Wizkid Reaches Lofty Heights On Deluxe Version Of ‘Made In Lagos’

Several conversations prefaced the release of the deluxe version of Wizkid’s fourth studio album, Made In Lagos. But these two ring true and perfectly spotlight the generational nature of the music the self-proclaimed StarBoy has made in recent years; one of them being that Afrobeat is now the new crude, a phenomenon the album’s now fan-favorite standout, Essence, can testify to and the other being the fact that only legends, living and otherwise, make deluxe versions of albums. One contribution to this particular conversation cited the likes of Wizkid’s American counterparts, Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé, with whom he snagged his first Grammy, but in the midst of the high praise, the truth synthesized from the conversations is what matters most.

On the eighteen-track version, Wizkid pitches his tent with men of the moment across the globe; Justin Bieber, on the earlier released remix of Essence, a chart-topper, and record-breaker, Buju on Mood. As much as he was on the original version, Wizkid is still open to collaboration and this doesn’t take anything away from the star power that underlines each of the four new tracks.

Earlier, following the release of the original version, many theories highlighted Wizkid’s newly adopted habit of lazy performance but having provided us with an eighteen-track range, it’s clear he only does things with ease and smoothness now. These are the features that define the smooth percussions that direct his equally easy narratives on the Deluxe version. From Anoti, the P.Priime produced ode to fun, with its shaky and vibrant percussions to the sharp but lulling synths fused perfectly with Buju’s off-kilter inflections on Mood, the sheerness of Steady that promotes the drowsiness that accompanies lust, an emotion Wizkid is subjected to on the track and finally, to Essence, Wizkid shows he has nothing more to prove now, music does that for him now.