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On Ladi, Olamide famously poked fun at Kiss
Daniel saying he wasn’t the baby-faced
vocalist who wasn’t given to kiss and tell.
When Olamide rapped that line it was
humorous to all—Iranu, abasha! But, in
retrospect, prophetic as Kiss Daniel said
“challenge accepted” to that test, and turned
to G-Worldwide studios to craft New Era, the
most interesting kiss-and-tell -not
necessarily in romantic terms -album of
2016.
Ogun-born Anidugbe Oluwatobiloba Daniel
aka Kiss Daniel started off his career
properly in 2014 with the smash hit Woju
followed by another competent banger Laye.
On the former, he gave us a peek into the
life and times of Kiss Daniel who was
different from the introverted A.O. Daniel
when he opened seductively: No be you I
carry come but na you I go carry go.” With
those words Mr. Kiss morphed into the
players’ playbook Ko Gb’oge Wa by Yinka
Best. Self-assured Mr. Kiss was going to
‘steal’ your girlfriend right in front of you, and
there wasn’t a thing you could do about it!
This personality isn’t annoying, narcissistic
as the average Casanova; this one comes
playful with loads of humour, and you may
not be wrong to classify him unassuming on
first date.
But on the smoky Good Time the mist clears
and you can see the ‘real’ Mr. Kiss telling
you to kiss your lover goodbye for the night:
Iyawo mi gan be ni le , just to make it clear
he’s got a lover after he’s done with your
girl. DJ Coublon-produced Good Time has
that ‘70s Jazz sound holding a seductive
power of distracting from Mr. Kiss’ intention
—while you move on the dance floor, he
makes a move on your lover for a private
dance. Masterkraft read Mr. Kiss’ playbook
to grasp the terrain of Sin City writing a
brilliant adventure. So, you’re truly “welcome
to sin city” as our guide says, “I can take
another brother’s girl straight to bed—Me
freaky! ” Once you understand that one of Mr.
Kiss’ musical influences is 2Face, who is
known as an unrepentant flirt on record (cue
Flex), you notice the similarities outside
vocal styling. On Vado’s- badder version of
Kiss- adventure, the unrepentant seducer
meets all kinds of ladies and some he
categorizes as “loose” (Raba), others are the
infamous women of Allen Avenue (Molue). In
all, one thing connects these women: they
possess voluptuous backsides (Molue, Good
Time, Napo). You will forgive the flirt in Kiss
for loving big booties; haven’t there been
theories in nature explaining such
preference?
On aforementioned, Napo, label mate,
Sugarboy, acts as wingman for Mr. Kiss on
the excellent galala track, seducing “plenty
girls” with their fat pockets worth at least
N3million. Money isn’t a problem when he
politely asks: Can I be you man? Elsewhere
Mr. Kiss moves away from using his money
as asset to relying on his sleek talk on one
of the album’s standout, Mama: To be
sincere, I’d do almost anything for you. With
pop singers in the habit of promising heaven
and earth to ladies, Vado tones it down to
be vulnerable in his quest. Though he isn’t
all successful as a certain Kudi, short for
Kudirat, or is it Labake, kept him at the door
preventing his love from flooding her heart.
For whatever reason perhaps the fear of Mr.
Kiss’ love flooding both her heart and thighs
and eventually leaving her. Some may call
him petty for keeping record of what
transpired on February 24 years ago. But is
he being petty, after all he got dumped 10
days after Valentine’s Day. Like Kudi, Kiss
can’t be with Amaka (Jombo) and her “big
belle” not because of Amaka’s refusal but
her parents’ disapproval of love across
ethnic lines. Mr. Kiss tells a serious tale
rather humorously that you forget the issue
at hand and dance to the Igbo rhythms of
highlife. Another love interest on his
adventure happens to be the one who left
him for Alhaji with big bucks (Are You
Alright). Are You Alright sounds like a drunk-
text to an ex with pretension buried behind
every question about well-being.
Women are not the only focus on New Era;
Kiss Daniel takes time to address his come-
up and struggles as an up and coming act
on Alone and Another Day. Opera-driven
Another Day contains the haunting line about
music label contracts keeping artistes tied
for long years with little artistic control and
benefits, while bata drums assist the
success of Alone. Another musical influence,
9ice, shows up on the underwhelming Gobe.
Testing the waters of another influence Ed
Sheeran- whose take on that sensual activity
was masterfully executed over acoustic
sounds- also fails on Kiss Me.
Notwithstanding the lapses in inferior
artwork and lengthy tracklist that
accommodated album fillers, Kiss Daniel
remains the heir to the pop throne, and has
been endorsed by pop superstars 2Face and
Wizkid when they individually released
covers of his hit songs. Understanding his
relevance in the music scene, Mr. Kiss was
quick to lay claim to his new status in New
King, addressing the Headies Next Rated
snub, and mapping his territory for
contenders to steer clear. News of Kiss
Daniel being the next king of pop has been
flying around prior to his debut album so it
was expected when Sean Tizzle- who was
previously touted as the next king following
success of his own debut album- weighed in
on twitter. With this album, endorsements
from pop idols, conversations among critics
and fans, growing fanbase, certainly this is a
New Era.
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