As 2020 slowly draws to a close (Thank The Good Lord), David Adeleke popularly known by his stage name Davido returns with his 4th studio album, A Better Time released on the 13th of November 2020.
Only a short year ago he released ‘A Good Time’, choosing to strike while the iron is still hot, he’s chosen to release his next album uncharacteristically soon. Nevertheless, I was excited to get new music from Davido.
The album contains 17 tracks and features 12 other artists from Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown and Young Thug, to Mayorkun, Sho Madjozi and Sauti Sol. There are several collaborations across the project, and although these may seem mismatched, some are surprisingly pleasant. The album cover served as a reveal of sorts of his one-year-old son Ifeanyi.
As a longtime fan, I was rooting for Davido; I wanted this album to be a back to back hit. And he comes through with a combination of mellow hits, and Afro house sounds like ‘Heaven’ with a beautiful trumpet backing.
My first impression is that there are some classic Davido hits, like my current favourite right now ‘Something Fishy’ and ‘Jowo’ and of course the single that became one of the most popular songs during the #EndSars protests ‘FEM’ unfortunately Davido misses an opportunity to experiment more as a solo artist.
The album title implies ‘A Better Time’ than its predecessor ‘A Good Time’ however, it does not quite reach this standard. Whilst ‘A Better Time’ includes an array of interesting features, these can be overwhelming, and as a result, the album doesn’t feel cohesive.
I’m going to take my own advice and sit in this for a few days, but I can already tell that there are a few growers that will become faves. Nonetheless, I know that this album will do well, it will be streamed multiple times as musical fans (myself included) all over the world listen for the more intricate melodies and compositions that might have been missed the first time around. And that’s how small fires become raging inferno’s.
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Davido: A Better Time Album Review
