Darey Proves He Is The King Of R&B With ‘Double Dare’

By Ayomide Tayo

Someone must have double-dared the man known as Darey, or else can you explain why he has decided to drop two albums simultaneously into Nigeria’s volatile music market. Some might think the move foolhardily but with the music industry in need of creativity and good songs, DOUBLE DARE provides Heart and Beat (the title of both discs) at just the right time.

HEART

Heart is made up of 9 tracks which make you hardly break a sweat but makes you move in a slight shuffle in appreciation of good music that the body and soul needs. It is a musical journey which is enhanced by fine wine and in the company of a member of the opposite sex. It’s the kind of CD that you play in your car at night during a smooth cruise round town.

The production is excellent and not a beat, snare, kick or string is out of place. It is surely for people who are used to having good music flowing through their veins. The CD starts with two tracks that pay homage to the past. Sisi Eko plays like a soundtrack of the social life of Lagos in the 60’s while Sweet Mother is a cover of Nico Mbaga’s evergreen song of the same title.

For some loving Never say Never is a must play and if friendship is what you seek instead of an amorous relationship Close is what you should bump as you declare un-wavering friendship to your bestie.

On Don’t Let Me Know Darey still holds on to a former lover who has clearly moved on. His yearning is littered all over the song as he tries to convince her one last time but judging by the emotion behind his voice you get the feeling that Darey knows it might just be a lost cause.

Showing off his versatility, Darey gives us the acoustic version of Way You Are which is peppered with some Naija spice. There is more than one way to skin a cat and he proves it in this different rendition of the song. Maybe Baby is a huge sweeping record reminiscent of the legends of the past. With nothing but live instruments he rides confident on the track.

Cure The World is a charity song as the name implies which has a military drum line in it as Darey charges us to make the world a better place.

Heart is an astounding collection of songs that move at an even pace. Although when Darey says “its Don Jazzy again” on Stroke Me you might think that the softness of the collection might be broken but Don Jazzy proves in this track that he is more layered than people think.

BEAT

On BEAT, Darey goes straight for the jugular, creating dope pop and dance tracks. The Way You Are starts things off. It is both danceable and preachy as Darey tells women that they are beautiful just the way they look.

On the Timbaland-esque Elevate Ya, Darey promises to upgrade a young lady and introduce her to the finer things life has to offer. It is another heavy dance song, a theme that cuts across BEAT. Songs on BEAT as well as HEART are made not only for the Nigerian audience but the international audience as well. Therefore it makes sense when Darey goes Hollywood on the aptly titled Like A Movie. While the slow-tempo Belly is the perfect recipe to kick start a romantic session.

Pillow, another slow track is the one that really pushes the envelope as it is a cross between pop and rock. The beautiful hybrid of a track is enchanting as Darey is nearly choked to death. Don’t worry you have to listen to it to understand. This song highlights the fact that Darey is not scared of trying new things out.

Another innovative song is the hot dance electro song Ba Ni Ki Di. From the moment the song starts you won’t be able to stop dancing to the funny Hausa song.

On BEAT, there are five collabo tracks. While Chamillionaire appears on (The Way You Are)Remix and Mo’ Cheddah delivers verses that will most leave most rap fans satisfied on her rapping ability, it is Back To Sender with Timaya and Provider featuring P-Square that are the best picks. Timaya really outdoes himself on Back To Sender giving hope to many music listeners that the Egberi Papa of Bayelsa can deliver better songs if he tries. P-Square’s appearance on Provider is nothing short but stellar which further solidifies the fact that they are Africa’s best group. These collabos prove that Darey is so versatile that he can adapt to any artiste, which is why they pan out well.

If every artiste is as bold and confident as Darey, then our industry will be light years ahead. While many artistes bestow titles on themselves without a body of work to back it up, Darey proves that he is the true King of R and B on DOUBLE DARE. May his reign be long and fruitful.