After the release of 'Laye', Kiss Daniel (KD) was subjected to loads of criticism by some Nigerian hip-hop lovers claiming the song had the same sound with the previous single of the Funaab graduate 'Woju'. Since then, the singer hasn't released a track that is even half as wonderful as Laye.

The singer broke into prominence with his 2nd official single Woju ('Shoye' was his first), a track which won the hearts of most female hip-hop lovers and received massive airplays from both radio and TV media houses. The remix of the song wasn't bad too as big weights Davido and Tiwa Savage delivered decently on the track. These two songs built a fan base for KD as people fell in love with his sonorous voice and his different unique style. The next track released by KD 'Laye' was the song that got people talking as some people claimed on twitter that the song shared a resemblance in sound with Woju. These sorts of criticism are normal for upcoming acts as people would try and find their faults but he let those criticisms get to him as he said in the next song he was featured in (Raba) saying 'dey too dey fire me for twitter, say I too dey mess with the same sound'; his next single 'Chidioke' further proved this fact.


Amidst these criticism, the video of the song(Laye) was receiving massive airplays on TV as the song was topping several music charts ranging from Mtv base official top 10 to Trace Urban Hit 30 to Soundcity Top ten countdown and other music charts on radio which proves that the song wasn't near bad at all. The next track released by KD to prove critics wrong 'Chidioke' had a completely different sound from his two previous tracks (Woju and Laye); in my opinion the song was a flop as most of you doesn't even know the song. The song didn't do half as good as the two previous songs, the next track that followed 'Molue' in which his label mate Sugarboi also featured in was more or less like Chidioke as it didn't do well commercially also. Now KD has released another single 'Good time' which I believe is also in the calibre of Molue and Chidioke.


In my opinion, what got people falling in love with KD is his voice and the different style his songs had but after the criticisms he suffered he didn't use that sonorous anymore as he's now singing in a more deeper voice. The big question then is 'Is changing his style the right move for him?'. To answer this question I'd cite some examples: Olamide(Baddo) - When Olamide came into limelight in 2011 with his single 'Eni duro', some sections of the media criticised him for shouting and cursing in most of his lines, did that make him stop cursing in his lines? No! Even he still curses his haters in some of his lines today. He was also criticised for not doing hardcore rap like most modern rappers do, but that didn't make him switch to another style. He kept on doing what he believes in and now he's arguably the biggest artiste in Naija now.

Another example is Sean Tizzle who in his first album had like 16 songs that sounded alike and yet the album 'The Journey' was quite a success as it got few nominations in the 2014 Headies.

Reekado Banks another new generation artiste like KD has also released more than 5 singles with some of them having the same kind of flow e.g Chop am and Corner and yet he's relevant in the industry.

Then why should KD diversify into different styles since he's comfortable with the Woju kinda style. All other songs he has done apart from Woju and Laye have been out of his comfort zone. To top it all, according to gossip blogs and websites he said he's gonna drop an album this December and Woju and Laye wouldn't be in the album (he hasn't come to refute those claims). Why on earth would he do that? Those songs are his biggest two songs, I even think the album name should be Woju since it was the song that brought him to limelight. I think he's suffering from poor management.

In Naija, if you wanna make a name in the industry I think you should do songs that'll be of commercial success so as to build a brand for yourself. Then after you've built a name for yourself then I think you can now start freestyling. I think KD should try and establish himself in one style first before trying any other style because critics will always show their face in whatever good thing you do; moreso, those that were criticising him then have not come out to praise him now that he's not messing with the same sound.
I feel he's a talented artiste who would be doing better than he is if he's performing in his comfort zone. Feel free to share your thoughts.
N.B: I'm just a concerned fan airing my views on who I think could be doing better than he's doing right now.