We have all listened to that one song that seemed good having been sung by the original artistes but instantly becomes an addictive pill when another artistes lays his vocals and artistry on it. Other times, there are songs we do not really appreciate until another artistes pulls it out of a rack, making it their own by adding grandeur and taking out the complexities that at first made it a no go area for you.
Hera Are Top 5 Cover Songs Nigerian Artistes Slayed
1. Thinking out loud/Funbi: Several treatments were meted out to Ed Sheeran’s ubiquitous song, Thinking out loud but what Funbi did with this song can only be describes as a subtle yet explosive act. Thinking out loud is undeniably an easy breezy lovely song which of course makes it even more appealing to many fans around the globe as he strayed away from his breakup kind of songs. Now here is what did to this song for most of us out there, that today makes it one of the best covers heard yet. His silky vocals swirling delicately around the instrumentals employed to further enhance his prowess inevitably made us self aware in an hypnotic yet sexy kind of way. Creating the perfect ambiance and sensuality anyone could ever feel in a not so good situation or weather, Funbi gets us all to the crescendo of it all by taking up a cute and slightly urgent ‘EP’ definition shoulder shrugging scene. Amazing is the word. Oh and it doesn’t hurt he is also easy on the eye.
2. Panda/Ycee: It’s a relief I can actually do hear the wordings of this massively successful song. Panda by the real artiste deals majorly with how big boys hustle and make it in the game, a not so different theme, Ycee turned the entire song on its head with the most needed ingredient, actually audible words which instantly made the song epic in the listening pleasure it offered to us all. Ycees’s prominent vocal and lyrical harmonies made this song more interesting than the original which majorly was just a beat perfect for Dabbing.
3. Stay With Me/ Oyinkanade and Immaculate: It is a rare but beautiful achievement when a cover can further enhance the beauty of the original version of it. The song, ‘Stay With Me’ by Sam Smith, is in itself a classic, further propelled to even more classical stance with the vocal prowess of two vocal powerhouses, Immaculate and Oyinkandade. The original version of this song is a quiet masterpiece but with all the musical amplifiers in place in the cover, Oyinkanade and Immaculate, yes started out in the same sort of lane but in no time surged straight into an ocean of immense warmth, energetic and sensual state with their acerbic vocal chords, the vocals instantaneously became an explosive masterpiece anyone would never get tired of listening to.
4. Hello/Omawumi: the original of this song garnered rave reviews from the top most critics in the industry so did the cover. Coming from a vocal powerhouse herself, Omawumi, once again, showed everyone njust how to gingerly yet powerful place your vocal prowess and might on any song. He incredible guttural- vocal slaying on this song is the type that can 5 decades on earth could evoke. And did I mention her epic slamming into a reggae beat during the hook, Epic is all I can say!
5. Work/Maleek Berry: I heard a couple of covers for this song, and I was instantly put off with most of them because of their direct use of vulgar lyrics, we get it, vulgar lyrics in its own twisted way has its way with some people out there, but Maleek Berry’s version stood out on its own. Work, masterpiece by Rihanna, a song that has now gone platinum, at first was not understood. It took me a while before I could actually make out few words there, but here is what Maleek Berry did. Again, he employed the use of audible and easily assimilated words for this beautiful song, and to score more point, he went the way of love, I mean who can ever go wrong with love, even the so called players in the game, have in one painful way or the other (To some of us) gone the way of love songs. Maybe take a lesson from Maleek, who knows they might just surprise themselves.
Written by: Tope Delano
