Greg gifts us a track from the Nigerian label’s entire roster…
[Video]
[6.33]
Anthony Easton: This has more than 12 million downloads and a strong connection to the middle-class West African fame industry. There has been some movement in making West Africa a global music capital, and this comes the closest. The video is blank and glossy, the rhythms are tight but kind of meaningless, and the Makossa beat is well-constructed but lacking the edges of formal innovation that the genre has flirted with. This is sort of like a midlist Europop single –knows the formula, but maybe not with enough confidence to play with it.
[6]
Iain Mew: A load of people listing various cool stuff to no particular end. It’s elevated by the fact they sound like a bunch of friends worth hanging with, and by the easygoing sway that almost anything would sound charming over.
[7]
Patrick St. Michel: Bless the Auto-Tune spilled over every single syllable here, because “Dorobucci” goes from pleasant to meandering pretty quickly. But drench it in that sweet digi-glaze, and that almost-five-minute playtime becomes much easier to deal with.
[6]
Brad Shoup: They’ve had a fine year, what can I say? “Dorobucci” tosses off a bunch of boasts and tries to attach doro to Lionel Messi and Chuck Norris; I’m certain each fellow is quite appreciative. Of the Mavins roster, Reekado Banks best melds his sweetness with the track’s, and Tiwa Savage offers the most classicist rendering, ending on an exclamatory burst that’d be at home on stateside radio. The track clops away, kicking up zippy synth melodies like dust; this is a victory lap, and so there’s no worry about pace.
[7]
Crystal Leww: Nigeria’s got their very own Rich Gang-esque “Tapout” hit where everything and everyone is thrown at a track to see what sticks. Unlike Rich Gang, there are few weak moments, with everyone providing at least something serviceable. Like Rich Gang, there is a clear winner, with Tiwa Savage sparkling so much harder than the rest, who seem to prefer to keep it even. She decides that she’s going to make the most with what she’s given, and forces the beat to change it up to match her. It’s thrilling to listen to someone rise above the beat, and she sounds transcendent as she croons about being with “the baddest crew.”
[7]
Will Adams: Like most roster singles, “Dorobucci” carries on for quite a while, but the use of a 6/4 meter helps cut out the fat that a 4×4 structure would present (instead of two bars of four beats, we get a neat one bar of six). It’s not only clever, it’s necessary; imagine how long it would be without it.
[5]