DUNCAN MIGHTY AWARDS NIGERIAN WITH HIS LATEST ALBUM
Artiste – Duncan Mighty
Guests – Timaya, Double Jay
Producers – Duncan Wene Mighty Okechukwu
Record Label – Young Wealth Records (2016)
Duration – 51 minutes
Using the term ‘comeback’ to describe an artiste is a
euphemism to describe the irrelevance of the musician. That’s the word
that is constantly being linked to Duncan Mighty, the
strongman of Port Harcourt who has put the city on the map of Nigerian
music, and continues to do so. There’s no need for ‘comeback’. Duncan Mighty never left the scene.
The
Niger Delta native’s previous records have been on a steady supply of
his content. From the two classics “Koliwater (Fully Loaded)” (2008) and
“Ahamefuna (Legacy)” 2010, to the more niche-catering LPs –
“Footprints" (2012), “Grace & Talent” (2014) – Wene Mighty has never
left. He has maintained his music, diversified his business via
dabbling into political leadership in his home state (Rivers), and
stayed strong on his recording.
His new album “The Certificate” has him in keeping with his
signature sounds and elements, as he chases fulfilment and upliftment on
this one. Duncan Mighty digs into his best works, studies the formula
that made him become a champ, and replicates it on this work to effect.
There’s the boastful, gimmicky home anthem on ‘Port Harcourt girl’,
which was born out of the success of his famous song ‘Port Harcourt
Boy’. His pop credential after all, makes him the first born of the
city, and he aims to give back on the song ‘Tinubu. It’s easily
one of his best tunes to date, a profound dose of euphoric folk and pop
fusion that lingers long after its last seconds are exhausted. ‘Hataz’ shares a similar throbbing energy, but this one is sunny, almost tropical and speaks on an all-encompassing topic
Mighty makes this album more
representative of the excitement in the city. So he brings all the
influences from his past works. The reggae is here on ‘Na lie’, and on the title track, he resorts to his love of Latino influences from the banjo. ‘Onyinye’
swaggers along as a proud promethean creation which is a confluence of
all his core topics (love, positivity, thanksgiving, and inspiration).
While the minimalist ‘DJs Anthem’ is an ode to the disc jockeys who have
continually kept their corners with Duncan Mighty.
Just like his first ever album, Duncan Mighty
has not chased change or altered the basics of his music making
process. The beats are uniquely minimalist and safe, employing processed
synths and beats, and guitars that are played live and chopped up to
sound like they have been sampled. This runs through the entire album,
making it sound fresher than all of his other projects, but retaining
his signature DNA at the centre. This is not a ‘comeback’ for Duncan
Mighty. It’s an extension of his whelming influence from the Niger
Delta, to the rest of Nigeria.
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