Odunsi Treads New Waters on New EP, ‘Everything You Heard Is True’

In the decade-long span since its emergence, Nigeria’s burgeoning alternative scene – popularly dubbed as alté – has made formidable strides. Drawing heavily on western and Nigerian influences, alté culture puts ingenuity, individuality and a sense of notoriety at its core – qualities at odds with Nigeria’s conservative culture – and is comprised of young mavericks looking to express themselves freely. In a predominantly traditional society like Nigeria, it’s only natural for such efforts to be met with pushback (and ridicule); from older heads hell-bent on their archaic and non-progressive ways to cultural gatekeepers determined to maintain the status quo.

Still, in the face of such animosity, the new school have continued to thrive; transcending their innovative and daring sounds, art and culture across African borders and into foreign spaces. While pioneered by culture veterans, DRB Lasgidi and L.O.S, the alté scene certainly owes its current status to new generation revolutionaries, Santi, Lady Donli and Odunsi [The Engine] – the luminaries who silently tackled the paradigm head on, by simply sticking to their ideals and ignoring the naysayers.

From his debut as a full-fledged artist in 2016, it was evident that Odunsi [The Engine] was a force to be reckoned with. Since then he’s gone on to cement his place as one of the frontrunners championing the alté movement. Following Santi’s cult-classic, ‘Gangster Fear’, Odunsi’s early 2018 single, ‘Alté Cruise’, stamped a cultural reset and ushered in a new era of new generational talent. Later in the year, he released his debut, full-length studio album, rare., which saw him revisiting his 80s and 90s R&B influences, amassed him a cult-following across different corners of the globe, and earned him the title ‘The Dark Prince of Afro-Pop’. Fast forward two years, Odunsi, armed with his newfound confidence and undeniable impact, is finally ready to release another body of work – only not an album just yet.

Enter Everything You Heard Is True, a concise yet compelling record showing the inner workings of an artist comfortable in his authenticity but ready to explore new soundscapes. The 7-track project sees Odunsi leaning into the dark, pop-tinged palette signature to his sound while exploring new cadences. We’re cast into the tape with ‘luv in a mosh’, a psychedelic, percussion heavy opener. The self-produced track finds Odunsi recounting his intimate relationship with a girl he met in a moshpit. ‘Favourite to me, I pick her nail colours for the week/She wanna stay over when I sleep’, he croons in a melodic trap cadence. 44dbcollective founder and producer, Tochi Bedford, absolutely shines on this project. His intricate production on ‘nü finesse’ is the bedrock of the subtle, reverb-heavy, trap record. And on ‘airplane mode’, Tochi’s infectious bounce serves as the perfect backdrop for Odunsi’s melodic croons. 

It’s no secret Odunsi has borderline tortured listeners with endless teasing of his Maison2500 collab, ‘wicked, sexy!’. After relentless yearning and pleading, he has gifted fans with the highly anticipated track and a second collab with Maison, ‘PDA!’. The latter is a playful, loose-lyriced cut, with the well acquainted pair spitting verses over a heavily syncopated, rage-inciting beat, certain to have fans wilding out in moshpits. But the arguable highlight of the project is the female-empowering number, ‘body count’.  

Odunsi’s affinity for women is no secret; he seems to always endeavour to surround himself with them. ‘hectic’, an 80s pop tinged cut off rare., enlists a slew of talented neo-soul, female vocalists. ‘body count’, however, takes a different sonic intention. Drafting pop princesses amaarae and Gigi Atlantis and style icon Deto Black, Odunsi creates a space to relay an important message about sexual liberation in women. ‘Don’t worry about your body count, let your body bounce’, Gigi Atlantis echoes on the chorus, urging women to live their best carefree lives. Deto Black is the pleasantly surprising standout on this bouncy number. Armed with her witty and smugly confident lyrics (‘Sagittarius so you know that I’m a freak/Got a man but I can let you have a peak’) and impressive flow, Deto is coming for necks in the rap game and we love to see it. The project is wound to a calming close with the trippy, slowed-down bop, ‘shuga rush’.

READ: The Evolution of Odunsi The Engine

As a whole, Everything You Heard Is True portrays a more fun side of Odunsi, filled with tons of quotables as he addresses the naysayers (‘Niggas worried bout me/Niggas worried bout the wrong things’) and reaffirms his rockstar lifestyle (‘Leader of the sluts/Don’t you come around if you’re tryna get cuffed’). The alté scene has come a long way from its early days of mass ridicule and is now at the point that criticizers have become believers. The stage is certainly set to usher in an ‘evolution of expression’ – an era where Nigerian youth can create as freely as they please. Perhaps this could serve as a reason for Odunsi’s undeniable newfound confidence. He’s been testing out new soundscapes lately and the trap melodies laced in his unexpected verse on Maison2500’s ‘Dirty Fanta’ gave us a taste of what to expect on this tape. The project is a filler for fans to relish until he’s ready to release his sophomore studio album and we can only imagine what pockets he’ll explore next. 

Stream Everything You Heard Is True below.