“The album is about two relationships among many. Every song leads to the next, and the next point. My relationships have always been unexpected, when I’m not actively looking for one.”
Ckay shares when asked about how many heartbreaks he’s had and been through.
CKay released his debut album, Sad Romance a week ago on the 23rd of September, 2022. This album is a tale of toxic love, pain, lust, and companionship.
The Emo Afrobeats artist has had quite a good run so far. He has set new records in the Nigerian music industry and is still achieving new milestones globally. On October 8, 2021, Ckay became the first African artist to hit 20 million Spotify listeners, with over 21 million monthly listeners on his Spotify page. He is also the second African artist to reach 1.2 billion streams.
Throwing it back to the question “Who the f*ck is Ckay? Everything I’ve done so far is my response,” he responds amidst smiles. It is great to see his growth over the years.
His debut album, Sad Romance is a genre-blending cocktail of emotional and romantic lyricism, accompanied by well-laid-out production and thematically organized delivery.
Plug in your earphones, breathe in, press play and let’s take a ride through the emotional story of this Sad Romance.
Sad Romance- The Tale of Toxic Love
In the Beginning, it was perfect…
With You, it all begins! A soft deep-hollowed piano accompanied by saxophones and soft mid-tempo kicks and log drums. The attraction brews, the tension, the beginning of something sweet just like white wine in a fine glass. The fireworks and the butterflies. He declares his love for his baby and how he wants every bit of them. Isn’t it beautiful that this is how all relationships begin? Is this love or lust? Infatuation or admiration? Time will tell as we go on. The feelings blow hotter in Mmadu as they both explore every inch of one another. Ckay exclaims in pleasure Omalicha i ga e gbu mmadu (translated to Pidgin English means Fine girl you go kill person) … Make I chop am like salad. This love must be tasty and juicy. This line is not about love. Can this go on forever? Can this feeling last a lifetime?
One thing about Ckay is that he makes most of his songs from personal experience and that is what makes him stand out. I remember he once tweeted, If you break my heart, I will make a hit song out of it and make money out of it. Not his exact words but I will find the tweet before I finish writing this.
The rot sets in, it becomes sour
Leave me alone is about a crazy ex and everything that happened between us, he says. And so it begins… The spicy love has caused a bellyache and has led to a bitter-sweet relationship. Ckay beckons her to leave him alone and explains painfully how she used his weakness against him. Now he’s moved on, she needs to leave him alone as forgiveness isn’t free. What could she have done for everything to go from a hundred to zero real quick?
This is self-explanatory in the next track- You cheated, I cheated too. This song reminds me of Mr. Eazi’s line on miss you bad– “Sake of I cheat, wey you cheat, Wey I cheat, wey you cheat back, Baby make we cancel am.” Nigerians will say “do me, I do you, man no go vex. It is indeed a tale of Sad Romance because this is the reality of many relationships today. Ckay expresses his hurt over the “cruise” she’s caught his heart and emotions with. Nothing will prepare you for the latter part of this song. I got the full video of that part for y’all. You’re welcome, don’t mention (Things we do for fans you know). I am also convinced Oxlade had a vocal cameo in the last seconds of this song, I might be wrong though.
Yes I changed, you should too
As expected of a Naija boy, Ckay goes into his post-heartbreak “hoe phase”. He’s caught up in a sad romance on come closer featuring Ayra Starr. Say you get boyfriend, no be my concern. Hehehe, the guilty ones probably agree with Ckay on this one at the moment. It seems his new fling doesn’t understand the terms of their contracts properly, as she asks the popular post-coitus question on the streets- “What are we?” With an upbeat Amapiano sound to accompany his response, he invites Davido, Focalistic & Abidoza to help drive home his point on Watawi. Focalistic responds-o nale potso tse baie (you have many questions) the equivalent of Mafejopami over here in Nigeria.
The Second Fall
Sarz never misses, as usual as he comes through with the production on Soja, this song is not about military service, by the way. Things start getting toxic again as Ckay begins to go head over heels for another girl and likens their relationship to that of Samson and Delilah. We all know how that didn’t end well. Another talking stage and he questions why they are yet to get intimate By now despite the bond they now share. Ckay is neck deep into his new lover, as he appraises her on Emiliania, He is in love again.
It seems this love is short-lived. Ckay pleads for them to stick together and wonders where it all went wrong. Ronisia responds “t’as fait tout ce qu’il ne fallait pas, tu m’as prise pour un jouet tou” (you did everything wrong, you took me for a toy). Oh boy, that’s on you. As Burna said, e don cast last last.
However, Love Nwantiti, the bonus track reminds us of true love and the effects of genuine affection. In his closing remarks on the eve of the album’s release, Ckay shares “Love should be real and clear of deceit. It should be sincere and dangerous. The absence of uncertainty and danger removes the thrill. The message is to Fall in love regardless and embrace it”.
Concluding Remarks and Impression
By now was one of my favorites on the first listen. The instrumentals, the soft vocals, and reverb on lose you got me from the start. You and Lose You give me this nostalgic feeling and I think it is how the instrumentals project the emo sound. Ckay always finds a way to blend in these sounds to create a whole feel to the Afrobeats pattern, It is like a perfect smoothie blend. Every new project from him is always a massive improvement from the former and that is a sign of growth in his artistic expressions.
I believe Ckay is off to a greater level with this album. The genre-blending through the production and lyricism which projects the desired theme of his art also makes it an exceptional project. I think we need more people to break Ckay’s heart so we can get more beautiful projects. Not my words though, his words!
I promised you earlier I was going to find this tweet from him.
If you are yet to listen to Sad Romance, do so today- CKay – Sad Romance (lnk.to)
You can also check out other Soot Africa project reviews here on our Exclusive column
What a read… I was literally hooked from the lead title down to the last line. It’s amazing how Ckay was able to incorporate his personal experience a song and still makes it worthy of listen.
Thank you Olateju