New music reviews! The Dance Edition

by Ore Fakorede

1. Yeah 3X – Chris Brown

Moving on from the fallout of his altercation with former girlfriend Rihanna in 2009 has obviously been really difficult for r’n’b superstar Chris Brown. His last album, ‘Graffiti’ sold a mere 316,000 copies; a commercial disaster when compared to combined sales of over 6,000,0000 copies from his two previous albums. The singles from the album, ‘I Can Transform Ya’ and ‘Crawl’ also fared poorly. In the past few months though, Brown has somewhat returned to winning ways with ‘Takers’, (along with rapper T.I.) and ‘Deuces’ which  has become one of the most popular songs of 2010.

‘Yeah 3X’ is the first single from his aptly-titled upcoming album, F.A.M.E (Forgiving All My Enemies), due to be released in the first quarter of 2011. Produced by DJ Frank E, the song is a trippy, high-octane dance number reminiscent of the 2007 hit, ‘Forever’. Brown sings about his love interest, alcohol and the carefree fun of the dance floor over pulsating synths and electro-pop sounds which stimulate an irresistible desire to dance. There’s no need to turn the stereo down – even your neighbor’s grandma will love this song!

Rating: 8/10

Listen Here: Yeah 3x

2. Brukutu – Awilo, Terry G & Timaya

Cross-genre collaborations, appealing or not, seem to be the emerging trend in Nigerian music. The latest of such mash-ups is this Terry G-crafted afro-fusion concoction featuring Congolese Makosa legend, Awilo Longomba, and self-proclaimed South-South champion Timaya, along with the eccentric Terry G himself.

Apart from the catchy beat, the track hides no pleasant surprises for the ears to discover. Awilo’s lyrics are purely recycled from his previous hits, and Timaya resorts to the usual self-gratifying name-calling that can be heard on most of his songs. Besides the beat, Terry G has nothing new to offer as he rants in Auto-tune-heavy gibberish for a better part of the song’s duration, arousing suspicions of being high on something (perhaps brukutu* itself).

All these add up to form a disjointed, noisy and annoyingly infectious song that is sure to get a lot of attention on radio and  in clubs across West Africa, as it rides on the sheer popularity of the collaborators and a snappy rhythm. Don’t expect to be blown-away though.

*Brukutu is also a local beer brewed in Northern Nigeria from millet or sorghum.

Rating: 5.5/10

Listen Here: Brukutu

3. We R Who We R – Ke$ha

Although discovered by uber-producer Dr. Luke in 2005, Ke$ha didn’t get her breakthrough until 2009 when she ‘accidentally’ walked into a recording session with Luke and rapper Flo Rida. She was subsequently featured on Flo Rida’s smash hit ‘Right Round’, gaining her entrance into the music mainstream. Shortly afterwards, she signed a multi-album deal and released her first single, ‘Tik Tok’ in August 2009. The song topped music charts in eleven countries and her debut album, ‘Animal’, is a huge commercial success with over 2,000,000 copies sold worldwide.

This one’s predictable, as it follows in the bar notes of her recent hits (‘Blah Blah Blah’ and ‘Your Love Is My Drug’), ‘We R Who We R’ is the first single off ‘Cannibal’, Ke$ha’s yet-to-be-released sophomore album. With an electro-pop beat as her linchpin, Ke$ha’s playful lyrics are delivered in her trademark sing-song rap style.

Along with several allusions to her nascent stardom she describes herself as “looking sick and sexified” and paints the picture of a steamy club scene. While it does not break new ground, ‘We R Who We R’ solidifies Ke$ha’s image as a potent force in pop music. Here’s another reason to keep your headphones on.

Rating: 7/10

Listen Here: We R Who We R

OCTOBER’S BEST! Listen Here:

1. Relate – Faze

2. Start It Out – Lloyd Banks Featuring Kanye West, Fabolous & Ryan Leslie

3. So Inspired – Waje Featuring Muna

4. What’s My Name – Rihanna Featuring Drake

5. The Way You Are – Darey

6. We R Who We R – Ke$ha

7. Grenade – Bruno Mars

8. Shake – Jesse McCartney

Comments (3)

  1. Thank you very much for posting all of the good info! Looking forward to checking out more blogs.

  2. I am often to blogging and i actually appreciate your content. The article has really peaks my interest. I am going to bookmark your site and keep checking for new information.

  3. That Brukutu song is one kain jo!

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