Special Request From Malam Spicey

By Chiagoziem Onyekwena  

ALBUM TITLE – Special Request

LEAD SINGLE – Free Cure (1005 Naira Bling)

PRODUCTION – Da Beat Maker

GUEST ARTISTES – AJ Dip, Cartiair, Churchill, J-Dada, Ms. Jay, Mode Nine, Nigga E, Ojay, Oso Sensi, Rocksteady, Rugged Agenda

DISTRIBUTION – Holla @ Ur Boi Records/UBA Pacific Music

Truth be told, only a handful of artistes in Nigeria who’ve been dumped in the reggae/dancehall category do anything that’s remotely related to the genre, Terry G I honestly wasn’t referring to you, I can swear.  So I’m sure you’d understand why reggae devotees, now adjusting my dreadlock wig by the way, get so excited whenever one of their own really comes through to ‘buss up di charts!’

First introduced as a third of Blackface Naija’s post-Plantashun Boyz collective d’Trybunal, Malam Spicey has been hovering around the periphery of Nigerian music’s mainstream for years.  Fortunately, the Bayelsan’s career hit a purple patch when a man, on whose first album (Free Me) Spicey was a featured performer, unexpectedly had a go at him on the second one (Gingah Ur Swagga S1). Not to worry though, Malam Spicey caught the stones Terry G threw at his direction in mid-air and used them to build a house of his own. His hilarious response Free Cure (1005 Naira Bling) became many a DJ’s favourite follow up to Free Madness on a club night’s playlist; it was that single’s popularity that finally ushered in Spicey’s debut album Special Request. 

Malam Spicey may have gotten a pass for lifting the beats from Free Madness without permission but when he chooses to commit the same offence again and again on Special Request; Spicey quickly exhausts all his pardons. Omoge Tonjo is a brazen rip-off of Canadian emcee Kardinal Offishal’s Dangerous and songs like Keeping it Gangstar and Things Change prove that unlawful use of materials protected  by copyright is a way of life for the reggae Mallam and sadly, not just a coincidence. Which then begs the question, mixtape or album, which category exactly does Special Request fall under?

Now that we’ve gotten the deadwood out of the way, it’s time to enjoy Special Request as an album which, to be honest, isn’t that difficult to do. Predictably, the majority of Special Request is spent in the club with Spicey doing his best to blend Nigerian flavour and Tropical Island groove and it works for the most part. Spicey’s sound is a potpourri of pidgin, patois and some inaudible language in between. While its creepy title might suggest otherwise, Kill Person is Spicey’s soft, carefully-crafted rendition to the woman who’s ‘scattering his dada’. It’s the album’s standout track. Special Request also enjoys a heavy hip-hop supporting cast, Cartiair, Mode Nine and a very impressive femcee/reggae act, Ms Jay, all come in at various stages to dilute Special Request hardcore dancehall formula, increasing its appeal across the board.

With the exception of Gra Gra, on Special Request, Malam Spicey steers well clear of social commentary which, considering the fact that Malam Spicey’s been making music with the unrepentant social crusader Blackface Naija for many years, came as a surprise at first.  But then it struck me – Malam Spicey has perfected the art of creating bouncy, club-friendly dancehall music, the type of music whose more assured rewards would ensure Spicey provides for himself and his family. Everybody else might just have to wait, for now.

 ALBUM RATING – 3/5