In an interview in January, Kold AF was asked to explain the origins of her name. She said she picked it because it sounds similar to ‘cold.’ This revelation implies that previous heartbreaks have left her unfeeling and immune to romantic entreaties. It is not uncommon for people, with wounds still fresh from sour romantic encounters, to disavow such relationships; and in January, the Delta state indigene, whose birth name is Aninooritsewarami Oritsesan, was firmly in the category. “The kind of music I do is tied to heartbreak. It is like a villain origin story,” she said in the interview. At the time, she was promoting her two-single pack, Kold Szn. One of its tracks, Blues, bore this mindset, detailing her hurt with lines like “Wrong wey you do me, deserve a medal/ Now I dey bitter, call me bitter kola.”
But time heals most wounds, and her debut EP, Kollide, reveals her to have begun the healing process which, understandably, is still far from complete. The first of six tracks, Broken, seeks to set her in the depression of the past, though her writing is a little uninspired: “You make me so broken/ I’m really broken/ My wounds are open/ I have no emotion,” she sings in the chorus. Kollide is co-helmed by French producer BGRZ (short for Bangerz), who has produced songs by Pheelz, Omah Lay, 1da Banton, and more. He builds Kold AF’s sonic world in her signature domain where RnB and Dancehall interact, with occasional trips to Hip-hop and Afropop.
Broken saw her come to terms with a toxic relationship and its effects on her psyche, but on Chess And Checkers she chooses hostility over helpless acceptance. Her writing here is markedly improved, and over a lo-fi Hip-hop production, she first details the betrayal and hurt she suffered at the hands of her lover: “You talking shit behind my back huh/ On a real, everybody know how you act up,” before expressing a supercilious confidence in her ability to not only counter these moves but surpass them: “I’m playing chess, you’re playing checkers”.
Her emotional maturity reflects in the switch in confidence between these two tracks, but even more in her willingness to give love one more try later in the EP. On the breezy Love N Peace, where Kold AF lists requirements for a new lover, her voice and the breezy production are as soothing as the affection she desires, the “love wey go give me that peace.” But she will not jump headfirst into her next romantic experience, especially when the bulk of her discography details the ugliness of her previous encounters. She patiently outlines what she expects of a new partner..
“Love wey go high me, calm me, gimme more ease/ love wey fi cool me down, so I feel relief” is her end goal, and this time she will patiently search for this special person. In return for this special affection, Kold promises: “Give all my devotion/ To the one I’ve chosen”. Later on Kollide, she gets the chance to redeem this pledge, when she portrays for the first time, a picture of love still in its blooming stages. This plays out in Tension, where a love-struck Kold glides unhurried over BRGZ’s swirling reggae soundscape. She captures her excitement for this new journey as well as the disbelief that it is even happening at all: “You warmed a heart that was chilly/ I no reason say this would be me,” before renewing all vows of commitment from her end: “Wanna grow old with you/ Spend all of my pension/ Lengths I fit go pass the human comprehension”.
It looks to be the perfect match, and a happy ending seems to be in the offing , but Kollide is where contrasting emotions intersect, a potpourri of love and lust, of healthy and toxic relationships. When she dips her ladle into the bowl, there’s no telling what comes next. It is therefore not surprising that her closing track, Two Man Ting has her back where she started, as she examines the black box of a crashed relationship to diagnose what went wrong: “For 45 minutes I dey wonder/ What went wrong I dey ponder.” Once more BGRZ reprises his mix of reggae swagger dipped in mellow percussion, over which Kold proclaims with finality, “It’s over/ you gotta know that I’m done with.”
Kold AF curates a panoramic experience with her debut EP, and she makes good use of the six tracks it contains, even including an aspirational song about the struggle of making it as an artist which is aptly titled Nobody To Somebody. It is a perspective that is not often seen in music—most struggle tales are only chronicled in retrospect after the artist has transcended levels. Kold AF will hope Kollide is the project to propel her towards these goals, and with its detailed storytelling and uniquely crafted RnB-based soundscape, she has furnished her debut EP with the right elements to make it happen.