*A Music Lovers’s Review of Niniola’s New album, Colours and Sounds
‘Nini deeeeeee’ is the signature intro phrase of every of Niniola’s songs and once you hear it, you know you’re in for a major treat. And Niniola certainly didn’t disappoint with her second album titled ‘Colours and Sounds’, which is such an eclectic mix of sounds and voices that you understand how apt the album title is.
Colours and Sounds is such a mix of sounds and a pot of collaborations, from Sauti Sol to Timbaland to Femi Kuti. This sexy, sultry, intelligent Afro House queen of ours didn’t come to play. The whole album serves us some mellow gbedu, with a dash of sugar and spice.
One thing that carried through the album was the South African House vibe it gives us, which meshes so brilliantly with Niniola’s aesthetic and sultry voice. It almost felt like being transported in some cases with Niniola’s voice floating through the haze of enjoyment.
‘Look like Me’ is a song on the album that shows a great example of Niniola’s blending of House with her brand of crazy. That song is all about the beat and will have you nodding your head and swaying side to side without you even realizing it. And you can’t deny that Niniola’s use of Yoruba in her songs always manages to sound so sexy that it starts to sound like French. Don’t believe me? Give “Omo Rapala” a listen and tell me how you feel then. Or Bana, which was first released as a single earlier in the year and had us all going crazy with a little bit in awe of Nini’s bravery and skill. Talk about sweet vulgarity.
Niniola first burst on the music scene with club bangers like ‘Ibadi’, and then gave us something to really blow out our minds and waists to with songs like ‘Saromina’ and ‘Maradona’. It is then quite a departure from the usual when Niniola teams up with Nonso Amadi to give us ‘Night and day’ which puts you in mind of a shy lady and her lover. It is a commendable departure from her strong beats and barely restrained lyrics. A song you want to listen to when you’re thinking about your crush, or in the embrace of that special someone.
This song is followed by the ironically titled ‘innocent’; ironic because it puts in brackets ‘Fagbo’ which in Yoruba literarily means to ‘smoke weed’. In this song, Niniola proceeds to proclaim her innocence as opposed to weed smokers; but trust Niniola to make a song about innocence sound dirty in an amazing way.
I do have to say that I found some of her collabs unfortunately forgettable, like her song with Sauti Sol where they all seemed ‘So Serious’ about being in love. And then ‘Addicted’ came and picked up where ‘Night and Day’ had stopped; with its soft sounds and sweet lyrics (sweet as an addiction to an Americanah can be anyway). Some of her riffs in this song reminded me of Angelique Kidjo’s signature throaty bell voice and just gave me the best of the moment.
And in Boda Sodiq, Niniola reminds us that she’s ‘gbaski’ and flashy as she treats us to a song so danceable it would transform even a couch potato into Chris Brown. This album is one I would recommend for quiet chilling, perfect for a little weekend loving yourself and feeling sexy. Go stream it on Audiomack, and have a blast.
Ameenah Okeh
Photo Credits: Niniofficial, Tooeexclusive and ThisDayLive