EP Review: Dance Dance Dance on Masterkraft’s Masta Groove

The Nigerian singer/record producer marries amapiano with other music genres.

Masta Groove.

Recently, Masterkraft’s already illustrious career attained new heights. Last year, his single “Hallelu,” which featured Bella Shmurda and Zlatan, became a hit, ruling airwaves in Nigeria and internationally. He kicked off 2021 with the Phyno-assisted “Egbon.” Both songs’ beats are set on amapiano, a South African House subgenre, which is the current darling of the Nigerian music scene. Masterkraft also produced the Alpha P & Omah Lay-featuring afrobeats remix of Justin Bieber’s “Peaches.”

Born Sunday Ginikachukwu Nweke, Masterkraft’s latest body of work Masta Groove is a seven-track EP that melds amapiano with afrobeats, pop, highlife and jazz. Its thematic concerns are about being grateful and dancing the pains of life away. Masterkraft is responsible for the production while Selebobo and Xtraordinaire mixed and mastered the songs.

On the opener “Brown Skin,” drums, percussion and guitar strings create a mid-tempo, groovy melody. The track has a calming feel to it. An uncredited male voice recites a poem eulogizing a Black woman’s body. “Your brown skin/Melanin/My eyes behold a masterpiece/Your brown skin/Chocolate cruise/Uh, those hips/The way they hang loose/Beautiful is an understatement/And no other colour is a good replacement,” he says.

“Big Man Rhythm,” which features Selebobo, is a gorgeous jam session. Aside from a few background vocals, the musical instruments—drums, piano, guitar—are left to communicate the happy mood of the track. The sounds of these instruments, under the hands of Masterkraft and Selebobo, merge brilliantly.

Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz immediately demands attention on “Abeykehh.” The song starts with a grand opening of dazzling guitar riffs and drums and segues into a dance-inducing amapiano beat, which Diamond Platnumz effortlessly inhabits as he sings of partying and enjoying life. Nigerian singer Flavour joins in the fun, pumping up the infectious energy of the track.

On “Shake Body,” which features Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie and music entrepreneur Larry Gaaga, Masterkraft sings of minding his business and having a good time. Sarkodie raps in his native language Twi and Larry Gaaga’s words ooze refinement. On “Uluuluu,” Masterkraft mumbles words that mean nothing yet are irresistible on the hard-hitting beat.

Masterkraft. Image Credit: Instagram.

Afrobeat devotee Seun Kuti and rapper Vector team up on “Shabadushkabar.” The latter has few words, while the former’s incredible saxophone playing suffuses the track. On the Mr. Talkbox-featuring closer “Live My Life,” Masterkraft is ignoring bad vibes and focusing on doing things his way. “If I pull up in a Lamborghini/Them go talk/And if I no dey do well o/Dem go talk/Problem no dey finish/I decide to enjoy myself/I no send anybody/Na the way I wan live my life,” he sings.

Over the years, Masterkraft’s production credits, which include numerous hit songs such as “Indomie,” Wizkid’s “No Lele,” Flavour’s “Golibe,” Phyno’s “Fada Fada,” and Mayorkun’s “Sade,” has risen to be one of the most admired in the Nigerian music industry. With Masta Groove, he proves that he is attuned to the current sounds and ready to dish out more sonic delights.

Go HERE to stream Masta Groove.