DMW hitmaker Mayorkun shocked fans yesterday when he announced that he was releasing an EP with three remixes of his smash hit song Geng.
The EP has four tracks, the original Geng single, a UK remix featuring Russ and Ms Banks, an African remix featuring Kwesi Arthur, Riky Rick, Rayvanny and Innoss B, and a Nigerian remix with YCee, Sinzu, and surprisingly, rap rivals M.I Abaga and Vector.
The first Geng already had a reputation for being the official soundtrack for squad goals. But let’s dive into the remixes.
Naija Remix
Speaking of the quality of the beat, you already know that the Geng beat is Afro-pop and has a sort of psychedelic vibe to it. As for the lyrical quality and content of each rap…
Note that Vector, Ycee, and Sinzu had offered their freestyle to the February 28 freestyle remix of the song.
Sinzu’s lyrical quality was average. But, he stayed true to the idea of the track. Vector and MI were more interested in using their verses to attack people/diss people.
MI was more direct in his approach and attached his Twitter people. Could this be a reference to his Twitter beef with the viper? (MI attacks Twitter influencers in new Geng Remix could be another article from this). Ycee’s verse was good but with the drama in the track, it is easily forgettable.
MI’s verse, however, will be enjoyed in the long run. Once again the Chairman (MI) has shown that he can lyrically dope and offer relevant social commentary at the same time.
Was the remix worth it? Not quite. While hearing MI’s two cents on the running social commentary that Mayorkun’s Geng offers, we would have loved to hear newer people on the track
African Remix
While the artistes on this remix are relatively unknown in Nigeria, it was nice hearing how well the flavours of different regions of African music combined together.
Mayorkun’s target audience in Nigeria might not get much from the content of Rayvanny and Innoss B’s lyrics, Mayorkun has strategically opened himself to the rest of Africa which is a great move, for artists of his standing.
He stands to become a household name in Africa.
UK Remix
Grime has become more widely accepted as a subgenre of rap that no longer has a niche audience. Mayorkun’s decision to align with this could be thought of as a wise positioning.
He is content providing the chorus while the artists who know their thing play with the beat. Mayorkun probably knows where he is at the moment so this is really strategic.
It almost seems as if he is testing the beat across genres to understand its marketability and see if he should continue with music like this. He is testing the strength of the gene formula.
Ms Banks and Russ have great performance. But there is so much grime can do against Afrobeats when you are not doing it like Naira Marley.