ZaZa Vibes marks a classy return to music by singer and songwriter L.A.X, having been relatively absent from the scene after releasing his debut studio album. This album, released under his very own label Rasaking Music Group, is a follow up to the album “Rasaking”, released in the last quarter of 2018. The expectations were as high as the anticipation, mostly due to L.A.X’s track record of releasing hit songs, starting with his first chart topper “Caro” in 2013. Other bangers like “Ginger”, “Gobe” and “Gbefun”—to mention but a few—have followed since then so ZaZa Vibes was expected to be no less than a collection of hits.
The 12-track project distributed by American label EMPIRE employs Afro-fusion sounds to deliver good vibes to the listeners. Afro-pop is the domineering genres, but Dancehall and Amapiano are also represented, as the artiste attempts to satisfy the variety of today’s music audience. Love and romance expectedly makes up the predominant theme guiding the lyrics on the album. He sings romantic pledges on “Lose My Mind”, “Superman”, “Perfect”, “Commando” and “Jara”. Lustful energy reigns supreme on “Sade”, “Bum Bum”, “Sempe”, “Pere”, “Feeling” and “Go Low”. The remix to “Gobe” stands on its own in lyrical content; 2 Baba is replaced by two Nigerian female powerhouses to continue the story of infidelity in love and relationships. Of the 12 songs, the very emotional “Lose My Mind” and the sensual wordings “Sade” probably reflect L.A.X’s best lyricism.
The ordering of the tracks is interesting and makes for a more enjoyable listening experience. Tracks 1-3 start off with more mellow tunes—songs you’re most likely to enjoy while sitting down and bopping your head to. The tempo gradually steps up till track 4, where the tunes become more energetic and danceable. The tempo dives back to mellow sounds on track 7 and keeps increasing, but never quite hits the peak of track 4 again. Track 11, “Jara” is probably the only song that threatens this nice trend and it should have come earlier or have been left out completely.
L.A.X enlists help on 5 of the 12 tracks; a total of 7 artistes were featured. The lineup includes heavyweights like Simi, Tiwa Savage, Mr. Eazi, Tekno—the fast-rising Peruzzi and lesser known acts like OmartheDJ and TimiBOI. They all deliver in their best capacity; Mr Eazi effortlessly brings rich flavour to “Perfect”, Simi and Tiwa Savage reimagine “Gobe” from an interesting female angle. Peruzzi’s verse and TimiBOI’s hook on “Commando” are not bad at all. Tekno does his thing on “Jara”. OmartheDJ’s contribution to “Bum Bum” is however not of the vocal variety. Tiwa Savage unarguably takes the throne for the best feature verse on this project, with Mr Eazi in a somewhat distant second.
The production work is of good quality for the most part. The instrumentals provided by Clemyz, Legendury Beatz, Spotless, Quebeat and Blaise Beatz are catchy. STG and Alive Mix can be proud of the mixing and mastering done on this project as well.
Having already made his presence truly felt at home, I suspect this album is an attempt by L.A.X to join the host of Nigerian artistes gaining international relevance. If so, Zaza Vibes is not a bad attempt at all and the EMPIRE distribution deal will definitely boost the extent of its reach. However, it could be better. The instrumentals are cliché and not enough of them have the necessary substance and depth needed to connect with the listeners on a deeper level. L.A.X’s team will have to be stricter with the beat selection process going forward; the artiste certainly has the vocal ability and flow to deliver on more intricate sounds.
Standout Tracks: Lose My Mind, Perfect, Sade.
