By Releases single, video
By Vicky Bricks
Right after a couple of years’ in the studio cooking up a debut which he promised to be one of the best albums we have ever heard in Africa, and more precisely, the best R&B album within that same context, Akure-born Nigerian heartthrob and R&B/Soul hot-shot, Jasën Blu took his presence in the Nigerian/African music-sphere a notch higher with the Valentine’s Day release of “Already”, his sultry new record which vividly depicts the antics of a super-confident male voicing his intimate advances to an apparently single, independent but seemingly lonely woman.
Known to be a prolific and explicit storyteller on wax, as could be judged from his previous indie releases, “L.A.S.G.I.D.I.”, “Song About You”, or perhaps even more importantly, the super short-and-sweet album teaser “The Prelude”, Jasën Blu paints over an all-familiar situation with a new type of raw but subtly controlled emotion, with an alarming simplicity in both lyrics and delivery.
Written, produced, arranged and performed by Jasën Blu himself for his production company, Mental MagiQ, “Already” is a sweetly dark-tinted, ambient and semi-filtered composition seated neatly on a hybrid framework of native African percussion, new wave custom Trap drums, breezy synth pads, soft piano, and a backdrop of harmonized Yoruba, Pidgin English, Croatian and Indian flavored vocals.
Jasën Blu comes through delivering his message in a flawless linguistic mix of Yoruba, Pidgin English and English with precisely primed vocals brimming with confidence and a solid but still laid-back sensuality which will definitely make him not just a bold voice for the single fella trying to get that lady, but all the more a popular choice with ladies of all class.
Coming a long way from bagging a big soundtrack feature on “Last Flight To Abuja” (Nigeria’s biggest movie of 2012) with his first ever indie release “L.A.S.GI.D.I.”, Jasën Blu continues his journey up the ladder of African music and entertainment with his genius of multi-cultural blend in his music alongside his recent involvement with top Nollywood projects as a prolific soundtrack artist, score producer, and music consultant/supervisor with an Africa Magic movie series “The Calabash” and several independent short films under his belt.
This in itself is a good thing, especially in an age where the world is fast becoming a global village, and where music is breaking more barriers across board. And with music and films from Africa receiving increasing international attention, Blu’s music and other creative abilities surely carry the weight to further solidify his claim to worldwide influence and steady rise to prominence.
Jasen Blu
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