A TOUCH OF DRAKE AND SKEPTA ON WIZKID’S ‘OJUELEGBA’
It is said that whatever Drake (Aubrey Graham) touches turns into gold. Those who coined this statement backed it up with solid examples. The ‘Drake Effect’ has indeed paved the way for some artistes to hit mainstream. The list runs tall- from Migos (Versace), ILoveMakonnen (Tuesday), Fetty Wap (My Way), The Weekend (The Zone), Future (Tony Montana), to PND (Over Here).
Drake has extended his ‘effect’ to Africa with a remix feature on one of the biggest songs currently playing on the Continent. On his OVO Sound session on Apple’s Beat 1 Radio, over the weekend, he surprisingly, unveiled a remix of Nigeria’s leading pop artiste Wizkid’s Ojuelegbe. The remix also features UK based rapper with Nigerian heritage Skepta.
The 2014 released Ojuelegba produced by Legendury Beatz- which was on Wizkid’s sophomore Ayo, boast a mellow highlife beat with Wizkid singing about his hustle to success story on the streets of Ojuelegba, Lagos. The song had previously been remixed by Ghanaian rap act Sarkodie earlier this year.
We just getting started ! I got 3 songs with Chris brown !! We gon fuck up the air waves! Respect the sound! #Starboy
— Wizkid Ayo Balogun (@wizkidayo) July 12, 2015
Drake’s appearance on the remix, according to news happened after Skepta, who is Drake’s pal played him the original track during his UK tour. Critics have, however, pointed out to Drake’s efforts on the remix as ‘average’. That notwithstanding, his appearance has undoubtedly given Wizkid and the song a global mileage. Evidence of this can be seen by the huge coverage on leading international websites, blogs and social media.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6poS1zBQQfU]
Skepta stole the show without any argument. His rap embraced his earlier struggles in the UK as a kid, keeping his ambition alive and how he ascends to the top scene of UK Grime as he confidently lays bare:
‘I had to tell my story cos they’d rather show you black kids
With flies on their faces on the television’.
There have been the question of how this Drake feature would impact on African music or Wizkid’s career outside the borders of Africa into the US and European markets. For Wizkid, it is upon him to exploit on this fame to his advantage. Despite having worked with Chris Brown (Starboy tweeted he has 3 songs with Chris on his upcoming album), he couldn’t penetrate into the US or European market. This remix has got more traction than any previous Wizkid collaboration with any international act. If his team works right, they might get to where they want to go.
S/o to @Drake for pushing this Canadian movement its very important and also for his Nigerian and Jamaican support.
— Vince Staples (@vincestaples) July 12, 2015
Not only has this remix notch up Wizkid’s global profile but also introduced Skepta to the rest of the African continent and earn Drake much respect from fans on the continent. Surely, Wizkid has every right to scream out loud ‘I’m feeling good tonight/This thing got me thanking God for life/I can’t explain… Ojuelegba, you know my story’
Listen to Ojuelegba remix
http://www.audiomack.com/embed4/ovo3030/ojuelegba-remix
written by: @swayekidd
