Runtown Tradition album Review
Douglas Jack Agu aka Runtown wrote his name among the Nigerians greatest hit makers some years back with his “mad over you” hit. He has faced some of the darkest time in his carrier; from the mic to lawsuits. However Runtown has been able to always find a way to the microphone to make good music. Sticking to his slow tempo sound for about four to three years now; he has found a way to turn the mad over you ponpon sound into his music style. Runtown’s Tradition album like “mad over you” has the same afropop ponpon sound style dominated with a lot of pad and orchestral tune sounds.
Runtown shows with his album that he is more comfortable as a soul/RnB artist. Adding elements of Afrobeats and High-life in his records, he has been able to create a sound that Nigerian music lovers around the world will groove to. However, this album is not lit because the sound is not new and the stories in the songs are not new. The songs in this album are not bad but they are not great either. They are just normal songs that the listener won’t have issues listening to because they have good production and sound.
THE THEME
The songs in this album revolves around women, love and hustle. He sings about how he is a good lover and a good hustler. “International Bad man killa” talks about his effect on ladies. He talks about girls shivering when they see him roll by in his Lamborghini. He hails his friends and guys in the hood who have always been by his side from day one. “Redemption” has him talks of the ill feeling that a lady he is madly in love with gives him. He begs the girl to give him redemption.
“Tradition” has him go back to his more comfortable RnB sound using a beat from a late 90s/ early 2000s sound. He labels making money his tradition. He claims that haters want to see him broke but he tries every day to make more money. In other songs he goes about telling short stories of either women, money or hustle with slow suiting beats.
THE PRODUCTION
Working with Spellz, the producer who work closely with Nigerian female pop star “Tiwa Savage”; Runtown produced songs which are dominated with calm orchestral tunes and pads marrying it with Igbo ponpon highlife sound to create some very nice Afropop beats. One of the best beats in this album is “Bad man Killa”. The use of the orchestral tune and harmonic sound in the beat is a total sound mastery especially when one is talking about good Afropop sounds.
One thing that makes Runtown’s sound good is the time that he gives to his production. From word play to good engineering. Runtown might make songs with the same sound but because of his attention to details, he always ends up making good music.
POSSIBLE HIT OR FLOPS
All the songs in this album can become hit songs because they all have the potential. The problem with the songs is that they begin to sound every boring when you play them over time. However, it is going to be very bad to label any of the songs bad because they are not really bad. The only problem they have is that they are not great songs.
Runtown Tradition album Review
