We have had an exciting couple of months in the Nigerian music scene, with the emergence of bright new talents, established acts dropping bold debuts, and polarising sophomores. So, it’s excusable if one has missed out on some releases. Just as long as Melodi’s Something In A Name Vol. 1 EP isn’t one of those.
Melodi — real name, Melody Olunne Amadi — released the six-track EP on 27th June 2024. The Port Harcourt-born star broke out as a vocalist with the band The Dreams, gaining the attention of vocal powerhouses like Johnny Drille and Ric Hassani before signing with Crude Music Company. Her musical background is straight out of a Nollywood script; with parents who sang voice parts semi-professionally and a brother who’s currently studying Music. It’s a background she’s quick to highlight, proud and with appreciation.
Something In A Name Vol. 1 is her debut offering. It was preceded by lead single, Only You. In this review, we shall take a track-by-track analysis of the project, examining its themes, high points, and overall quality.
Yaba Left
There was a noticeable increase in songs with prominent strings — violins and guitars specifically — last year. This trend appears to have extended to 2024 as well. On Yaba Left, A Spanish guitar paired with a lilting bass line welcomes us as Melodi’s voice rises ever so slightly. She sings about longing and wanting to spend her old age with her love interest. It’s an age-old story, although usually told from the guy’s perspective.
On the chorus, she serves scandalous lyrics, “You upset my libido/You dey turn my head, I done dey go Yaba-Left“, proving the limitless nature of songwriting. Who wouldn’t want to be told that they drive another h*rny to the point of Insanity? Enough that they’d even fight for you like she sings on the rest of the second verse. Yaba Left is the rough kind of romantic, bordering on sensual. An R&B beauty. It works. The minimal percussion on this track works, too.
The only slight would be the use of ‘Yaba Left’, furthering the misunderstanding of that Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, but we’ll leave that for now.
Away
Like most songs in the pon-pon sub-genre of Afropop, Away is mellow, relying on the singer’s delivery. And Melodi fills the required gaps. It’s in how she sings, “I go like wear oversize when you invite me” and “Let me be the number, you can call whenever”. A not-so-high pitch. She tells her love interest just how much she’s ready to wait, and on the chorus, you hear her on backing vocals as if on a phone call.
However, it’s in the second verse that Melodi shines. She links her being a Rivers woman — known, of course, for their….prowess — to being able to please her interest as he sips her water. And perhaps the most profound line here, “Baby go wild, I confess you“, implies possession, erotic. It’s the cheeky innuendos we’ve seen with PH acts like Burna, Omah Lay, Ajebo Hustlers, Barzini and even newer acts like duo, Westhan. The rest of Nigeria surely needs whatever is in that PH water. Maybe that would make sex sexy again. The writing falls flat on a few lines: Light you up like Faraday/ Let me be your soso, and take your pain away. Production-wise, Away is a delight; producer Doka Shot fuses elements of highlife with the percussive ‘pon-pon’ synths.
Silent
A smooth transition from Away with the haunting vocals looped as a base. Unlike the longing tone of the first two tracks, Silent is questioning, accusatory even. But as the questioning deepens, she folds, telling him, “E done do“. Her reason is that they’ve spent so much time together and created so many memories — “All the times that we cuddled together, e done do” — to throw it all away. Picture the other side of Davido’s Assurance in a low-effort relationship. That’s what this is. But in Neo-soul.
Silent is at its most sonically pleasing at 2:14, on the bridge, where she sings about her love not being enough for her to stay silent. By the end of the song, you’d realise that she has not been assured. She’s just suing for peace. Her voice is emotional without being overly dramatic. And then the groovy saxophone comes on.
These Days
Doka Shot’s moody chords are at the heart of every song on this EP. They’re the forerunner for Melodi’s longing, regretful lyrics on These Days. She reminds her love interest how much could have happened had he acted differently — “Could have been you in my 60s“. She also lets it slip that she was willing to settle, horns acting as a faithful accomplice on the chorus. Regarding coherence, These Days is the song that brings the EP together. It’s the bargaining stage of grief. Tired. Exhausted. Yet wishful. If this were to be an LP, it would be somewhere in the second half, setting the tone for the climax, much like it does here. The beautiful sax solo on the outro is a touch of genius.
Only You
It’s easy to take Only You for a non-love song. It’s an easy mistake and a telling one. However, Only You is about love. Self-love. It’s about that most abused of Instagram and Pinterest subjects. No attention seeking, no people pleasing, and no incessant preaching. She sings about people leaving at low moments and building resilience. Again, moody chords serve as the listener’s guide, especially in the second verse, where her voice takes on a slight similarity to Omah Lay’s.
Only You is an outlier record in terms of subject matter. It also offers a possible peek into the writer’s state of being. Previously, she has mentioned wanting to integrate her life experiences and those of the people around her into her music. And on this, she does so, presumably. That said, Only You does lack a high, and Melodi sounds removed from what she sings at certain moments.
Better Offer
For the closer, we encounter bold, declarative words from the singer. The mistakes and haziness of Yaba Left and These Days appear to have birthed a defined lover girl who knows what she wants. Over Salsa-adjacent production, she admits her fears — “If to say I still be me before, I wouldn’t even try, I could just die, die/ Luckily I no go leave you run, but without shying, baby I’ll stand still” — and opts to fight for the love she deserves. Melodi is surprisingly at her most sultry here, her voice taking on a crooning huskiness. The last vocal act on this song is Melodi’s, a manipulated rendering of “Better Offers“.
If Yaba Left is denial, and These Days is bargaining, then Better Offer is acceptance. The good kind of acceptance that’s accompanied by growth.
Conclusion
It’s easy to view the debut EP as a mere formality, especially considering the easy proliferation of music in Nigeria’s music industry. Projects like these show how and why it can be more. With Something In A Name Vol. 1, we’re reminded one can put together a cohesive, somewhat conceptual project and make an artist’s introduction even more impactful. You can explore a subject like love — and lust — without sacrificing quality writing. You can create magic with the same producer without sounding monotonous on the entirety of that project. And you can play to your strengths as a singer, not needing to belt out the highest notes to sing well.
Where she does drop the ball with questionable lyric choices, a combination of Doka Shot’s minimalist production and stellar arrangement make it easy to forget. Something In A Name Vol. 1 is simple music. But it’s not snooze music. And it’s not exaggerated writing. Melodi’s hit-making capabilities come to the fore with a song like Away. All that’s left is connection and development. There’s something in her name, quite all right: stardom. Not much further ahead.
Score: 8.5/10
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