Ferdinand Ekechukwu
D’banj continues to win and thrive as a legend of Afrobeats. His ability to create exciting sounds and popularize motivational words/phrase purely on the strength of his music lend credence to his credibility and status as an artiste. His latest body of work titled “Stress Free (Chapter One)” embodies such motivational influence of words/phrase befitting every “hustling” Nigerians’ vocabulary in a country where survival depends on inspiring themes and views. In high-calibre fashion, it contains themes that co-opt minimalistic enjoyment of life; money, attractive egotistical self-adulation and women….which in ones’ opinion aligns with the title of his new record.
Announcing the album release on his Instagram page, the ‘Oliver Twist’ crooner wrote: “I’ve been told that you can’t live a #Stressfree life without going through stress and that if only you hang in there you would move from the #Stress into the free part and that’s why with joy in my heart. I’m Grateful to God and to everyone that made this album come to life. I can’t thank you all enough. It took us more than two years or more to put this together and I know how hard and difficult it is because I already planned the release of Stressfree for my birthday last year but the most stressful season in my life came unexpectedly but thank God for the grace to scale through and today finally it’s out.
“#Stressfree chapter One is now out and I pray for all that despite the Stress in the world, everyone will get to live a #Stressfree life. Please enjoy the album …. #Stressfree ChapterOne.” This 8-track album comes with a visual for his ‘Stress Free’ track, in collaboration with Seun Kuti and The Egypt 80 band. While embodying a successful career, “Stress Free” shows a polished artiste, who is not only experimenting but having fun, along with slick production values featuring the spectacular skills of music producer Rexxie. ‘Stress Free’ track list includes songs such as Banga, Welcome To Lagos, Avocado, Zombie, Open The Roof, and the album track Stress Free.
Speaking on the new album, the self-acclaimed Kokomaster explained why he collaborated with Seun Kuti on the project: “I went back to legacy – which is why I got Egypt 80 (led by Seun Kuti) on all seven tracks – and then eased into a realm of zero anxiety after the turbulent period that the world had been through. We had a lot of fun in the studio and hopefully, this all shows up on the record! I’m very happy to have Seun Kuti on this track #stressfree, this is actually the first time we are working on a song together and we made this magic over a year ago.
“He strikes me as the earthly lineage of the source of Afrobeat and I had to go to the very source to bring out this masterpiece. You really cannot separate the name Kuti from Afrobeats and Seun Kuti is known for his unapologetic approach to his craft bringing out the very best at every pitch. As you can see, the horns are very striking. The track was designed to ease everyone into a realm of zero anxiety after the turbulent period that the world has been through. We had a lot of fun in the studio and hopefully, this all shows up on the record!”
With the album, Stress Free, D’banj slips into Afrobeats innovation mode, visible in the multi-layered fusion of horns, saxophones and futuristic synths across tracks. The Egypt 80 brings the horns on the Afrobeat fusion, “Zombie”, and the Afro-meringue mix of “Welcome To Lagos” as well as the free-wheeling “Stress Free” and “Banga”.
“Ikebe”, meanwhile, is a gentle, uplifting prayer while “Big Vibe” incorporates the Amapiano sound into a pan-continental dance special and “Avocado” – featuring Burna Boy – leads you into a glorious sense of Afrobeats utopia. D’banj (born Oladapo Oyebanjo) had, in 2017, released an album titled, “King Don Come”, which was his last album.
