Don’t let the title of the album fool you. For Laycon, the journey as a rapper did not just start today.
As a matter of fact, Laycon (real name Olamilekan Moshood Agbelesebioba) has been rapping from his undergraduate days as a student of Philosophy at the University of Lagos. In 2014, he performed at the Coke Studio University of Lagos event. His love for music continued after he earned his bachelor’s degree in 2016; even as he worked as a personal assistant to the Managing Director at Latjum Global, and as a sales personnel at Bestman Games.
He kept taking shots at a music career, emerging as a finalist at the MTV Base LSB Challenge in 2017, then burst into fame after he won the 2020 edition of Big Brother Naija, scoring well-received appearances on the remix of DJ Neptune’s “Nobody” and the remix of Mr. Real’s “Baba Fela”. But before BBN, he had put in work. In 2016 he released an EP, Young, Black and Gifted, and in 2019 he released two mixtapes – Any Given Monday and Any Given Monday 2 – as well as an EP named Who Is Laycon. The latter included the single “Fierce”, featuring rappers Chinko Edun and Reminisce.
Shall We Begin, Laycon’s full-length debut album, is a 12-track project rolled out by Fierce Nation Entertainment, to which Laycon has been signed since 2019. The record, which premiered on April 30, 2021, runs at a listening time of 33 minutes, and features production input from DJ Klem, Dwill, BeatbyQue, Finito, Telz, JaySynths, Saint Gagu, and Major Bangz.
The album gets off to a flyer with the DJ Clem-produced “And So She Spoke”. The track primarily comprises an emotive voice message from his mother, which runs like an oriki of sorts, a prayer amidst talking drums. The DWill-produced “God Body” has him displaying a bit of braggadocio, making allusions to foreign gods like Zeus and Jupiter, with a rhythm reminiscent of Vector’s verse in “Crown of Clay.’’ He appears to struggle with the metaphors, but the delivery makes up for it.
Laycon teams up with Mayorkun on “Verified”, a track produced by BeatbyQue. They manage to find chemistry after the first 35 seconds; you can’t go wrong with a collaboration with the Mayor of Lagos. It could pass for a mid-tempo Lagos anthem, and should be released as a single, with colourful visuals to boot.
“All Over Me”, featuring Shorae and produced by Finito, sees Laycon expressing frustration over unrequited love, with lyrics like “shey you catch COVID?/why avoiding me/no be my love you go use upside down”, and you just feel that the guitar solo in the final few seconds could have been a little longer. Finito’s sound engineering prowess comes to play yet again on “Wagwan”, a song which could have been a standout single, but for corny lyrics like “the money will look good on me/for this economy/as I don get money/even me sef go fall for me.”
Serial hit-maker Joeboy makes an appearance on the Telz-produced “Kele”, a track that dwells on flaunting one’s significant other. Laycon’s flow leaves much to be desired here, but Joeboy balances things out with a decent hook. The tempo switches up on “Jeje”, a percussion-laden track that involves vocal assistance from pop star Terri, as well as a clever play on alphabets. Laycon described himself as a sexual enthusiast during the Big Brother show, and the Telz-produced “Bam Bam” is his attempt to live up to that tag: lyrics like “when I put it in/she go la la la/oh na na/I go hard like my thing is a bone/e go hard for the babe not to moan” would remind you of Omah Lay. “I Want You Back”, featuring Teni the Entertainer, is a song that chronicles the travails of a relationship that has been marred by mutual infidelity, and with both artists playing to their vocal strengths, it is the most sonically adept collaboration on the record.
On “Fall For Me”, produced by Saint Gagu, Laycon teams up with YKB to warn a lovestruck lady not to get too emotionally comfortable. The Major Bangz-produced “My Lane” (co-written with DWill) has him reminding detractors of his journey to fame amidst a tasty guitar solo and a well-delivered hook. The album closes out with “And So They Spoke”, which rings like a medley of prayer and prophecy accompanied by deft vocals.
The producers and mixers on this record put in a good shift, but for a rapper, lyricism also determines the final product, and on a number of tracks, it’s clear to see that Laycon has difficulty balancing his writing with his delivery. Where the lyrics are really good, the flow seems forced, and where he manages to find the rhythm, his penmanship fails him. The LP starts with a lot of promise, but before long it descends into cheesiness, almost risking monotony, before limping to the finish line. The collaborations – especially the ones involving Mayorkun and Teni – are the high points of this album, and they are the reason why this body of work is remotely listenable.
Ultimately, Shall We Begin lacks the ambition, the hunger or the thematic coherence you would expect from a debut album. Unlike Blaqbonez’ Bad Boy Blaq and Ladipoe’s T.A.P – two debut rap albums released in 2018 – Laycon’s first full-length offering lacks any sort of urgency. He is not a bad rapper, and he has shown in the past that he has the potential, but he has missed a big chance to stamp his authority on the music scene. His career will not necessarily be stunted by this, and he has a couple of other things (like a reality show on Showmax) going for him, but he still has a lot of work to do if he wants to be taken more seriously in Nigerian Hip-Hop.
Rating: 5.9/10.