The Nigerian music industry is gravitating towards becoming a hub for generational hybrids of music stars, creating space with upgrades for veterans with return tickets to the industry. In the past couple of years, a good number of veterans have elected to use their return tickets, some ruining them and others like 2Baba who recently rebranded and came out with his 8th studio album, making magic out of them.
This month, we get the pleasure of hearing Sound Sultan, an early millennium music gem, famous in this generation for singles like Mathematics, and though it’s been ages since he even put out any single to cushion the release of his latest album titled 8th Wondah, which makes it his 8th, his re-entry is nonetheless welcome.
The atmosphere on the album is one that welcomes the old and new with retro undertones that indicate Sound Sultan’s roots in early hip-hop. He leverages his ability to blend into any situation in the way he snakes through different genres and times on the album. He goes from street to cultured country to neo-afropop in one full swoop, basking in his ability to toe the lines of different musical eras.
With a dynamic A-list artist lineup that includes artists like Teni, Wizkid, Falz and more, Sound Sultan keeps his feet rooted in the volatile industry, coming with the force of the old and delivering music that might stand the test of time.