Album – Day 1Artiste – Naeto CGuest Appearances – Wizkid, Maka MakaProducers- Sossick, Masterkraft, TeckZilla,Record Label - WKG (2015)Duration - 59 minutes
This
is a situation very prevalent in mundane everyday existence. A person
starts a venture, goes deep into it, hits successful heights,
experiences a plateau, and then becomes a victim of the law of
diminishing returns, with his results depreciating to a depressing low.
Naeto C hit a nadir on his return to music after bagging a degree in 2013.(Press)
For many, who find
themselves in this gripping situation, two options lie before them –
stay rooted in a debilitating situation and slowly make the journey to
failure and obscurity. Or find new life via clicking the reset button,
and injecting fresh hunger, resources, skill and optimism into your
endeavour.
For Naeto C, the
rapper chose the first option. He wallowed in self-indulgement for far
too long. His last body of work, “Super C Season” (2011), comes off as
one of the best rap albums of his time, even scoring a respectable
nomination at the 2012 Headies for ‘Rap Album of the Year’.
Naeto C(Press)
But having married
and gotten a new child, and leaving the scene in 2013 to pursue a degree
in Energy Economics, in London, From the Universitry of Dundee. The
music industry moved on from him.
His return in 2014 spawned crappy singles, which Osagie Alonge in his web TV series #Factsonly highlighted with incredible candor. All his other singles have failed to return him to the map. They have all been misses.
But
unexpectedly, the rapper has chosen the second option, just at the
point when it needed it the most. He clicked the reset button, hence
this album was born a surprise.
E-Kelly played no part on this new album. (Press)
With a concise and encouraging 12-tracks (skit inclusive), “Day 1”
sees Naeto C return to the basics of his art. Way before he experienced
the disruptive influences of Nigerian pop sounds, and commercial
African drum patterns. This is Naeto C, celebrating his primary skills
as an MC.
This LP is a Rapcore album, with impressive nods to R&B.
‘Day
1’ begins this beauty with a meta track. Naeto C confirms his return to
his first days as an artiste, reminding everyone of his penchant to
roll with his buddies from the start. They created his influences, they
are his ride and die goons. “The people who stay right behind me,
beside me, they started from day 1.The mission was money, the motto was
‘fuck all you haters from day one’.” Naeto raps.
He goes on to deep introspection with the track ‘Bless’. It’s slow-haunting vibe, laced with an ominous ad-lib. “Nothing
new out here, getting paid, I can’t afford to snooze out here…I just
pray what we have, we never lose out here…who done like I did it, nigger
show me one, who did it how I did it nigga owe me one.” This gets you thinking with each new line.
‘Soft’ takes a cue from this pattern. Naeto C’s combines swag rap with knowledge, as he lectures the hood way. “Spin a couple wheels, spend a couple bills, make the dollar bills, let me show you how to beg a nigga bills’.
In
‘Codeine Therapy’, Naeto C goes on a wild run into night-time partying,
and the use of recreational drugs to attain a better high. (Press)
In ‘Codeine Therapy’, Naeto C goes on a wild run into night-time partying, and the use of recreational drugs to attain a better high. In ‘Helluva night’,
the reflection and wordplay takes deeper but more feel-good form, as
the singer delivers about keeping your head straight, making the money,
and keeping it real.
Cue in R&B. ‘Og Bobby’ begins Naeto’s frolicking with the love genre. This is the most underrated aspect of his game and he shows dexterity in it. “Baby
to be honest, I was hoping you and I could run thing. I got my mind
thinking all the wrong things. Baby in the bed we could talk things.
Bring that arse back, side to side…”
He
brings on Maka Maka, for a duet in this genre. ‘Blown’ is straight out
of the good old classic stuff. Naeto impresses again with this
love-candy.
The album returns to Trap-beats, and keeps the reflection on track with Wizkid handling a stellar hook on ‘Oluwaloseyi’. (Instagram)
The album returns to Trap-beats, and keeps the reflection on track with Wizkid handling a stellar hook on ‘Oluwaloseyi’.
This is a rare use of Wizkid’s talents, as Naeto combines with Starboy
on a track so far from Wizkid’s comfortable Afrobeat. They make seamless
music. Pidgin comes handy for the first time on the LP as the rapper
goes on an ego trip in ‘It’s too late’. He goes in hard on another trap beat from Masterkraft’s production house. He signs out on another haunting note in ‘Confam’.
Masterkraft has production credits on "Day 1" album. (TCD)
Naeto C is one of the
best rappers Africa has at the moment. But his immense lyrical ability
usually gets clouded by his adaptation to intense commercial sounds. By
clicking the reset button, and combining his powers with a good taste in
production, his shine comes to the front.
With these 12 tracks on “Day 1”, created by R&B, trap-beats, killer samples, and no Afrobeats, who misses his pop sounds? Naeto is back!
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