Shallipopi’s Planet Pluto was pushed out somewhat hurriedly. After the release of “Ex Convict” two months after his breakout “Elon Musk” hit the charts and trend tables, it was imperative to him to cash in on the attention this new single garnered with something even bigger—a debut EP.
So while “Ex Convict” made its climb up the charts and co-signs came in from stars like Wizkid all the way to Alexander Iwobi, Planet Pluto debuted without any prior announcement, and on a Monday no less.
Shallipopi is a polarising figure, and understandably so. Artists in the past have ridden on the ‘Yahoo wave’ to prominence, and even Shallipopi’s arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in relation to internet fraud was no new occurrence—Zlatan and Naira Marley shared a cell at the EFCC that would turn out to be a launching pad for their mainstream careers.
As Nigeria’s society becomes less opposed to internet fraud, we can expect less discretion from its supporters, so that acts that would once be discussed in secret now populate the sonicsphere.
But even with all this precedent, never has an artist banked so much on cybercrime for lyrical content as Shallipopi does here; an eagerness to capitalise on the popularity of his breakout single means too many songs share the same tropes.
Lines like “Elon is active” and “Clear road” are not specific enough to identify any song: they could have been pulled from any of them. This extends to the soundscape as well, and while Busy Pluto’s efforts behind the board to grant Shallipopi a distinct signature sound are laudable, it brings the adverse effect of making tracks hard to tell from each other, especially in the first few seconds.
We have seen with Asake that having a template does not have to preclude ingenuity, so it is a let down that the singer-producer duo cannot find pockets of space within their crafted sound to expand. That is with the sole exception of album opener, Obapluto, but more on it later.
Interestingly, a track which significantly stretched Planet Pluto’s sonic template, “Melanin Touch”, has now been removed in the version currently available on streaming platforms. There he sauntered into Afropop’s slow, luscious corner, a rapidly growing segment, where an artist may render a glitter-coated description of sex as a contrast to the more coarse version you are likely to find in an Afrobeats song.
But perhaps it was too soon for Shallipopi to make this turn. He is after all the “Pluto Boy”, the one whose Evian is active, and not particularly the loverboy. So after requesting and taking in feedback about the track, out went “Melanin Touch”. To replace it is “Sharpiru”, originally released in April between “Elon Musk” and “Ex Convict” without matching their levels of acceptance and impact.
It slots in seamlessly on Planet Pluto, as Shallipopi glides on Busy Pluto’s hypnotic log drums and that characteristic horn that makes you want to pump your fist to it. It is then no surprise that he starts the next track, “Ahead Ahead” in praise of his producer, “Busy na bad producer/ No cap o”, and the connection they share.
This connection flourishes best, as does the individual talents of these creatives, on Obapluto, which is not just a celebration of Benin culture and sonic excellence but the greatest indicator of the potential that Shallipopi still has untapped.
Here Busy Pluto melds his signature sound with flutes from Benin music, returning with a product that is recognisably Shallipopi’s but with a stylisation—exactly what we would have loved to see on some of the other tracks. And still they take it one step further, sampling Monday Edo Igbinidu’s “Ogbaisi” for its chorus, while Shallipopi is as boastful as ever on verses.
Read more: Thy Kingdom Come Review: Seyi Vibez ushers in his dynasty arc
At a time when Yoruba street pop is leveraging on the decades of rich music history for the ‘Fujipiano’ experiments, while acts like Kcee and Kolaboy rework the Oja flute of Eastern Nigeria into mainstream music, Shallipopi makes a case for Benin.
His manner of speaking, in the rough, yet sonorous brand of pidgin that is unique to Edo state was reflective enough of his origins, but singing in his Benin language here builds further on his identity. It also helps that the song is in praise of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, who fought colonialism of the Ancient Benin Kingdom until he was forcefully deposed and exiled to Calabar.
In many ways Shallipopi sees himself as a king too—his given name, afterall, is Crown—so when he says “Clear road for Oba”, he is speaking of himself and what he imagines to be his route to the throne.
He is right in acknowledging that the opportunity is open, but he will need to be a lot more enterprising and innovative to seize it; so while it is impressive to see him water the plant of “Elon Musk” until it grew into this Planet Pluto, the period that comes next will be a lot more crucial.
