“A STUDY ON SELF WORTH: YXNG DXNZL” — ONE LISTEN REVIEW (Album Rating: 80%)
Twitter: @call_me_Nubian
In the Nigerian Hip hop scene, M.I Abaga presently is arguably the most relevant figure (I’m not sure who is arguing this sha. If it ain’t Ayo Dennis, they’re probably wrong). M.I ushered a new era of Hip hop, going mainstream with a critically acclaimed debut album, reaching heights that his predecessors such as Modenine and Ruggedman had dreamed and made sacrifices for in the hopes that they and other Hip hop artists will be able to climb. So after M.I, guys dusted their rhyme books, singers began to rap and although a stable and efficient Nigerian Hip hop structure might still be a somewhat distant dream, in this year 2018, with projects from Boogey, Paybac, Alpha, Loose Kaynon and AQ ro name a few, I don’t think it’s ever felt closer.
M.I has made his own contributions to the game, signing skilled rap acts to his Loopy records and Choc City, and has taken his share of blame for the decadence, most especially criticisms of his labels for failing to foster the careers of signed rappers.
A Study On Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl is M.I’s 5th studio album, the 2nd album he’s released in 2018. The album is a 10-track project that fans and critics have anticipated for a long time. Jude takes an unconventional approach to the track naming, making them abnormally lengthy motivational or advisory statements with titles such as “You Rappers should fix up your lives” and “Stop! Never Second Guess Yourself”. The album features Tay Iwar, Cina Soul, Lorraine Chia, Odunsi The Engine, Lady Donli, Niyola, and PatrickxxxLee, and boasts of production credits from Tay Iwar, Chopstix, Majorbangz, TMXO, Doz, GClef, Chillz, GMK, PatrickxxxLee, and M.I.
I can’t help but think of Illegal Music 2 when I look at the album art for Yxng Dxnzl. One art of the former had a picture of M.I with shades on, filtered in black and white, and a butterfly over his lips, while the latter is an image of M.I in black and white sporting what seems like a homburg or fedora hat, and a butterfly sitting on his shoulder, this subtle gesture — the butterfly — gave me a sense of connection between both projects; Illegal Music 2 being M.I’s redemption from the criticisms of “over commerciality” he faced after the release of his sophomore alum M.I2. The lyrics of songs like “Last Night I Had a Dream About a Hummingbird” and the recurring theme of self-doubt and reassurance on the Yxng Dxnzl album coupled with the art, makes me wonder if this is also an attempt at redemption from whatever doubts and criticisms bother him. The shadow over M.I’s eyes and the near silhouette look of his portrait in the album art conveys a certain badass action hero sensation that just whispers Denzel Washington, this may mean the art is also a nod to the action hero image of the inspiration for the album title (Yxng Dxnzl).
The songs take the shape of M.I’s thoughts as a result of the progress of therapy, that’s until track 9 — “The Self Evaluation of Yxng Dxnzl” (feat. Niyola) — where he seems to relapse. The project can easily pass (mostly due to the commentaries used as intros and outros on different tracks, and how they relate to the tracks) as an expose on mental health issues (especially ones like depression and impostor syndrome). The self-examination on the songs and theme of depression is reminiscent of Paybac’s approach to his debut album — The Biggest Tree — where he leads listeners into his mind rather than pouring it all out, albeit M.I seems to pour it out rather than draw in.
The production on Yxng Dxnzl is near flawless, nothing less is expected of the production heavy weights the project is saddled on, and while M.I’s ability to select appropriate instrumentals is a skill of his that is grossly overlooked, his penmanship is hardly ever up for contest. The lyrics of the song favour technique, delivery and sound narratives over witty one-liners and isolated heavy bars. M.I sheds the triple threat flow he adopted on Rendezvous for the more traditional four beat per bar cadence, that he also flips into an interesting delivery on “I Believe In You, You should too, Believe in You”. The writing, vocal prowess of the featured artists, the instrumentals, and the production quality come together to make Yxng Dxnzl the listening pleasure it is.
My current favourites off the projects are “Do you know who you are? Take some time and meditate on you” (feat. Tay Iwar), which sounds very poetic to me, even having a refrain in the verses that’s separate from the hook, “+-“ (feat. Odunsi The Engine, Lady Donli), and “Love Never Fails But Where There Are Prophecies Love Will Cease To Remain” (feat. Tay Iwar, and PatrickxxxLee).
