Rapper missed mainstream success chance with niche ‘Achikolo’ single

Zoro, the Hip-hop Prince from the East, appears to have shot himself in the foot. The rapper who has steadily worked his way from an industry outsider, to a man who has an outside chance to top the rap game, struck gold when he dropped the single ‘Ogene’, this year. The song had Flavour supplying the best of hooks. ‘Ogene’ was special for what it represented. A remix with Lil Kesh has been released, further stoking the fires and keeping his case for national domination alive.

Cosigns from a number of veterans have meant very little, except for the one from Phyno. For Zoro. Phyno is an idol, with who he shares a similar story, and is currently the physical manifestation of his dream. They have hustled the same streets, have a core fan base with a demography overlap, they also do share certain elements including a culture, language and rap subject matters. Zoro has long been touted as the next in the throne of the East. He isn’t doing badly over there. In Enugu, he is revered and worshipped, and his songs are gold. It is that which he hopes to translate to pop success in Lagos.

A good way for Zoro to do this are collaborations with more mainstream artistes. Flavour came through on ‘Ogene’. And the penetration in the West was palpable. Not enough to make him a household name, but it got him on the right platforms and gave him visibility. His next major collaboration, a project with Phyno, was on paper the right move.

But he flunked it.

‘Achikolo’, the new single that everyone in the East is currently celebrating is niche win for Zoro, but a loss for the budding star who wants to be a part of the bigger picture. Production credits go to Kezyklef, back up vocals with chorus was by PammyUdu Bonch with some production touches from ace producer Selebobo.

The song was designed for the East, with the melody ringing of core Eastern sounds, involving the Ogene, rattles and drums. It’s a pure Highlife song that has very little crossover value. Mainstream music is made up of roots sounds, filtered and reworked for a wider appeal, using elements that can be recognized and accepted by a wider market. ‘Achikolo’ had none of these, with the entire production working to create an Eastern anthem. This song will definitely rock Igbo gatherings and will be championed by Eastern exports to other states. But would it be accepted and celebrated by a wider demography drawn from diverse tribes? No.

Zoro scored another one for the East with this. But at this stage of his career, he doesn’t need to keep gaining niche points. What he truly desires, is to go pop with his music, and to do that, his music needs dilution. Hopefully, this is not the only Phyno collaboration that they have recorded. There has to be something else in the bag.

There has to be.