dividends. But fans are worried. ‘Baba Nla’ showed no improvement by way of lyrical content. In place of improvement, we got lyrical complacency.

One of Wizkid’s failings as a star is the absence of lyrical depth, and that’s what he needs to fix as he drops this EP. The songs off this project need to have the touch of seasoned songwriters who would give it a creative gloss to make it shine. Wizkid has truly gone beyond the country, and to make that last, he needs to show improvement with every content he drops.