by Wilfred Okiche

 

Sean Tizzle was the surprise runaway success of 2013. After being groomed by Sound Sultan’s Naija Ninjas outfit, the young man found himself in a state of inertia. Superstardom wasn’t coming fast enough so he made a beeline for the exit and supposedly walked out on a contract (as claimed by Sound Sultan), signing with Difference entertainment, owned by D’tunes who himself, just left Iyanya’s Made Music Group.

He hit gold on first strike with Sho’Lee, one of the biggest (and most melodious) singles of 2013 and while follow up singles Komole and Take it have not been as ubiquitous as the first, he has steadily been building a formidable body of work.

Born Morinhafen Oluwaseun, Sean Tizzle is that artiste that did not go away when you expected him to, sticking around and stretching his fame beyond the 5 minutes awarded to guys like him. Dudes who have a single that is more identifiable than they are. A lot of his success may be attributed to good PR, decent packaging and his making all the right moves. But the music is also responsible for a significant portion.

Hooking up with D’tunes was probably a stroke of genius as both of them appear to be tormented young men, burning with a desperate desire to make something worthwhile and prove to doubters that they could make a life beyond their comfort zones. The debut, The Journey shows that both men are all about the music. This is certainly what will keep both of them around for a long time.

The Journey begins with Perfect gentleman and D’tunes seizes the moment to imprint his mark right from the start. The beat is fast, fun, full of intricate melodies, talking drums and gentle flourishes, rising and swelling as the song advances. There is a telling presence that is consistent on the rest of the album, it sounds like it could have been produced live with superb instrumentation giving it a lush, contemporary highlife groove. Sean Tizzle blends with D’tunes’ spirit fingers easily and mumbles some incoherent stuff about being a decent guy. At this point, he could be talking about selling fish and it probably wouldn’t even matter, this one is already a winner.

The D’tunes assault continues on songs like Baby O, a decent follow up that is basically a come hither plea and Take it, a more confident rehash of Baby O. He switches gears on Could this be love, a ragga tinged Bob Marley rip off that has him flexing some vocal chops and coming across sounding like the love child of 2face Idibia and Soul E in his prime. It is a fair if not-so-original attempt.

But what works as an ode to the greatness of the artistes before him fails spectacularly on the eerie Komagbon, an unnecessary attempt at jacking Davido’s Skelewu hit. Sean Tizzle proves himself a chameleon with his preference for directly copying the sounds and vocal gimmicks of his contemporaries. Useful time spent doing this could have been put into honing his own vocal skills, bettering his barely there song writing skills and crafting his own sound.

He is alive and interesting once he gets back to being himself, as he is on Loke loke, a jubilant return to form that boasts a smoking assist from the struggling 9ice. Kcee does uneven work on All the way, the compulsory highlife ditty that has come to serve as a constant in today’s pop album. Ice Prince and Naeto C are duds on I got it and a disinterested Tiwa Savage phones in her verse on an otherwise promising Igi orombo.

Mr Tizzle is obviously not in need of these guest assists and does his best work when left alone to his devices, with his home body D’tunes prodding him along. Their chemistry sizzles brilliantly on songs like Duro, Mama eh and the relentless Komole, an impossible to resist whine your waist eargasmic fest.

The Journey is a stunning debut from Sean Tizzle, an artist many had predicted would go the one hit wonder way. A fun, contemporary and groovy debut, it is as much Sean Tizzle’s success as it is D’tunes’. While both of them appear to have found a creative common ground, Mr Tizzle is still in the process of sorting out his identity as an artiste and will need genuine guidance from D’tunes if he is to succeed at it.

And if he does not? Well, it is hard to complain when the songs are structured as good as what is on display here. We’ll take what we get.