Joe El
Flip-Flops In Timeless Launch Out
Uzo Chikere
Of issue in his career presently is whether he is Tu-Face
Idiba’s look-alike or not. What matters now, is the offering of his musical
work and its artistic value. After quite a number of years under the
stewardship of industry veterans Keke Ogungbe and Dayo Adeneye, Joe El Amadi
has put forward a body of work.
This has been a long time coming for the pop singer who has
had difficulty gaining acceptance as a stand-alone music entity. Through fate
and a complicit twist of genetics, he was born into earth as a physical
look-alike of celebrated artiste, Tu-Face Idibia. So striking is this
similarity that it traverses certain aspects of his craft down to the most
primary organ of his music; his vocal chords. For many years has he had to deal
with being ‘the guy who looks like Tu-Face.’ He has fought that, with
statements and a refusal to be that guy.
In 2014, Joe El got a revelation. He embraced the persona,
and began work with Tu-Face Idibia. He exuded a certain calm and peace, and let
his artistry flow. ‘Oya now’ was born. Then came ‘Hold on’, with Tu-Face
Idibia, and now, an album. This rapid change of views and events have put Joe
El on the rise. "Timeless" album showed a creative flaw by being too
similar to Sunny Neji’s 2012 ‘Timeless’ album. Even the album sleeve design
looks like a modern version of its predecessor. There is also no mention of
creative inspiration from Sunny Neji. This could some sort of copyright
infringement .
The album kicks off with two singles that have made the man
visible on the radar. Joe El and Tu-Face Idibia-created ‘Hold on’ for
inspiration, and it flew. Then follow’s the Afrobeat OritseFemi collaboration
‘Oya now’. These songs which are awesome, have been milked beyond any listening
value, hence appearing first on the album, robs the listener some chance to get
to the new stuff. This is wrong.
Away from these two songs, an ardent listener may be hard
pressed to find more good material. The entire album is a disjointed blend of
sounds that only presents a mere compilation from someone who has had a
breakout year. 19 tracks long, with no character and imagination, this album sounds
like a drawn-out ode to Tu-Face Idibia. With a title such as ‘Timeless’, the
last thing on your mind as you filter through this work is to preserve it for a
later time. Such is its lack of melodious power.
The act’s attempts to seduce pop culture with the club
single ‘Ileke’, is seen for what it is. Joe El makes it too glaring that
the song is meaningless, with no attempt at creativity on the lyrics. No twist,
but plenty of sexually suggestive lyrics which make the man too ordinary. “We
and my guys we get am for plenty money to spend…in the first place, see your
Ileke dey cause case.” This track is not a new addition to the prevalent
‘bum and butt’ music that Nigerian artistes find so attractive.
A bland production, no clear direction, and distasteful
music composition are the creative-reversal triplets that combine to make this
album a job to listen to. Sneak in the mediocre attempt at embracing the ways
of 2face Idibia, and this album becomes a flop. Listening to ‘You are love’
will give you a throwback to an upcoming 2face Idibia.
‘Chukwudi’
with Iyanya sounds like a track from indigenous Pentecoastal Christianity,
played out over a regular DJ Coublon beat. “We are serving a living God, Chukwudi e, that is why we no dey fall,
Chukwu di e.’ It belongs in an Enugu Gospel album. Not a Timeless piece.”
Just after this comes another Gospel song, with the disruptive bells of Terry
G, taking you on another run at basic lyrics. “If no be God O, me for die o, me for die o, me for die o, owey, owey”
Joe El embraces romance on this album, with urban highlife,
retro beats, R&B infusions, and a nod at Soul. But in all, he finds
creative ways to make the listener cringe at love. ‘Love song’ is a weak
freestyle, ‘Onye’ is a drawn out Nigerian sound, ‘Blown out’ makes music a
chore, and ‘We are in love’ just rolls by.Hip-hop finally comes on into the
mix, with Phyno guesting on the wrong track. ‘Fade away’, a conscious effort,
with lacklustre lyrics is given to him, and he is limited. Move down the album,
to ‘No Yawa’, and you will find a creative fit for a man of his talents.
And why did ‘Hold on’ get an international version that is
exactly like its original? This move is an embodiment of the poor direction and
creative misses on the LP. Production on this album is scattered amongst a
posse of producers, who are all to blame for the lame quality of this album.
OJB covers himself with a little glory for ‘Oya now’, but fails to extend that
genius to his other tracks. DJ Coublon is still working with his singular beat,
and happily hands it out to Joe El. This will be the poorest Masterkraft credits
that will ever roll in to him. Others just fall in line for this work.
‘Timeless’ fails to realise the potential and deliver on the
promise that Joe El displayed and flaunted in 2014. Nothing is timeless on this
album. If anything, ‘One time’ would happily describe these 19 tracks. Let’s
hope he gets it right on his second LP attempt.
