At 24, Liya already has one of the most captivating voices in Nigerian pop, using her sirenic voice to translate love, faith, angst, and desire eloquently over fluttering beats. Late last year, her tender voice reached the ears of Nigerian music heavyweight, Davido, resulting in her signing to his Davido Music Worldwide label, in a deal that has seen her become the first woman signed to the label. Hitting the ground running upon signing, on her debut track titled “Melo,” the mercurial singer flipped a sample of Angélique Kidjo’s “Agolo” into a pop ditty pulsating with regal grace.
Coming nine months after the release of “Melo,” her debut project titled Alari sees her push her powerful voice in different places often at the same time while providing an update on the themes and feelings that are orbiting her life. On the project’s eponymous opener she expresses her interest in a love interest whatever the cost of her affection may be with her impassioned shrills giving the song a cinematic feel. The song that follows is “Lakiriboto,” where Davido and Liya dovetail in the opening session with her ice-cool delivery finding an inverse in Davido’s firebrand expressionism. Liya’s knack for inventive songwriting comes to the fore on “Years Ago” where she reiterates her commitment to living her best life over grooving guitar riffs after going through difficulties. Positioned as the centerpiece of Alari, “Melo” casts Liya as a ascendant popstar in tune with the nostalgia-driven feel of 21st century popular music.
The songs that close out the project are as much a call to action as they are heartfelt prayers with Liya offering supplications to a higher power over spectral instrumentals. On “Adua,” she urges herself to handle her new-found fame with calm certitude while “Olodumare” ends with her thanking God for directing her life and providing her with grace at all time to see out a project that introduces her fully-formed voice to the world.
LISTEN: https://liya.ffm.to/alari
