After collaborating with Beyoncé on “Brown Skin Girl”, the biggest hit off her Grammy-nominated soundtrack album, The Lion King: The Gift, it seems Wizkid picked up the singer’s affinity for surprise releases: He just unexpectedly dropped a new EP, SoundMan Vol.1.
While this isn’t the project fans were expecting from him — he’s been teasing the release of his Made In Lagos album for a while now — it’s hard to complain about getting new Wizkid music, even when it, like this EP, doesn’t quite rise to the heights of his previous work.
Over 7 tracks, Wizkid tackles themes of love and gratitude. On “Mine”, one of his most romantic efforts to date, he tries to win the heart of a woman he loves; and on “Thankful”, the project’s standout song, he thanks God for how far he has come in his career.
Even though Wizkid does sound really good on the EP, the real stars are the producers, who steal every song. From Kel P on the jazzy “Ease Your Mind” to London on the sultry “Electric”, it’s clear why they are all credited as featured acts on their respective tracks.
SoundMan Vol. 1 is clearly meant to serve as an appetiser before the main course that is his album, and it safe to say that it succeeds on that front. Will it move the needle in any major way? Probably not. But it should satisfy fans in the meantime.
Listen to SoundMan Vol.1 below:
