Signs by Runtown album cover

After A One Year Hiatus From The Music Scene, Runtown Returns: Signs By Runtown Album Review

Runtown finally releases his much anticipated album Signs. Fans of the Nigerian singer and producer had almost given up all hope of getting fresh music from him. But after over a year of notable absence from the Nigerian music scene, Runtown finally gave his audience something new to listen to. 

Runtown’s new album Signs takes a slight deviation from mainstream Nigerian music and Afrobeats regularities and leans more towards reggaeton and dancehall elements. Bold move? The project covers a wide range of themes, from love to truth, hustle, and deep introspection. 

Ladies and gentlemen, beautiful lovers of African music, without any further delay let’s head into a review of Signs by Runtown. 

Opening Songs on Signs 

The first song on the album is Signs, a song that leans heavily into Afropop and reggae fusions. Its lyrics are centered on love and faith. I think this song sets the tone for the rest of the album; a laid-back body of work with prominent hints of percussion and beautiful sonic ranges. 

Sinnerman is the next song on Signs by Runtown. The Nigerian artist samples Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” in this interesting song. He puts his own fresh spin on the classic song, adds in guitar riffs, and makes it something worth listening to. He is also speaking about those haters who will judge you regardless of what you do.

The lead single off this album was Things I Know, released long before the complete album dropped. Runtown speaks about working on this song with Akatche, a talented French producer. He immediately loved how it sounded, so much so that he made it the lead single.  

High Spirit is a song that talks about struggling to maintain high spirits and staying “never empty, never sad”. It brings in more Afrobeat elements than the previous songs. Actually, it sounds more like the old Runtown we knew before his hiatus.

After High Spirit comes Ofe Pami featuring Jamopyper, a song that takes a complete deviation from his original dancehall theme and features more mainstream Afrobeats elements. Runtown describes Ofe Pami as a fun break in the Signs album because he thought it was starting to get “too preachy” and I agree.

 Jamopyper’s verse wasn’t as sublime as I would’ve expected. If I were to compare his verse with a similar sounding artist like Bella Shmurda, I’d say Jamopyper definitely fell short on his delivery. His verse on Ofe Pami felt a little flat and almost too basic to me (Jamopyper’s fans please don’t come for me).

The next song on Signs by Runtown is All About You, a love song that tells the story of a guy who is in love and confused. It borrows from the typical love trope of a man hopelessly in love, begging his significant other… “I don’t know what to do, tell me what to do”.  On the second listen, I realized the beat was a lot catchier than I had originally perceived. The symphonies in the background certainly made it more interesting to listen to.

Signs Tracklist

Signs by Runtown tracklist

After the love song comes Fences, which speaks about building fences and not walls. On this, Runtown is basically talking about drawing your boundaries, but not so much that you don’t know who to let in and who to keep out. I think this has so much truth to it. Know when to draw your boundaries, but also know when to keep them down. 

According to Runtown, Dangerous Hearts was recorded so many times, just to find the version that felt right. He finally settled on making it an Afropop song with prominent 80s retro elements to it. I’m curious though, what were the other versions of this song like? In what I refer to as one of the most unlikely music collaborations, Runtown featured Mr. Hudson on Dangerous Hearts. The duo created magic on this song and it might be one of my favorite songs from this entire project. I would’ve never pegged Runtown as the artist to nail an 80s retro and Afro pop infusion hook, but he did it flawlessly. Now that I’ve heard one Runtown-Mr. Hudson collab, I think I want more.

Under Pressure is the next song on Signs by Runtown. It’s another love song that uses Western pop progressions to give an Afropop feel to it. Produced by Mystro, it takes another slight deviation from the type of songs we would typically get from Runtown. Its also one of my favorite songs on this project. Runtown describes this song as a body of work that has the same effects “Mad Over You” had on him. He enjoyed making the song so much that he plays it on repeat regularly. Does it have the same effect on you?

Kini Issue is another lover’s song that features saxophone riffs which made it just a little bit more interesting to listen to. After that, Propaganda comes next on Signs by Runtown. The song was written way back in 2019. However, the singer didn’t feel like it was right for release at the time and decided to keep it till now. 

Signs by Runtown ends with Hella Sacrifice and Mic Check. Hella Sacrifice centers on his journey so far. It tells of all the sacrifices he made, and the price he paid just to get what he desired. It circles back to the full Reggaeton vibe the album started with.

Final Thoughts on Signs By Runtown

They say distance is supposed to make the heart grow fonder. However, I’m not sure if Runtown’s absence did more good than harm to his music. He delivered a brand new Runtown 2.0 sound, and I think the fans were pleasantly surprised to see the singer had evolved. Of course, artist evolution is also inevitable in this industry so I do think that fans who haven’t warmed up to the new Runtown it will eventually do so over time. 

It’s also worth noting the sublime music production that went into Signs by Runtown, and we have Mystro to thank for the magic he created on the sound boards.

Additionally, more features and guest appearances would’ve probably given the album the little hint of adventure I think it was missing. Overall, I think it was a good project. Whether its Runtown or Runtown 2.0, good music is good music and we can’t deny that.

Runtown tells Apple Music, “For many people, it might feel like their first time hearing me on songs like these. It might even seem like they’re listing to a new artist. But it’s just me going back to the basics with a fresh spin.”

What do you think about Signs by Runtown? Let us know! 

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