By MOTOLANI ALAKE

Although Olamide's ambition is commendable, his execution is anti-climactic. It makes one wonder if the album is a product of Olamide's unilateral vision and ideas or if he even used an A&R.

In 2000, Russell Crowe's Maximus Decimus was the central figure in the Ridley Scott-produced time classic, 'Gladiator.' The film is about insurgency, political and civil unrest orchestrated by a king's own son, Commodus - played by Oscar winner, Joaquin Phoenix. Maximus was the king's favourite who tragically became a matyr after winning the final duel.

It was all anti-climactic. In a game of life and politics, Maximus Decimus was the underdog against the mighty Commodus. Just like the audience watching the movie in cinemas or on other forms of screens, the mob in the arena wanted Maximus to win. He was the 'underdog' who had been through a lot - including the loss of his entire family. Thus, his death was like a taste of stale akamu.



His death, after a monumental victory was the worst possible ending anyone could have imagined. In the conversation at hand, Olamide Adedeji also known as Olamide or simply, Badoo is Ridley Scott at his own helm of affairs.

As arguably the greatest Nigerian rapper ever, the thought of a surprise album that exudes class in cover art and features was enough to send Nigerian music lovers spiraling. That was the afternoon of Sunday, February 9, 2019. It was like a nuclear bomb was detonated at the heart of the music constituency of Twitter Nigeria

What excited most people - especially Hip-Hop lovers - was the thought of a 'proper Hip-Hop' album by Olamide - whatever that means. As proposed, the album dropped in the late hours of February 10, 2020 - albeit an hour earlier. Like the excitement that accompanied people's hope for a Maximus Decimus victory, this writer - like every other music lover - ran to unpack the goodies that Olamide had supposedly delivered. If only human beings were clairvoyant...

Throughout the entire 30 minutes that form 999 EP, Olamide orchestrated an ambitious and well-meaning yet anti-climactic project. While Ridley Scott is a legendary filmmaker who intended tragedy for cinematic effect, Olamide is a legendary rapper who intended to produce a better project with Ridley Scott-esque excellent vision for a rap album, but couldn't.

This might be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of people, but it's the truth. Reluctantly, I might have to be like the critics I love to hate whenever I read negative reviews of successful Michael Bay-action flicks. I will have to review the project of a well-loved mainstream creator from what may would call 'a negative lens.'


By his standards, Olamide had a below-par 2019 and this EP was meant to be a moment. By no means is it poor, but it's definitely not exceptional or excellent.

999 EP feels excessively built in Olamide's image and likeness. It exemplifies his strengths and weaknesses as a man and artist. On one hand, it positively showcases Olamide's penchant to spotlight underground talent, his defiant vision to 'succeed' and his ambition to do something markedly different from other albums in his discography.

On the other hand, 999 EP is an imbalanced excogitation of sonic and lyrical 'whack-a-mole.' As such, its execution is anti-climactic. It feels like the EP had no A&R and was instead a total product of Olamide's weaknesses as the sole visionary of a project with this level of ambition.

P.S: Whack-a-mole is a game in an amusement arcade in which players use a mallet to hit toy moles, which appear at random, back into their holes. Olamide mirrors that with how undulating 999 EP feels. Whenever the EP hits a purple patch, something - a bad hook, a bad verse or a bad beat - swoops in and kills that purple patch.

Nonetheless, it is praise-worthy that Olamide even attempted this level of ambition as he slowly becomes a veteran. Last year, I wrote an article and suggested that Olamide needs to take some time off. At the time, it felt right. But with the ambition he displayed in 999 EP, I salute his defiance and I think his veteran days will be amazing - this will just be a blip in the long run.

Credit to Olamide too - he knew this album was a risky adventure. That's why he made and erroneously tagged it 'EP.'

Final thoughts

999 EP has an impressive tracklist - it's the one thing that holds this EP together. Some might even say this track list flatters the EP. I owe whoever arranged it a cold beer.

Across the EP, Olamide topically stands out when he needs to. Even on the lamba that was 'Wonma,' Olamide sung an anthem that paints a vivid picture of the philandering tendencies of Nigerian millennials.

Some songs are good, but when you've heard better albums and you understand Olamide's ambition for a rap project with substantiated topics, you'll know that beats from some producers like Sess, Sossick, Tempoe, MI Abaga or Reinhardt - or more beats from ID Cabasa - could have taken this EP to the next level.

With this level of ambition, Olamide should have to gone all out and left nothing to chance. From what I've consistently played, I don't think Olamide did that. It feels like he got people around him to give him the best rap beats possible. That's never enough.

In the end, the major problem with the album is the deceptive nature of its beats. They feel enough for the process, but in the grand scheme, they are not. The production is the exact reason why 999 EP will unfairly seem nonsensical to some people and without exceptional tracks to others.

While the mixing is markedly better on 999 EP than on previous Olamide projects, it requires another 20% before it reaches exceptional levels. In the grand scheme, 999 EP suffers from execution and imbalance.

Like Gladiator, the weaknesses and anti-climax of 999 EP won't stop it from being successful in numbers and mainstream penetration. It will never be as low and impact-less as Soundman Vol. 1 EP.

Rating

5.5- Average

Source: https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/olamide-999-ep-album-review/5ld4d1c

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