The pursuit of excellence in the Nigerian music scene, especially when it pertains to album compilation, isn’t limited to recording artists and music producers. For a while now, the disc jockeys have been firing on all cylinders. In Spinall Top Boy review, we’ll try to decipher the sonic components of the ‘Top Boy’ album and how they relate to the Spinall brand.
DJs are constantly demonstrating that talents for collating music of world-class quality with a sort of artistry and repertoire exist beyond the craftsmanship of spinning wheels of steel.
Oluseye Desmond, profoundly known as Spinall, belongs to an elite league of African DJs who are changing the score by emerging superstars as opposed to the behind-the-scenes role that comes by default.
With a career spanning close to two decades, Spinall can be regarded as a veteran in his field; the man wears many hats, quite literally and figuratively speaking.
Spinall is a record label executive, music producer, multi-media personality, and, of course, a disk jockey.
In his own right, his impact on the ever-burgeoning music industry has been gargantuan. Throughout the years, he has acquired an impressive discography of hits, including ‘Baba,’ featuring Kizz Daniel, and “Ohema,” featuring Mr. Eazi.
‘Top Boy’ is the latest body of work by the Nigerian disc jockey. The fifteen-track project is a supersonic oeuvre befitting of the DJ’s elevated status.
The lineup of amazing talents includes artists on the rise such as Minz (Everyday) and Azanti (Cruise). Home heroes like Olamide(Bunda), Phyno(Top Mama), Adekunle Gold(Cloud 9), Nasty C (Power: Remix), Niniola (Give Me Love), and many more.
He adds American rhythm and blues songbirds Summer Walker (Power: Remix) and 6lack (Sere: Remix) to the picture to depict further class and global domination intent.
The album borrows a rich collage of African sounds merging with Western music elements such as synths and electronic chordophones, which certifies the body of work as another successful sonic experiment.
Top Boy begins with a moderate bpm. An Afro-funk ‘cruise’ spearheaded by up-and-comers Azanti and Zaiam is the first song off the project. The song is just as the title implies: nothing too serious; just let the melodic bass take you on a rhythmic voyage.
South African house music is one of the most intriguing genres to come out of Africa, and he is aware of this. ‘Give Me Love’ features the self-proclaimed Queen of House Music, Niniola, and it’s a decent effort, to say the least.
‘Cloud 9’‘ is a sleeper hit, an Afro-pop number that features the ever versatile Adekunle Gold.
Jamaica’s Stefflon Don teams with Bujufkabnxn on a fast-metered but beautifully delivered “Oshey.” The dissonance between both artists is top-notch.
Amapiano Log drums-infused ‘Top Mama’ features assistance from Reekado Banks and Phyno; the song is an iteration of the project’s theme.
‘Bow Down’ demonstrates DJ Spinall’s awareness of the tide and allegiance to the alté movement by enlisting the assistance of sultry Ghanaian singer ‘Amaarae.’
Ultimately, ‘Top Boy’ is a feel-good album, a nod to the affluent but still generic enough with relatable hits (Palazzo) for everybody’s vibing pleasure.
Review Overview
Summary
The album cements Spinall's claim as one of the biggest disc jockeys in Africa. The project is pure finesse and proves there are many treats in the wonderful and colorful cap of DJ Spinall.
- Songwriting6
- Production8
- Sequencing7
- Enjoyability8
- Delivery8
