Artiste- BrymO
Guest Appearances- David
Producer- Mikky Me
Label-
Duration- 32 minutes
BrymO has delivered the best album of his career and of
the year.
Merchant, Dealers and Slaves is a beautiful, emotionally
rich and soulful construction from BrymO. The singer with
the rich voice delivers the best album of his career till date
as he faces legal woes with his record label Chocolate
City.
While his second album Son of A Kapenta did have its
flashy moments, it was devoid of soul. After his
controversial announcement saying he was no longer
working with Choc City, BrymO went into seclusion to
work on his third album. With producer Mikky Me
orchestrating the lush and layered instrumentals that wraps
the album nicely into a cohesive piece of aural art,
BrymO's soulful and thick voice glides, floats and stumps
its way into your soul.
The album is darker and more reflective. On the surface it
is the story of a village boy who leaves his town for the
seducing bright lights of Lagos city. In his quest for
money, BrymO gets wise to the wiles of life. That's just
the top layer. Merchant, Dealers and Slaves is about
broken promises, deception, hypocrisy and unfaithfulness.
Merchant, Dealers and Slaves starts with love. 'You be like
my blueprint/there is no plan without you/there is
something about you, truthfully' sings BrymO on the great
qualities of his woman. Love doesn't pay bills so by the
next track BrymO is all about the pursuit of money. Backed
up by a menacing guitar played by David, the former Choc
Boi's mind is on money. It's a playful track with BrymO
mocking his empty pockets and boasting to a banker that he
will be loaded by the end of the year.
Within the next two tracks, BrymO dumps his girlfriend
named Titilope for all the riches and wealth 'Eko' (Lagos)
has to offer. No one knows what BrymO meets in Lagos
but it's pretty clear that he didn't meet the Golden Fleece
based on the mood and tone of most of the remaining songs
on the album. On the brooding 'Down' BrymO is disgusted
about the sexual merry go round that is happening in the
society. Using liquor to ease his pain and disappointment,
BrymO on 'Cheap Wine' is hopeful despite the gloomy
circumstances. 'You see the good times never come. We
take the bad one and drink our cheap wine. Yo da, yo da (it
will be good)…' encourages BrymO. The title of the track
also serves as an indicator that he is not living the life of
luxury he expected.
Earlier on the album, BrymO made it sound like that he
was the one who dumped his girlfriend. On one of the best
tracks on the album 'Purple Jar', the singer reveals the real
reason why his relationship with Titilope ended on the first
verse. He was unfaithful. Coming to terms that what he had
with her can never be gotten back he moves on to another
woman. However his fame and love scars won't allow him
love her wholly. The harmonica solo on this track is soul
hunting and enriches the spirit of the song. There's a line in
the second verse that caught my attention. When BrymO
says 'half of my heart has gone famous' does it mean he
found fame in Lagos but not money? Is the whole album
some sort of loose narrative about his experiences with
mainstream music? BrymO sounds so disillusioned on this
album, his wide grin replaced with a thoughtful and sad
facial expression.
On the Reggae influenced 'Everybody Gets to Die', BrymO
sings about inequality in the society. 'The poor man wants
a space, the rich man wants the place' he sings backed by
soulful horns. The singer gets philosophical on the song
which boasts of yet another amazing production.
The centre piece of M, D and S is 'Se Bo'timo'. BrymO
delivers the entire track in his native tongue Yoruba (the
only track of such on the album). With a proverb that says
'if you put an egg on your left palm and another egg on
your right palm and walk to Iseyin in Oyo backwards, those
who will praise you will and those who will criticize you
will' BrymO tells us that no matter what you do in life
people will talk. Just do you. This is BrymO's finest hour
as he channels the musical wisdom of singers in the 70's.
He obviously didn't find money in Lagos but his
experiences have made him a wiser man. On the epilogue
of the LP, BrymO delivers the title track and classifies
people in three categories, 'merchants, dealers and slaves'.
It's a very short track which ends with an illuminating
acoustic jam. When listening to this track you get the
feeling that BrymO might be heading back home to his
village. Maybe he will end up patching things with Titilope
and drink a bottle of cheap wine with his rolling stone
grandfather which he sings about on 'Grand Pa', just
maybe.
BrymO might be fighting for his music career at the
moment but the former Chocolate Boy has delivered the
album of his life.
Just eleven tracks long, BrymO has created a piece of work
that will amaze, astound and more than impress even his
most fervent critics. His voice sounds richer and
rejuvenated. The production on the album is layered with
enough soul to last three generations. And it probably will
because BrymO is essentially saying that all that glitters is
not gold, a well-known saying. Is it a classic? It's too early
for that. Is it a masterpiece? It is a soulful masterpiece that
is emotionally charged with amazing production. Merchant,
Dealers and Slaves is the best sounding album of the year
– at least so far.
Rating- 4.5/5
Source: Thenet
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