1st December, 2023
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Nigerian sonic artist and songwriter, Olawale Ashimi Ọlọfọrọ best known as Brymo has released his 12th studio album, titled “Macabre”, his first album as a sonic artist.
The award-winning singer via his social media pages — Instagram and X — announced the album’s release, describing it as an “the best album in the world is out??”
Macabre is out!!… the best album in the world is out??. pic.twitter.com/W2oLOVAguF
— Ọláwálé (Ashimi) Ọlọ́fọ̀ọrọ̀ (@BrymOlawale) December 1, 2023
This 14-track album is packed with fresh and original songs from Brymo, showcasing a new chapter in his career where he takes the solo spotlight.
Brymo describes the album as a “Reggae album sung in English,” highlighting that the album’s musical style is rooted in reggae and the lyrics are primarily in the English language.
This signifies an exciting departure from his previous work and promises a unique listening experience for his fans.
Brymo had already informed his fans that he would drop a body of work dubbed ‘Mansa’ his eleventh album before the year runs out and pointed out that ‘Macabre’ will be his official studio album as a Sonic artiste.
Mansa, his eleventh studio album and debut as a sonic artist, was exhibited at KAP Hub on 3 March 2023. He revealed the album’s cover art the previous year and said Mansa would be released in the first quarter of 2023. He also said only one copy of the album would be available for purchase and that it would be sold for $500,000.
The Sonic franchise covers many genres of music, including electronic, pop, funk, rock, hip hop and orchestral.
On May 27, Brymo, released his 10th studio album titled ‘Theta‘ his third major project in barely a year. In 2021, he came through with ‘Harmattan and Winter’ as well as ‘Esan’, his eighth and ninth albums respectively which had no special guest appearance.
In August, the controversial singer dropped a joint project with heavyweight award-winning rapper AQ titled “Ethos”, a project that is still getting traction.
‘Yellow’, his seventh studio album came after OSO (The Wizard) which dropped in 208 and his first project since, AAA – the debut 5-track EP from a band of the same name. The band consists of Brymo, guitarist Jad Moukarim, drummer Adey Omotade, and bassist Laughter.
The band’s eponymous debut Extended Play (EP), a five-tracker was released on August 5, 2019. A fusion of African folk and psychedelic rock, the EP was recorded at Blackstar Studios in Ikoyi, Lagos, and was mixed and mastered by Mikky Me Joses.
Brymo released his first album, Brymstone in 2007 – it was released independently. What is widely regarded to be his best album, Merchants, Dealers, and Slaves dropped in 2013.
Brymo’s music is a mixture of fuji, R&B, pop and rock. His albums Merchants, Dealers & Slaves and Tabula Rasa were hinged on the social injustice and chaos that are prevalent in the Nigerian society.
The Oleku crooner started recording music in 1999, and the title of his first song was Future, while in secondary school. In 2002, he and some of his friends formed a group called The Aliens. Between 2004 and 2005, the group had problems and disbanded in 2005.
Brymo gained admission to Lagos State University (LASU), where he studied zoology, but left after his second year to pursue a career in music. He released his debut studio album, Brymstone in 2007, and follow up with his second studio album titled The Son of a Kapenta, which he released in 2012. Three singles — Ara, Good Morning and Go Hard, supported the album.
Prior to the album release, he signed a record deal with Chocolate City in 2010 but was accused of breaching his contract with the label in 2013. His third studio album Merchants, Dealers & Slaves was released on October 20, 2013; it received positive reviews from music critics and was preceded by two singles— Down and Eko.
In October 2014, Brymo released his fourth studio album Tabula Rasa; its lead single Fe Mi was described as a soft traditional ballad. On December 8, 2015, he released an eight-track compilation album titled Trance.
He signed an international distribution deal with Tate Music Group in 2015, and released his fifth studio album Klĭtôrĭs on May 9, 2016. It comprises 11 tracks and was preceded by the lead single Happy Memories.
He has released books Oriri’s Plight (2018), Verses (2020) and The Bad Tooth (2022), and starred in the films Price of Admission (2021) and Elesin Oba, The King’s Horseman (2022).
In an interview with The Cable Lifestyle newspaper, Brymo said Mansa is the first of a three-part sonic project he plans to release in the next three years.