There are more than a dime a dozen Nigerian musicians hoping to achieve the coveted title of “multiple award winning”. There are also more artists who hope to move from being seen as rising stars in Nigeria to artists who sell out hotly contested spaces such as the O2 Arena in the United Kingdom.
However, not every artiste or singer has what it takes to survive the cut throat world that is the Nigerian music industry. Some leave and vow never to come back. Some come back and make their return the redeeming arc of their entire music careers.
The latter is where the latest EP of Nigerian singer T’Bellz seems to fall under. Titled Back on Track, it is a chronicle that looks to properly cement his place in the music business. The play on words in the title reflect how he is not just back in the literal sense but also back to deliver more astutely, better songs and a more dedicated sound.
Now, the question then becomes: “How effectively and we’ll has he delivered the songs in this EP?”. The answer is a mixed one that carries the weight of both positives and places where he can do better.
To start with, the EP opens with a song titled Jo. In Yoruba, to Jo is to dance and the upbeat mix of afrobeat and highlife invites the listener to dance. That said, the lyrics themselves talk mainly about a love interest and very little to do with actual dancing and celebration.
While the background instrumentals push the listener to indeed move around, one expects that the lyrical power of the song would encourage more than speaking about a love interest in ways that are disconnected from the actual titular signature of the introductory song.
Furthermore, the arrangement of the songs seem not to reflect the intent behind the Back on Track symbolism. For instance, the project starts with Jo as mentioned earlier. It then moves on to Rendezvous, I’ll Wait, Ginger and Cheers 2 Life. Ideally, what would have helped the EP greatly is if there was an interlude from the beginning that introduced the significance of the title. In the spirit of a return and a rebirth of some sorts, rather than put Jo at the beginning of the tracks, the very last track would have made the EP stand out even better if it was placed at the beginning shortly after an interlude.
Also, placing the first four songs which speak almost exclusively on the same topic (love) could bore the listener from properly getting to the last track. To give an example, the second song speaks about engaging in what seems to be a quiet romantic activity; the next song being I’ll Wait is still about love and seems to be a continuation of the previous song which as said earlier can make the EP look repetitive.
The next song Ginger is a slight detour from the first three songs. But only slightly. It talks about love and a zest for life which is a common thing in Nigerian songs named Ginger; however, this song also deviates a bit from the title to focus almost heavily on love related matters and less about what the title implies.
It can be said that the last song is also a continuation of Ginger as it celebrates loving and living life in the moment and as it comes. What could have made Ginger better is if the rhythm was more upbeat, as that would have followed through with the name of the song.
All of the above said, one must take note of the fact that Back on Track is T’Bellz first compiled body of work since 2017. His first album titled Live It or Leave It came eight years before Back on Track.
On listening to both projects, one has to applaud the artiste for greatly improving his sound and moving away from the experimental to an artiste who now seems to be aware of the kind of music he wants to do.
In conclusion, Back on Track shows significant improvement from the first album and is a testament to pushing boundaries. It shows that with more intentionality and stepping away comes the ability to improve on one’s craft even outside of music.
