What Can We Expect From Wizkid’s New Album, ‘Morayo’?
Nigerian superstar Wizkid has shared the tracklist of his upcoming album, Morayo, coming out this Friday.
Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage.
Mainstream albums aren’t usually released in the thick of November, but when you’re Wizkid, there’s always eager ears. For much of this year, the Nigerian superstar has teased Morayo, a new body of work that will be the singer’s seventh studio album.
Wizkid’s release dates haven’t always been clear-cut. Fans were teased for over two years before Made in Lagos dropped, with its title acquiring a lore of its own in that time. The subconscious power of repetition has been a defining quality of Morayo too, as the album’s title has come to represent more than just a word — or name — for Wizkid and his large community of fans. Now it’s a totem of Wizkid’s longevity and inspiring artistry, a lodestar to his still-blazing path.
Yesterday evening, Wizkid shared the tracklist of Morayo, pretty much confirming that the album will indeed be released this Friday, November 22. With 16 tracks, Wizkid calls up a slim but purposeful cast of features: fellow Nigerian star Asake, American acts Brent Faiyaz and Jazzmine Sullivan, French rapper Tiakola and French Gabonese artist Anais Cardot.
Given these stronger cues, here are four things listeners are likely to expect when they press play on Morayo.The sensitivity of R&B Wizkid
Wizkid’s strongest artistic move in recent years has been his adaptation of R&B. He’s always explored facets of the genre from his Superstar debut (in “Gidi Girl”), but seven years after his exploratory Sounds From the Other Side, he’s mastered the form, largely basing Made in Lagos on the serene sounds of R&B and soul. These laid-back vibes will undoubtedly form a strong part of Morayo’s sonic palette. Between the Brent Faiyaz feature on the already-released “Piece of My Heart” and Jazzmine Sullivan’s appearance on the tracklist, we can expect more than a couple of songs that will perfectly soundtrack intimate moments.
A sonic link to where everything happens: Lagos
An almost mythical city, few contemporary musicians have depicted Lagos as well as Wizkid. On Superstar, he most poignantly connected to the Afrobeats tradition that takes inspiration from genres like juju and fuji. He’s explored and revisited the city’s rich pockets throughout his career, stoking understandable criticism into his gripe with the catch-all term for the movement. But who holds a groove like Wiz? While “Kese (Dance)” signifies an intent to continue burnishing the roots of his artistry, the overall success of Morayo will likely depend on how well he balances the famed revelry of Lagos with his other focuses.
A man of the community
- YouTubeWizkid’s brand is built around a certain privacy. That laidback persona has been complemented by the chill quality of his newer music, but on Morayo, he seems to want to break free from that image. With more visible moves in the public sphere, mostly on social media, it’ll be interesting to hear how this blossoming idea of community will be reflected on the album. It’s likely that there’ll be references to his come-up, the love of his fans and generally, a stronger attempt at taking stock of his legacy. If More Love, Less Ego was an embrace of the new and the uncertain, Morayo presumably goes the other way: it’s an album grounded in tradition.
The revelation of more personal stories
Wizkid delivers one of his most personal verses ever over warm riffs and evocative sax on the now Grammy-nominated “MMS.” “My mama leave me here, e no long,” he sings on that record, giving life to the narrative pulse behind Morayo, which is a celebration of his departed mother’s life. Therefore, we can expect the Wizkid of “Joy” and “Ojuelegba” — records where he peeled back the celebrity mask and allowed intimate stories to shine. With track titles on the album like “Troubled Mind” and “Pray,” we’ll definitely be getting a philosophical-leaning Wizkid on Morayo.
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