Earlier than he grew to become often called “Black Diamond”, or gave us hits like So Mi So, Iskaba and the TikTok-resuscitated, Gentility, Wande Coal was WC, Mo’Hit’s not-so-secret weapon and the identify behind among the finest Afropop albums of all time, 2009’s Mushin 2 Mo’Hits.
On the time Mushin 2 Mo’Hits dropped, Don Jazzy was essentially the most in-demand Nigerian producer — and back-up singer, if he favored you — with Wande Coal coming in because the label’s newest addition poised to proceed its rising legacy of back-to-back hits. The duo ended up being infectious, and each time we heard, “It’s WC. Na who do the beat o? Don Baba J”, we knew it was going to be a banger.
We’d all heard albums about love and romance earlier than, however most of them have been shy about intercourse. Positive, we’d additionally gotten songs about intercourse, shoutout to P-Square for Do Me, however on Mushin 2 Mo’Hits, Wande Coal masterfully conveyed the sexual awakening that got here with falling in love. His thought of affection wasn’t PG, nevertheless it wasn’t R18, both. It comfortably sat in a seductive area between “I’m in love with you” and “You make me sexy.” And as a younger teen going by way of the motions of puberty, this album was good for me.
Now, 13 years after making it into Discmans and iPod playlists, Wande Coal’s magnum opus is lastly accessible on streaming apps. Since I’ve been begging for the album at odd hours of the morning:
It’s solely becoming to revisit it for myself and the tradition.
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The Breakdown
Wande Coal kicks issues off by exploring his inside Christian Gray with the album opener, I Know You Like It, and its follow-up, You Dangerous. Singing about making you beg for it whilst you scream his identify, we’re launched to an artist who can seduce you with a masterful mixture of Yoruba, pidgin and unmatched vocals. These two tracks lay the groundwork for an attractive album, proving Wande was a Yoruba demon earlier than we even knew what the time period meant.
For the compulsory song about social justice and Nigerian wahala, Wande Coal’s synth-heavy, Se Na Like This? is as poignant now because it was in 2009, particularly once you realise $1 was going for ₦148. I really like this music, nevertheless it’s a merciless reminder that we’re now not knee-deep within the trenches. At this level, we’ve been submerged by it.
All of us misplaced our shit this 12 months [2022] due to how a lot Wande Coal seemed like Michael Jackson in his collab with Olamide, Hate Me.
However listening to his badass falsettos on Kiss Your Palms with Ikechukwu, particularly across the 2:29 mark the place he belts out MJ’s signature “He-he”, I really feel silly for being shocked by Hate Me. Wande Jackson has at all times been a factor.
Confused, one other banger on the album, finds Wande Coal ignoring all the red flags to be with the particular person he loves. He even goes so far as singing, “Wo l’ashewo ni e, however emi o boda,” and actually, I can’t assist however stan a king who helps intercourse work.
Each Nigerian artist has that one random gospel music on their album to appease their moms and choir instructors. Wande doesn’t disappoint, giving us two: Se Ope, which jogs my memory of the suffer-head “some have meals” music from boarding home, and Jehovah, a music that talks about his literal journey from Mushin to Mo’Hits.
Bumper to Bumper is Wande Coal asserting he’s deep in his bag and nobody can cease him. It was the primary single off the album and a music that also jogs my memory of secondary faculty birthday events, bootcut denims and Axe physique spray. Good occasions.
Two options that work are Bananas with Dr Sid and Who Born The Maga with Kayswitch. Bananas is the extra romantic older brother of D’Prince’s Take Banana (a banger, by the best way), whereas Who Born The Maga finds Wande assured in one thing greater than his intercourse recreation, his expertise. Random thought, however when did we determine to cease utilizing the phrase, “Maga”? I don’t get it.
It’s unimaginable to do a high 10 of essentially the most iconic Nigerian love songs of all time and never point out Wande Coal’s Ololufe. Whereas his different songs speak about love in their very own means, Ololufe reveals a extra weak Wande Coal as he tries to reassure his lover that their love is actual. It’s equal components joyful and heartbreaking, which I now admire as an grownup who lastly understands the complexities of navigating love.
Now It’s All Gone, which options label mate D’Prince, is the primary underwhelming music on the album. It sounds so much like Omarion’s IceBox, and never in a great way. Different forgettable tracks embody That’s Wats Up and My Grind. They’re not unhealthy songs. It’s simply, they fail to carry their very own when in comparison with the others.
My greatest music on Mushin 2 Mo’Hits needs to be Taboo. The manufacturing of this music is insane. However my favorite half is the informal swap from the mellow “Even when dem say na taboo” to the gang name and response, “Ki le leyi? Ileke”. It sounds so easy, but extremely effectively thought out, making Taboo among the finest Afropop songs of all time.
Last ideas
Folks say “means forward of its time” loosely, nevertheless it’s like the right method to describe Mushin 2 Mo’Hits. From the synth-heavy manufacturing to attractive lyrics and melodies, this album has influenced every part from Wizkid’s 2011 Superstar to Fireboy DML’s 2021 hit, Peru — I’m not the one one who thought Wande was the one singing the second verse.
Wande Coal and Don Jazzy created one thing particular with Mushin 2 Mo’Hits. Revisiting all of it these years later makes it an much more profound physique of labor. Wande has been and can at all times be the GOAT. Interval.
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