“Freestyling is hard you know! So big shout out to everybody freestyling.” So says one of Nigeria’s most successful afrobeats stars Reekado Banks.
I was only trying to praise him – he’s one of the few artists on the scene you would call a songwriter – but he leapt to the defence of his brothers and sisters who freestyle.
Reekado has a string of hits under his belt. His latest releases Rora and Put in Pressure are both accomplished and addictive songs – and it’s not just me who thinks so. Rora has amassed more than 11 million hits on YouTube since October.
“I like to take my time and write my music ‘cause I like to make sense. It gives me some sort of satisfaction when people understand where I’m going with a song no matter the topic. It doesn’t have to be serious but I want to paint a picture, basically.”
I’m not sure I get the picture from the lyrics, but the video for Put In Pressure, directed by Clarence Peters, is a cracker. If all the songs on Reekado Banks’s forthcoming album are this good, we are in for a treat.
Source: bbc.com
