Album Review: Seyi Shay's Latest Album Misses Mark On Originality

Seyi or Shay album cover

Making first impression comes tricky in a world that battles to no end amnesia, ADHD, dementia, and to a less alarming degree- without recourse to health complicated by technological advancement- the eight-second attention span of its populace.

 Even talented music duo, RoofTop MCs, had to name their sophomore album The Second First Impression a tongue-in-cheek reference to their slept-on first offering.  The classic Shock Therapy could do little to jolt listeners to the consciousness of the début album’s existence. Fela had to dump Highlife for good when his brand was lukewarmly received, hooking up with Sandra Izsadore’s ‘black-powered’ philosophy.

Eedris Abdulkareem never ceases to remind the forgetful public of his battles to make Nigerian music great despite political opposition, his latest being on DJ Jimmy Jatt’s Onile. EME’s Niyola gets the newbie treatment in spite of her Headies-nominated début album almost a decade ago. Sadly, awards shows tend to forget, too. Didn’t NEA become butt of a joke when Skuki and Oritsefemi got nods for Best New Act?

Seyi Shay’s maiden appearance on the Nigerian music scene was no different; to a large number that début failed to leave imprint on the sand of time—for Seyi Shay, however, that Sound Sultan hook-up was the start of a journey. For those asking, it was the BBQ-inspired visuals for Fashi Yesterday under the mononym Seyi with the camera zooming into her face for posterity.

Seyi Shay’s ‘first installment’ of her second first impression arrived sometime in 2011 on Loving Your Way, aided by Flytime Entertainment. ‘Second installment’ of the second first impression was a year later, Irawo. It wasn’t till the Dokta Frabz-crafted 2014 Murda that Oluwaloseyi could truly say she’s made one. The success of the Patoranking/Shaydee-assisted mid-tempo hit did enough for an anticipated début album.

Copy-cat

But on Seyi or Shay, the UK-born songstress can’t lay (sole) claim to the success of her début album, as she borrows ideas, concepts, melodies, and reworks them to suit her interests. Credit should be given to all the muses and inspirations and existing templates that Seyi Shay used. Originality is something that you shouldn’t be disappointed at not finding on this album. Everything on Seyi or Shay has been done before, either by a Nigerian artiste or a foreign act—well, most of the ideas are copied and should one justify this with the biblical saying “nothing new under the sun.”

The first sign that Ms. Shay was ready to soil her hands with used ideas was on Irawo video; it lifted heavily from Keri Hilson’s Lose Control, revisited Beyoncé’s Déjà Vu and Baby Boy, with helpings of Destiny’s Child’s Survivor. Perhaps just as American painter Richard Prince has shown over the years: It’s not necessarily the ‘what is being copied’, but the ‘how’ of it all. And, also, the man behind Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child once managed Seyi Shay, might be reaching into Matthew Knowles’ manual.

Then again, Matthew Knowles tried to create British version of the award-winning girl group but was less successful with From Above. One could be said to be nitpicking, which is fine for those yet to listen to her album and critically examine who exactly Seyi Shay is, what her brand is about, what her unique message is, and what sets her apart from the hundreds of music acts.

Seyi or Shay sells a dubious conceptual album to the public with its title and cover art—at this point one has to question this, as it serves as bedrock for understanding the project. “I want to be remembered for being ‘different,’” a statement Seyi Shay makes bold on the intro.

Ambitious, no doubt, for an artist who started music as a member of the London Community Gospel Choir as a fourteen year old – you can understand where she’s coming from. Given her several second first impressions Seyi Shay would definitely want to be remembered, and not forgotten in the annals of music history. Begs the question: How different is Seyi Shay considering her past works and works on this album? How different is an artiste whose album cover takes an existing template- 9ice’s 2009 Tradition? Her début album seeks to unearth the duality of her nom de guerre—rightly put: “who Seyi is” and “who Shay is”. Does she then achieve this feat which would have made her the first Nigerian act to explore dual personality? No.

She doesn’t even try to split the alter egos (or is it Seyi the person and Shay the artiste)—this is unclear. One assumes Shay is the fierce, sultry, grey hair rocking persona while Seyi is meant to be the churchy, gospel-touring persona (assumption made from shut-eyed version and her history).

Seyi Shay

The Rihanna connection

Don’t be surprised Rihanna is an obvious muse for the ‘artist’ Seyi Shay. Rihanna featured on her Disturbia-themed Crazy. Rihanna also had her time on the song and video for Right Now. The Riri-inspired vocals on the hit single were minor, but Seyi- or was it Shay the fierce one?- repackaged Only Girl (In The World), and We Found Love for the video and even went blonde for perfection. Rihanna morphs into sexual innuendo on the Cynthia Morgan-assisted In Public as both ladies sing about the joys of al fresco sex. Ms.

Morgan complicates matters with German Juice reference which some have defined as, well, result of tryst. This song credited in part to Rihanna, but largely to Kelis and her 2005 song of same title. Subtlety isn’t something Misses Shay and Morgan are gunning for neither is originality. Rihanna again shows up as an unfortunate metaphor on Pack and Go– “Do I look like Rihanna?”

 A song with a confusing concept, was it meant to address intimate partner violence, lovelorn relationship, or meant to mock victims of abuse with Rihanna as the object of mockery? Seyi Shay misses the opportunity to address violence against women, something Omawumi and Waje touched on If You Ask Me and So Inspired respectively. For lovelorn relationship, the songs falls flat, stale concept Beyoncé tried on Irreplaceable.

On the previously released Crazy, there is no stellar collision as Star Boy Wizkid and Star Gurl Seyi Shay succumb to banality on the noisy Legendury Beatz-production. Harrysong appears as songwriter on the horrible Jangilova, another previously released song. Songwriters, interestingly Seyi Shay acted as one back in the UK, usually sing their written lyrics over a demo to serve vocal guide and provide needed melodies for the artiste. Unfortunately, on Jangilova it seems the Neo-Highlife/Palm wine Groove Five Star Music artiste failed to ‘lead’ Seyi Shay, as the rhythm on the Del B beat is off with her pitch too high and unsteady.

When she recruits Timaya on another Del B-production, Killing Me Softly, Egberi Papa sounds like himself and his limited lyrical and vocal range while she sings sensually about la petite mort. The chemistry between the two unlikely collaborators is one for the books. Another great feature happens when mentor and mentee combine for the Reggae Healer playing like Sound Sultan’s comfort zone though Rihanna’s Man Down has an unseen hand in this, unsurprisingly.

Seyi Shay sings about love as a personal tool to mend the broken hearted and love as sexual love what John Lennon called Mind Games, while Sound Sultan is left with love as a political tool to solve the world’s problems. Half singing/half talking BOJ and the smooth vocals of Seyi Shay take it to church on Church for one of the album’s highlights, the other No Vacancy which opens with piano ballad switching to drum patterns. On the latter, she sings about lost love—“Goodbye to the love I used to know.” Her emotions bleed through the length of the record, as she is rather impressive not in a teary moment but one of strength.

Cliches from top to bottom

Higher opens with the sultry vocals of Seyi Shay: “Let it out, let me in, let it all out (Ma d’oke)/Get it out, breathe it in, breathe it out/Let it pour out (Wa g’oke)…So baby please, make we release, you should know that I’m here with you.” Higher could be taken for a bedroom number with metaphors like “mountain top”, “release”, “rise up”, “g’oke” acting as sexual innuendoes till you peak at the bridge only to find god, and the song takes a sharp turn to an inspirational one. This is confusing, like the situation described by Alifa Rifaat where a man stops mid-thrust, interrupted by the call to prayer.

Ode to marijuana on the Trap Mary and afrobeat Loud is dreary and clichéd, on the former Seyi Shay gets on her best Tinashe-impersonation over the synth-production which ultimately fails to impress with an uninspired Phyno. On the tired Love Wan Tin Tin, Ms. Shay revisits a concept that has lost its potency from the days of Nelly Uchendu’s Ofodulu Nwantinti (’76 Love Nwantinti) to any and every one willing to rehash; interestingly, she attempts her ‘Timaya’ on the bridge. D’Banj puts misery to an already tedious adventure with his irritating chant on Tina.