By Akinnibosun Kehinde
The average avid music listener has on more than one occasion experienced the feeling of getting high in anticipation of the sophomore album release of a buzzing artist. Only to rush to the music streaming platform or record shop (as it was back in the days ) on the day it drops, and realize their expectations weren’t met. The term sophomore slump in music refers to an instance in which a second, or sophomore effort of an artist fails to live up to the relatively high standards of their first effort. Following up on a successful debut body of work isn’t as easy as falling off a log. Over the years, there have been more cases of artists failing to beat the second album slump syndrome than the flip side occurring. The major reason for this trend cannot be unassociated with the pressure that comes with the success of their debut body of work. The artist is faced with the hurdle of matching the success he or she has brewed up with his debut project to keep up with the hype and erase any thoughts of being a flash in the pan. Also, ’record label alteration’ is another reason for this. The freedom of artists at the start of their career to hone their craft might be altered by their record label. All the facets that made people fall in love with their debut work have been removed and replaced with a tired, commercialized sound just to set the cheques rolling. This is a particular occurrence in the rap genre scene.
Nonetheless, as important as the sophomore album is, in the career of an artist, having a subpar one doesn’t necessarily spell doom. A number of artists, who have followed up their brilliant debut of work with an awful one, have turned the story around with their subsequent albums. A prime example of this is Burna Boy. Some also don’t have solid debut works but follow it up with quality projects.
We look into five Nigerian music acts who made album number two look like a breeze, either cementing the success of their first album with an even bigger follow-up or matching the premium quality they pulled with the first. Enjoy
- Mi Abaga: MI 2
Release date: 2011
Debut: Talk About It
Many might argue that Mi Abaga’s magnum opus is his debut album,’TALK ABOUT IT’, an album which undoubtedly paved the way for a new style of Nigerian rap, ” easy on the words heavy on the style and delivery” as described by music journalist , Osagie Alonge. A formula which M.I quickly found out to woo his audience to a fixed state. As such, that assertion might not be far fetched. But his follow up album, ”MI2 The Movie”, is certainly in the league of Nigeria’s most anticipated and well-delivered albums of all time. The night the album was released, it trended number 8 on the Worldwide trend list on the social media platform, Twitter. The contents of the project also did justice to its hype. I mean, for a rap album that wasn’t devoid of the principles of the rap genre, scoring major radio hits and locking heads with other Nigerian consumer-friendly genres for major awards. It certainly was a mindblowing project.
Sidenote: Mi Abaga has no bad project
2)Asa: Beautiful Imperfection
Release date: 2010
Debut project: Asha/ Asa
Bukola “Asa” Elemide followed up her critically acclaimed self named debut album, ’Asa’ with a fantastic album titled ’Beautiful Imperfection’, in 2010. The album might not be her best work, as her debut was a tremendous one, it was certainly a good follow-up project. The album was a mixture of soul, reggae, lyrics in English and Yoruba. The album also showed a much groovier side to the Paris born Nigerian, in comparison to her self-titled debut, which was intense and socially conscious.
3) Olamide: Ybnl
Release date: 2012
Debut: Rapsodi
’Rapsodi’, Olamide’s debut album might not have been a groundbreaking project, but it was, however, an album that catapulted Olamide into the limelight, brewing people up in huge anticipation of what was to come next. His follow up album, ’YBNL ’ came two years after and was undoubtedly a case of a bigger album follow-up. The album spawned hits such as; First of all, Ilefo Illuminati, etc. It was a project Olamide exhibited his full lyrical prowess and dexterity. For the average Olamide ”stan”, picking ’YBNL’ out of his enormous album discography as their favorite, is a no brainer.
4) 2baba :Grass 2 Grace
Release date: 2006
Debut name: Face 2 Face
’Grass to Grace’ was released on the 16th of the last month of the year 2006. It was the follow up to the first album of 2face’s solo career,’Face to Face’, which was released in 2004. The album is without a doubt the blueprint for Nigerian pop music. It was a good follow up project, matching the top quality of his previous work. The album spawned a string of top evergreen records such as See me So, True love, If love is a crime. The album also won him numerous awards, including a MOBO award in 2007.
5)Phyno : The Playmaker
Release date: 2016
Debut: Man of the year
In 2014, Phyno unquestionably delivered a solid debut LP with the release of ’No Guts No Glory’. The success of the album no doubt set the tone for his music career. However, it was the project follow-up that cemented Phyno’s footing in the music industry. Released in 2016, ’The Playmaker’ as an album is a confirmation of Phyno’s present status in the music scene. The album housed two major hits tracks across the country, ’Connect’ and ’Fada Fada’.
Notable Mentions
Psquare – Get Squared
Rugged man – Ruggedey Baba
Timaya – Gift and Grace
