Fave is in an elite cadre of Nigerian female acts poised to push beyond the frontiers as women in the industry. Her debut offering, “Riddim 5” is a fuller picture of her artistry, which she has shown flashes of since she first appeared on the horizon. Her viral freestyles, impressive singles (M.O.M.M.S, N.B.U, Beautifully) & features (“Want” & “PonPon” with Olamide) gave glimpses of the artistes’ exceptional talent.
“Riddim 5” is a “coming of age” statement from the Lagos-born songstress as she looks to own her place amongst the biggest voices of the new generation. It is, to a large extent, a collection of dancehall/reggaeton-inspired love songs with “Kilotufe” being the sole exception in both sound and theme.
I ranked all five tracks of “Riddim 5” in order of preference:
5. Kilotufe
Maybe because this writer is a preacher of love, not war, or maybe because this is the only outlier in a project of love songs, this is my least favourite. Sandwiched right at the middle of the Ep, this track was meant to serve as a break from all the lovey-dovey. It also strays from the project’s dominant reggaeton style, adopting more Afrosoul & RnB elements.
Fave aims this one at hypocrites and U-turners. “Kilotufe” is Yoruba for “What do you want?” and is a song about how fame and success attract sudden and fickle love.
4. S.M.K
Producer, Niphkeys is famed for producing street bangers (Zlatan’s “Ale Yi”, Zinoleesky’s ” Kilofeshe”, Mohbad’s “Feel Good”) but on this song, he provides relatively laid back instrumentation, showing his versatility.
The second verse of this track is one of the high points of the project with its punchy delivery, amusing lyrics, and the transition into the pre-chorus and chorus. The first verse is somewhat off-putting but is compensated for by the other parts of the song, especially that hook.
3. Obsessed
Hit Single material! While the lyrics are slightly on the dark side of insecurity, obsession, and unrequited love, the riddim is light and cheerful. Shoutout to Krizbeats.
Fave seems to be great at crafting melodious and memorable hooks – an ability that shines bright on this song. Overall, ” Obsessed” is an almost perfect opener. It does set the tone for the rest of the project however it must be mentioned that the chants which is a recurring element on this track came off a bit excessive and tiring in the end.
2. Mr Man
Sazsy Afroshii produced two of my favourite records last year – Ejoya’s “Loader” (with Fxrtune & Azanti) and Ria Sean’s “Satisfy My Soul” (Off the “Fluid” EP). So, I was elated for what she’d do with Fave on this one, and boy!!! Did she deliver?
Perfect production from the basslines to the drums. Sazsy created a perfect environment for Fave to lay the syrupy lyrics and melody that make this song a go-to for lovebirds. “Mr. Man ” is the one most reminiscent of previously released tracks, “N.B.U” & “Beautifully” and is the best new song on “Riddim 5”
1 Baby Riddim
Fave didn’t drop four new songs for “Baby Riddim” to remain my favourite but it is what it is. This song was the soundtrack of my November – early December last year and I’m delighted it got all the success it deserved (Peaking No. 1 & 2 on Turntable Charts and Apple music 100 respectively). It’s a sublime record and such an earworm. Bigduttygyal displayed fresh artistic confidence and growth on this one and its huge success most likely informed the project’s direction.
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