Review: #EME 'State Of Mind'

The Empire Mates State of Mind album could serve as the playlistof a wild house party. Justhook your laptop to some mean speakers, hit play and turn up the volume. With a crew made up of sure hit-makers such as Banky W and Wizkid , the experienced Niyola , the rapper/singer Skales and the freshness of Shaydee Boi , this EME album is predominantly made of party jams. The group starts with the hit ‘ Baddest Boy ’ featuring Wizkid, Skales and Banky W which has already been bumping on radio stations and clubs for a while now. The same trio appear on the next track ‘ Get Down Tonight ’ which gets things really kicking. It’s still the same formula – Wizzy holds the hook and drops the first verse while Banky W and Skales do their thing on the otherverses. The new boy Shaydee makes his debut on ‘ Sun Mo Mi ’ alongsideSkales and Mr Wellington. On the ‘ Don’t Dull ’ influenced beat, Shaydee flexes his R&B tinged vocals. EME’s golden boy Wizkid raises the temperature on‘ Roll ’ It. While Banky W features on the song, it’s quite clear that on this song, Wizkid runs the show. The party continueson ‘ Find My Trouble ’ featuring Banky W, Shaydee and Skales. Wizkid appears in all his pop glory on ‘ Body ’. He rocks this beat on a solo tip and delivers a song that will definitely be a hit on the dance floor. With Shizzy (producer of the Davido ’s smash hit ‘ Dami Duro ’) on the beat, Wizkid’s breezy raplike flow makes sure you burn some calories. Skales solo appearance isnext. On ‘ Ko Mo Le ’ Skales shows that he has matured as a pop artiste. While some of his early fans didn’t embrace his debut single ‘ Mukulu ’, ‘ Ko Mo Le ’ sounds like a song that will convince even the harshest critic. The momentum stops on ‘ Dance ’ featuring Banky W & X.O Senavoe, as the Euro-pop sound doesn’t keep up with the groove of earlier tracks. Niyola, with her talent andexperience, picks things back up with ‘ Don’t Go There ’. It is a mature, well-structured party song from Ms Nini. Wizkid can’t seem to relive the magic on ‘ London Girl ’. Fortunately he makes up for his slip-up on the Sarz produced ‘ Dance For Me’ . Next up is panty dropping music, where Shaydee once againshows he is a grounded R&B artiste on the track ‘ Follow Go House ’. Skales vocals aren’t vintage R&B, but Shaydee’s voice comes in at the right time to set themood. R&B lovers will surely love this one. Banky W wraps things up nicely on the track. The half Nigerian, half Cameroonian, Skales drops another solo offering on ‘ My Baby ’. This time he gives us the best of both worlds, rapping and singing on this mid-tempo cut. It’s back to R&B settings on ‘ Only You ’ featuring Nigerian-born American singer Rotimi , Banky W and Shaydee. The main trio (Wizkid, Skales and Banky W) appear on the thumping ‘ Reppin’ EMEazzyyy ’ which features a chopped and screwed line of BankyW’s on eLDee ’s 2008 hit song ‘ Big Boy ’. Skales and Niyola handle things on ‘ Wetin I Want ’ which takes us back to the dance floor. But it’s not allparty and steamy songs; The EME team waves the green-white-green flag on‘ Change ’. Wedding songs are the in-thing right now, and The EME team also sticks their fork into that pie with‘ See My Mama ’ by Wizkid, Banky W and Skales. The song is a decent attempt to get the bride and groom moving. The crew’s disc jockey, DJ Xclusive gets his DJ Khaled on on ‘ Can’t Stop Us ’- the obligatory posse cut