adminTechnically “D’ Kings Men” is a compilation album featuring Kay Switch and J Sol but D’Banj features on 17 out of the 20 tracks, so we will take this as D’Banj’s first effort in the post-Don Jazzy era.
Ski Banj/Banga Lee has endured a lot of backlash, criticisms and insults since the infamous split which has affected the perception of his music.
Fans wouldn’t give D’Banj’s new songs half a chance because they lacked Don Baba Jay’s magic touch.
D’Banj is aware of this and fights back on several tracks on DKM.
On “Don’t Tell Me Nonsense” he charges his entourage to slap the hell out of anyone who has the guts to tell him crap. He also reminds all that he has been in the game for a while and he is still relevant.
“You will need me (finally)/you will love me (finally)/you will need me (finally)/you will want me (finally)” sings D’Banj on the bridge of “Finally” which sounds like a soft warning to people who have counted him out.
And on “Blame It on the Money” featuring Snoop Lion and Big Sean D’Banj flaunts his wealth in front of his pesky haters. You can easily picture D’Banj’s G.O.O.D Music cohorts doing Kanye West’s “Niggas In Paris” dance to the dark, bouncy Southern hip-hop beat.
Speaking of Kanye West, the international pop superstar makes a cameo on the remix of “Scape Goat”.
It is basically the same song but features two lacklustre Kanye West verses.
“Anybody who ain’t tell you, you was beautiful today need their ass beat/ as we proceed, Island breeze, light the weed’ lazily raps Yeezy or is it Yeezus.”
Another collaborative misstep is the transnational disaster by the name of “Nous Les Meilleurs (We The Best)” featuring Falli Ipupa. The song shouldn’t have been on this project at all.
When not slaying his foes or nabbing high profile features, D’Banj does what he knows how to do best, which is to entertain.
He doesn’t have Michael Collins to lean on for beats so Dapo Oyebanjo uses his thick wallet that he sings about on “Cash Flow” featuring Kay Switch and buys the best beats money can buy.
“Trance” is a menacing and enchanting beat that really puts you in a trance. The energy on the song is so high that the normally chilled Naeto C stretches his vocals as he raps “when I’m around there is no safe place/for those f. . . ck boys so make haste/ I am just trying to feed this appetite cos success tastes so great!”
“Bachelor” is another concrete pop concoction with its hard hitting bassline. The beats don’t do all the work.
D’Banj still has his infectious charm which works on several tracks most notably on the album intro “Do You Feel”.
Banga Lee boasts that he is the new Man of Steel over a simple instrumental. On “Ibadi E” he sings about the well-worn out subject (a woman’s ass) where his former archrival/doppelgänger/friend/housemate Durella and his new buddy Olamide steal the spotlight from his fellow DKM brethren Kay Switch and J Sol. Banga Lee and Badoo Lee continue their bromance on “First of All Remix”. This version isn’t as addictive and humorous as Olamide’s smash single.
The major flaw of DKM comes from Kay Switch. While he shines excellently on the highlife inspired “Obi Mo” featuring his big bro who rolls back the years as he plays the harmonica, Kay Switch’s inability to stick to one genre and master it is his Achilles heel. “For Example” and “Show My Logo” are skippable tracks on the DKM set.
Thankfully DB Records’ best kept secret J. Sol saves the day. He shines like a million diamonds on the EDM “Silver & Gold” with his breezy cool voice.
Even Kay Switch and D’Banj’s average verses couldn’t drown the song. J Sol is no fluke as he drops another stellar performance on the Caribbean-influenced “Money On My Mind”. Unfortunately, J. Sol only makes three appearances on the album with no solo performance of his own.
On “D’ Kings Men” there are no huge pop anthems like the ones crafted by Don Jazzy in the Mo’ Hits period.
What we have on this compilation are strong pop songs hinged on D’Banj’s infectious personality and amazing instrumentals.
The doomsday prophecies concerning D’Banj’s demise do not come through on this compilation, on the contrary he is flourishing.
“D’ Kings Men” exposes us to D’Banj’s new kingdom. He is still very much a king with a smaller but promising empire. — NET.
Online Reporter