Basketmouth, a comedian and actor, is the genius behind the Horoscopes album. He started out as a rapper and now he is known as a comedian and has also made strides as an MC and an actor. He is also fast becoming a household name in the movie industry as a filmmaker.
In addition to his acting skills, Basketmouth is indeed a great A&R. He proves this with the release of his first album Yabasi which was a soundtrack project for his comedy web series “Papa Benji”. The album was released on the 20th of November, 2020. It was strictly produced by Duktor Sett, mixed and mastered by Tee-y Mix while Basketmouth is the Executive Producer. This album garnered over 3 million streams across all platforms less than a month after its release. Everyone thought that was going to be a one-off performance until he announced the release date for the Horoscopes album. The question of how he would top Yabasi’s legendary body of work lingered throughout the anticipation for the new album.
HOROSCOPES: A TALE OF LOVE, HUSTLE, AND TROUBLE
Following the success rate of his debut album, Horoscopes was released on the 11th of February, 2022.
Like the previous album, it was produced exclusively by Duktor Sett and it featured several artists; Ladipoe, M.I. Abaga, Johnny Drille, Simi, Bnxn fka Buju, Peruzzi, Wande Coal, 2baba, Blaqbonez, Falz, Reekado Banks, The Cavemen, Efya, Oxlade, Kwabena Kwabena, Ill-Bliss, Flavour, Dremo, and Magnito. The track arrangement and artist choice on each song go to prove how much of a genius A&R Basketmouth is. Not leaving out the outstanding sound engineering and production quality of the album, Duktor Sett showed his versatility and range of music production in the Afro-fusions and sounds on the album.
Basketmouth revealed that the Horoscopes album is a project soundtrack to his featured yet-to-be-released movie, Scorpio. The album is 25 mins and 37 secs long which makes it nearly 5 mins shorter than Yabasi. This doesn’t come as a surprise as most recent projects focus on reducing song lengths in a bid to kill two birds with a stone- Aid the listener’s attention span and increase streaming numbers. Basketmouth seems to have something cooking in this new movie as he instructs his audience to “Pay attention to the album, left some clues in there”.
This 9-track album explores themes including love, hustle, life, and its troubles.
LOVE, SEX AND ATTRACTION
This can be felt right from the first song on the album “Love & Life”, which features Johnny Drille, Simi, and M.I. Abaga. Owing to previous chemistry on their track Halleluya, we get a perfect blend between Simi and Johnny Drille on this track. They sing about their estranged lover, who might never come back to them, and the effects of this love gone sour. M.I., on the other hand, seems a bit out of place on this track, especially with his singing attempt, but the message is clear.
While the previous trio is nursing their heartbreak and lost love, our dear Bnxn is busy trying to ascertain his place in his lover’s life. “Tell me the truth, girl, are you really mine?” while not mincing words about the numerous things he would love to do to her romantically if she really is his. He’s out to Secure the bag body, therefore, portraying the love angle on this track “Your body”.
Peruzzi follows closely behind to distract us from the strong advice Wande preached to us on hustling. “Celowi” hints at subtle sexual innuendos in a jovial manner common among Nigerian men (please don’t come for me) towards women whom they find attractive. “No other girl complete, Whine am for me, Make I cop your bumper” (I have come with proof at least).
Reekado Banks and Falz came to completely shatter the table on “Leave me”. From the seductive intro down to the creative description of the Coital process by Falz, this track screams ” Add me to your Mekwe (a local slang used to describe sex) playlist”. This song also happens to be one of my favorites for obvious reasons. Anyways, Brother Falz and Reekado, it’s time for morning prayer.
HUSTLE, BUSTLE AND TROUBLE
Another prominent theme on this album is that of hustle. I believe I am speaking on behalf of the entire population that listened to this album when I say “Listen” featuring Wande Coal is one of its best tracks. His vocal prowess came out to play on this one as he sings about the hustle spirit and how much he’s had to hustle. He admonishes his audience to listen in his local dialect; “Teti nkan mo fe so na, a wulo ni waju o” which loosely translates to listen to what “Hear I have to say, it will be useful for you in the future”.
This theme is also present in tracks like “Traveller”, featuring the Nigerian highlife duo, The Cavemen, and Ghanian, Kwabena Kwabena. They describe the journey of a man in his hustle and bustle phase beautifully, with accompaniments from traditional instruments and vocal expressions. Remember, “The journey to Mandilas dey start from Kitos”. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step—preparation.
In the track titled “Money”, Oxlade and Efya tell us how they would paint the town red when they discover their pots of gold. “If I do mistake get money, people go sabi who I be for this zanga”.
I don’t think it is possible to find Blaqbonez far from where there is trouble, especially one that involves women. No wonder he fits in perfectly on that track with the legendary 2Baba. They wonder why they are in trouble despite not being directly involved. Blaq snaps and brags about his legendary womanizing skills and why he should be trying to cop another man’s woman.
THE ASSEMBLY OF GODS
This track is the only one without a direct thematic approach alongside the others. Featuring the Cavemen and Flavour, who provide the hook-like melody, the rappers display their wordplay and lyrical prowess, while projecting their dominance on this one. Basketmouth, aka Ezegburu gburu himself, closes this track with 7 lines asserting his dominance as King.
Basket mouth and Duktor Sett seem to have outdone themselves on this project. From the production and sound engineering to the artist selection on each track. This is indeed a return to his first love for Basketmouth. We hope to see more beautiful projects from the amazing multi-talented Ezegburu gburu.
Click here to listen to Basket Mouth’s new album, Horoscopes.
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