Making use of parameters such as audience acceptance, pop
culture effect, quality of recording and lyrical content to assemble our
10 best albums of 2017. See List Below…
.
10. Ijele The Traveller – Flavour
The album’s title is steeped in Igbo masquerade culture, where the Ijele
is recognised as the largest and most ceremonial of them all.
Masterkraft oversees the bulk of the project and incorporates the
traditional instruments such as drums, ogene, and ekwe but just before
you are about to entertain the thought that Flavour is finally making
the pure highlife record he was born to make, he capitulates and dilutes
the punch. Everyone has to be satisfied.
9. The Glory – Olamide
Every December for the last six years, Olamide has put out an album of
new material. The critics haven’t always been kind. And for good reason
too. Look no further than this year’s messy entry, Lagos Na Wa. Released
in the twilight of 2016, The Glory is his sixth studio album and the
Olamide that shows up here is a (gasp!) grown man. At a respectable (by
his standards) sixteen tracks length, The Glory is almost sparse, as
Olamide begins to consider his legacy both as an artiste and as a
father.
8. Illy Bomaye -Ill Bliss
After fatherhood comes introspection it seems and while this is a
trajectory that has worked for everyone from Jay Z and Eminem, no one
wears the role quite like Ill Bliss. As on past albums, on Illy Bomaye,
the rapper’s fifth studio album, Ill Bliss does introspection quite
well. With little or no A-list help, Ill Bliss and his team of producers
(Tha Suspect, Major Bangz) put together some powerful verses set to
deep ominous beats.
7. Timeless -Omawumi
For her third merry go round, Omawumi could not have taken a more
divergent approach. Signed to a new management and with an eye on the
international market, Omawumi has carefully downplayed her considerable
hit making abilities and embraced a richer, fuller, jazzier sound – one
that mixes Fela Kuti and the throbbing pull of Afrobeat with the
vivacious scatting of jazz songstresses gone by. If the album had stayed
true to the energy of the first half, Timeless might have topped this
list.
6. Blessed Forever -A-Q
Thinker. Troublemaker. Veteran. Genius. All these parts of A-Q show up
and battle for prominence on Blessed Forever, his fourth studio record
and follow up to the brilliant Rose album. Nothing much has changed
since he last put an album out. A-Q on Blessed Forever is just as crazy,
just as brilliant, and this time, quite emotional. Divided into five
acts, the record is inventive with hot takes like Lekki Expressway
showing his inventive, subversive side.
5. Niniola -This is Me
Home to Maradona and Sicker, two of the biggest Afro-house anthems of
the year, Niniola’s debut has more goodies embedded within. Jam-packed
with slick, sexy, power dance tunes delivered with relish, in both
English and Yoruba. First albums aren’t usually this assured but having
spent a couple of years, developing her craft, This Is Me is Niniola
burrowing in, carving her own niche, and then bursting out the gate
confident in her abilities.
4. Agberos International -Bantu
For regulars at Afropolitan Vibes, the premier live music gig in Lagos
put together by Ade Bantu and his 13-man band, Agberos International is
simply a continuation of the quarterly visits to the Muri Okunola Park.
Familiar yet refreshingly so, the music on Agberos International is an
amalgam of Afrobeat, jazz, rap and performance poetry. Standout track,
Niger Delta Blues, featuring legendary Fela Kuti collaborator, Tony
Allen, is by itself worth the price of admission.
3. For You -Cobhams
For his first album as a solo artiste, Cobhams Asuquo abandons the
trappings of fame and lure of the bright lights and makes a complete
gospel album that astounds in its craftsmanship and overflows with
richness. Technically the project is faultless. The finish is of
international quality and Asuquo’s big booming voice is placed at the
center of the affecting ballads that make up the album. The entire
experience is a thoroughly pleasurable and enveloping, yet intimate
encounter with the Most High.
2. Simisola -Simi
2017 was the year X3M Music’s years long investment in Simi, the awkward
but terrific singer, songwriter and sound engineer finally paid off,
reaping well deserved rewards from Lagos to London. Responsible for this
was the arrival of her debut album with X3M, the gloriously imagined,
conceptualized and delivered Simisola. Simisola is easily the most
enjoyable disc put forward this year, boasting delightful songwriting,
beautiful melodies and sublime singing.
1. Musa Jikan Musa -Morell
The city of Jos has contributed its fair share to the music business
(2face, the Abaga brothers) but because of the humanitarian crises in
that part of the country, somehow the North seems to have been written
out of pop culture. Morell is here to address that. He takes on this
responsibility without being self-aware and delivers a debut disc that
is proudly reflective of his origins, yet bears a finish that is ready
to cross over. Musa Jikan Musa’s unique blend of traditional
instrumentation, impressive songwriting and delicious rhymes is almost
second to none.
Source: The Sun