Dorobucci Review: Haba Don Jazzy, you guys can do much better than this

by Chi Ibe

Don Dorobucci

The video for Dorobucci, the latest anthem from the reloaded Mavin super group headed by the ultimate head honcho/showman/some-time artiste Don Jazzy arrived amidst the kind of lavish hype and hoopla that only Don Jazzy can manage to muster these days. From excited fans patiently counting down the minutes till its final roll out to even more excited fans who made their own version of the video, everyone it seemed was in on the Dorobucci craze.

An highly influential industry leader, Don Jazzy has long been in the habit of coming up with cheesy catchphrases that end up becoming pop culture magnets. His oeuvre includes captions like Eminado and Kokolet but with Dorobucci, he took it a step further, captivating an entire nation with the bundles of possibilities inherent in that one word. One would have to be a hermit to have missed out on all of the Dorobucci buzz. In regular conversations, Twitter hashtags and online chatter, Dorobucci was and still is the trending topic.

But amidst all of the Dorobucci success, due mostly to the brilliance of its execution, the point that may have been overlooked remains that Dorobucci is an average song at best. It may well turn out to be one of Don Jazzy’s biggest hits but it is certainly not one of his best, not by a long mile. Sure his production work on the track is almost impeachable, as he crafts a beat that is an instant call to report to the dance floor. Every minute of the over 4 minute song is a direct challenge, daring the listener to remain on their seat while that melodious instrumental is in play.

The problem with Don Jazzy- as has been the case since D’banj crossed the Atlantic to be with Kanye West- has been his inability to marry his talents with any other performer’s natural essence in the sort of seamless, effortless deal which he and D’banj used to take for granted. This was the reason for the failure of the first Mavin record, Solar plexus. Dorobucci suffers from the same, a lack of summation of its different parts and cohesion with Don Jazzy himself.

The video has its bright spots. It looks expensive, with lots of colour, lots of class and images of the Mavin crew balling out of control. There are shots of the empire state building, exotic cars, a golf ball that travels from Ikoyi to the White house in Washington and a Gatsby-style party held an imposing mansion.

Everything is set to a maximum gloss but this cannot conceal the fact that it is a big bore. Everyone looks to be having a good time but this does not translate to the audience.

For a song (and video) heralding Mavin 2.0, Dorobucci is a giant let down. It plays it safe when it could have shaken things up a bit. The elders seem like they really couldn’t be bothered.

Tiwa Savage appears bored by the whole proceedings, Dr Sid is…well, Dr Sid and D’Prince looks like he is hanging on tightly to Don Jazzy’s coattails. If there is any bit of excitement at all in terms of delivery, it comes from the new acts, especially Reekado Banks and Di’Ja. The whole video goes by in a repetitive blur of boring shots, self-congratulation and product placement. Absent are the high concept flourishes and gimmicks that could easily have made this the video to beat.

No, Don Jazzy, we (hard core fans, let me assure you) expected so much better.

#DoroFail.

Comments (4)

  1. I expected much more from the video though its really not bad. Looks like something hurriedly put together. It is because it is Dorobucci, and it’s equally Don Jazzy and crew. They’ve been associated with classy materials that is why anything short becomes an anti-climax. But hey ! I don’t care about the video because what it lacks the music more than made up for it. Dorobucci is one hell of a song and Don Jazzy and the Mavin crew is the eiiish ! Fair review though.

  2. Saw d video dis afternoon. It wasn’t a bad one at all. Jess dat d shots weren’t coherently done. Looked like all d artistes were blowing their own trumpets.

  3. The video to a very large extend was a fail, though it’s classy and all that but it’s shows there’s no unity in the camp. Mavin is suppose to be a team.

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