Search - Wale Oyejide :: Africahot!

Best Batch Yet

justin d. baron | joplin, mo | 02/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Each successive release finds Wale Oyejide developing a more confident and independent musical voice. This release purports to be a mixtape, but has got some of the strongest material from any of his releases to date.



Wale's sound has more fully enveloped his various influences---to the point that he's developed a unique sound of his own, somewhere in between hip-hop, afrobeat, and broken beat (although a common thread definitely underlies all of those musics). Wale brings it with the help of contemporaries from Bugz and beyond.



You had stuff on "One Day..." that hinted at the directions he's going in now; here we are beginning to see those hints fulfilled. The first few tracks are relentless in rhythm and chanting vocals. Lyrical themes are built upon the energy of the music. He almost seems angry at times, which really contrasts with the shy romanticism of "Walls..." from a few years back. Mid-album, there are some really great instrumentals.



Politics and social concerns are represented here to an increased extent, most overtly in a track devoted to HIV. We hear a paticularly effective bit at the end where an unidentified woman personifies her HIV infection.



It's stating the obvious (it's called "Africahot!" people), but Africa is the underlying influence through all of it. This is where Wale Oyejide is from, and by my estimation he is succeeding in connecting his past with his future, allowing it to inspire good music in the process.



Don't let people tell you that he should make another "Walls Don't Exist." That was good for it's time, and was a crucial step in the artist's development, but Wale Oyejide trumps his past work with each successive release."