By Chiagoziem Onyekwena
Sunny Neji is out with his new album; his fifth in a career that has spanned two decades.
And, the singer must have noticed that fans and critics didn’t particularly like his last album ‘Off Da Hook’; because his new LP shows a return to the formula we’re used to; the formular that works best for him – highlife.
Off Da Hook, Neji’s fourth album, was an experiment with R&B, a genre the singer actually started with; and continues to love passionately. But, even though the album contained painstakingly made music, it just didn’t work for someone whose biggest hits include highlife masterpieces: Mr Fantastik, Face2 face, tolotolo and Oruka.
For years, the Ogoja-born singer was seen by apostles of the highlife genre as the future of the music. At a time when the music was fading, and its revival was top on the agenda of culture activists, Neji was seen as a bridge; one who was using his talent to sell a dying art to a young, dis-interested generation. So, with Off Da Hook, highlife apostles thought the singer had sold out; and the young R&B/hip hop generation didn’t exactly see him as fit for the genre he was now romancing.
Sunny Neji might not readily admit to it, but his decision in 2006 to record an album that comprised mostly of pop records, ranks high amongst the few missteps of the modern High Life afficionado’s illustrious career. While the album might have been a technically superior piece, Sunny was unable to carry most of his fans along on his Off the Hook adventures and many of them grew disillusioned as a result. As they say, it’s never about how you fall but it’s how you pick yourself back up, the veteran’s sixth studio album, the oddly named Pin No. 9 10 11, sees Sunny make a triumphant return to the type of music that made him a modern Nigerian music giant in the first place.
Mr. Neji delivers on nearly one hour of delightful, rhythmic music strongly influenced by a classic High Life sound with Sunny infusing wise sayings and wily metaphors that would mostly appeal to the grown. At the same time however, he simplifies his melody (Worry Dem) to the point were a newborn could memorize the words to the songs before he even learns to say ‘mama’! Rather than just penning overt lyrics, Sunny employs the subtle approach and tasks the listener with conceptual songs (Pin No.9 10 11) whose import might be missed if given a half hearted listen. In addition, his tendency to inject live instruments into his production as opposed to Fruity Looping it all the way allows his music assume a life of its own.
One More Time, Makanju and Ojukokoro celebrate a deep and timeless love, while Biko Biko sees Sunny making frantic attempts to win back a lost love over a heavenly concoction of guitar strings that surely no woman can say no to. But like everything in life, even Pin No. 9 10 11 has its flaws; Obokun and the ode to Lagos state Eko ole baje, see Sunny return to the type of music Nigerians turned their back on him for producing three years ago. The songs aren’t bad by any means, in fact they are well above average but if I was told to choose an ideal artiste to perform a sultry rendition over beats so sparse that attention is immediately drawn to the artiste’s vocal ability (or lack thereof), chances are Mr. Neji’s name won’t come up first. In addition, did Sunny choose friendship over quality of contribution when he made that phone call to Eedris Abdulkareem to join him on Ibanobi? The song lags the rest of the album in terms of quality.
That not withstanding, Pin No. 9 10 11 is an exquisite collection of music of a grade so high, only true legends know how to attain. Unless I’m suffering from a career-threatening case of debilitating amnesia, I just reviewed the best album of 2009, thus far. While that’s a good thing for Sunny, it’s a damn shame that Off the Hook cooled off some of the fire the Sunny Neji of the Oruka-era had sparked up for himself. Here’s to hoping this album reignites some of those flames.
ALBUM RATING 4.5/5