By Chiagoziem Onyekwena
If money is a state of mind, then eLDee operates somewhere between devil-may-care and outlandish. And while his eye brow-raising lyrics about limitless success would prod even Aliko Dangote to ponder about buying shares in Trybes Records Nigeria Limited, eLDee is unperturbed by the disbelievers. These are the fruits of HIS labour and any onlooker who feels a certain way about his ostentation can feel free to jump into Lagos lagoon.
Capitalizing on the popularity of the catch phrase ‘Why you dey vex… Is it your money?’, cut up from the bridge of his monster hit Big Boy, Is It Your Money…Vol.1 is the Hip Hop veteran’s first full body of work since his third album Big Boy hit stores in ’08. Far from your average Hip Hop mixtape, Is it Your Money is a mixtape hybrid of sorts – a few beats borrowed here (Feel Good Music, Best I Ever Had) and a few singles remixed there (Bosi Gbangba, Big Boy), and eLDee has successfully crafted a well-balanced compilation disc. In as much as eLDee reworks some well-known tunes, there’s still more than enough spanking new music to qualify IIYM as an album. So for all intents and purposes, let’s call it a Mix-Album, shall we?
One criticism I had of eLDee’s narcissistic third LP Big Boy was his new-found penchant for overindulgence. Thankfully, eLDee is back to some awareness music on IIYM and while the well-thought out One Day doesn’t exactly strike a raw nerve the same way the harrowing I Go Yarn did in ’06, it does show that eLDee hasn’t lost touch with the grassroots that supported the Trybesmen movement in its infancy.
eLDee enlists fellow rapper/producer Dokta Frabz, his artiste Jimmy Flames and the perennially laid-back Naeto C on the Timberland-esque Feel Good Music, while foremost Nigerian Coalition DJ, DJ Dee Money provides a brief intro on the chest-thumping exercise that is Respect Me. However with all the collabo-love in the air, I couldn’t help but notice the omission of Trybe Record artistes Airis (first lady) and olaDELe (lieutenant) from the mix-album. They both miss out on a great opportunity to garner more exposure, their absence is conspicuous.
eLDee’s sojourn abroad opened up his contact list to include artistes like southern US Hip Hop star Yung Joc and (Black thoughts) the Roots . The challenge then for the veteran was to appeal to both worlds without disillusioning the other. So on the same album that contains the swaggering humour-laced Ogede, you’d also find Chiddy Bang’s introspective, punch line-driven Slow Down and the certified party banger Do It (which features the ever-improving femcee Kel). The result is that the mix- album is a musical buffet of sorts. Very few Hip Hop artists can pull off such diversity without sounding confused – eLDee is one of them.
On Is It Your Money… Vol 1, one of Nigeria’s Hip Hop’s founding fathers has almost completely morphed his sound. A process that seemed haphazard at first is now showing Mr Dabiri as one prepared to take the title of ‘maestro’.
IIYM should help eLDee consolidate on the spot his well-received single Big Boy placed him after his return from the States. So in that regard, I guess its mission accomplished for the veteran.
Rating: 3.5/5
10 comments
This is a well writen article it was straight to the point plzz keep it up. As for eldee i thinks he needs to be honor 4 a well done delievery. He was there when hiphop was not were to be found in 9ja n still doing his thing when d game has taken a new shape n ontop of his game. Personally i think is high time those that are still battling with beef in this game learn from d champion
This is a well writen article it is straight to the point plzz keep it up. As for eldee i thinks he needs to be honor 4 a well done delievery. He was there when hiphop was no were to be found in 9ja n still doing his thing when d game has taken a new shape n ontop of his game. Personally i think is high time those that are still battling with beef in this game learn from d champion
I'm sure dis writer must have benefitted from some of eldee's loot, cos dis write-up is just one-sided, that "best i ever had remake" is a track dt shldnt av been made at all, cos i think eldee kinda ridiculed himself wit dt remake. (same goes for naeto-c). They've matured enuf in dis industry to become trendsetters n nt dwnright copycats all in d name of mixtapes. d remake ws jst so mediocre n lacked creativity. we want artiste who can compete wit the best n not local champions!!
I am proudly in suport of d lst person cos for our finger re nt equal so we cn nt al get there @ d same tym. Much luv 2 eldee. Keep doing ur tyn,God is wt u. Bt stop d media bragg. Much luv
@t-man That's why this is a mixtape. Do you know what a mixtape is? An ardent hip hop fan would know that everybody makes mixtapes – Wale, Kid Cudi, Kanye, Lil Wayne etc. A mixtape is not an album, so the artist can do unconventional stuff. On mixtapes artists make remixes of already existing songs. Lil Wayne has remixed almost every popular song by other artists on his mixtapes. So please understand what this is before you hate
@TJ. nt dat we dnt kno dat remixes r usually a vital characteristic of mixtapes, but we hav 2 tel d truth, el's version of best i eva had was pure mediocre stuff. dint u hear lil wayne's version of jay-z's show me what u got? or jay-z's version of joe budden's pump it up?? or kanye's version of rich boy's throw sum Ds? eldee's stuff was nt it @ all
@jigga fan thnks so much fo explainin to them cos i think @TJ needs serious hiphop tutorial. If i criticize eldee am only tryna make him improve his art n nt hate, he aint affectin my earns. @TJ u need to go check d dict meanin of "Criticism" b4 u cme bck to dis board, aftrall nobody criticized M.I. fo his superb wrk on d "illegal music" mixtape.
So pls dnt hate me fo bein a true hiphop fan and critic! eldee song simply wasnt workin for me….. LOL!
Which kind dirty mixtape. HE DON TURN AM TO ALBUM JARE, dude is selling it now. Shit is under-par to me. What happens wen u try to turn a mixtape into a profit-making album—it SUCKS. not one single song comes anywhere near big boy or bosi gbangba
@tman. anytime brov
@it is my money. from d name 2 d comment… LMAO!!!
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