EP Review: Love Takes the Lead on Dice Ailes’s Ladies First
The Nigerian singer serves a small dish of romance-filled afro-pop tunes.
Dice Ailes’ debut EP Ladies First comes eight years after he returned to Nigeria from Canada and penned a deal with Chocolate City in 2014. During his time at the label, Dice Ailes experimented with rap music on 2015’s “Oh No No” before he settled for singing and afrobeats, scoring modest hits in 2016’s Lil Kesh-assisted “Miracle,” 2017’s “Ella” and “Otedola,” 2018’s Soji-featuring “Diceyyy,” and 2020’s “Pim Pim,” which features Olamide.
In 2015, Ailes also featured on Chocolate City’s compilation album The Indestructible Choc Boi Nation, which aimed to spotlight him and other newbie label mates at the time—Koker, Milli and CKay (who only made an appearance on the album as a producer)—as well as the heavyweights.
Released under Dice Ailes’ new home Sony Music West Africa Limited, the six-track Ladies First is a collection of songs on Ailes’ observations on romance, catered for the female folk. “I have taken my time to put together the best body of work for you…It’s taken years of restructuring and perfecting,” Ailes wrote on Instagram. The project’s lead single “Hold Me” features Nigerian songstress Tiwa Savage. On the song, both artistes court each other with promises of commitment and flirty lyrics. For both of them, their needs are strictly corporeal; the track carries an alluring groove with its vibrant drums.
Dice Ailes goes dancehall on the opener “Leftside” as he reveals the details of an intense lovemaking session. “Chemistry/Two shots of Hennessy/Yeah me love your energy/Girl would you be letting me explore your biology?” he sings. The groove is hypnotic on the Latin America-inspired “Rosalia,” which features Spanish rapper Kaydy Cain. Lush guitar strings and drums guide Dice Ailes as calls out to the aforementioned Rosalia; he pleads with her to return his affection and promises not to disappoint her, while Kaydy Cain delivers a smooth verse in Spanish.
“Monica” is a two-love-songs-in-one combo. The first half has a bouncy, mid-tempo rhythm as Dice Ailes croons to his love interest. The bounciness carries into the second half as twinkly guitar strings enter the fray. “This kind love is taking all over me,” Dice Ailes sings on the Fela-inspired “Zombie.” On the afro-pop tune, he discloses that the love he has for his woman has turned into a zombie, susceptible to her desires.
Dice Ailes unveils a strongly vulnerable part of him on the mid-tempo “Pray As You Go” as he laments about the death of a past relationship. “Things I do for you oh/You could never do for me oh/You were never behind me oh,” he sings. Even though he is enveloped in sadness, he is clear-eyed enough to realize he is better without her. “I pray that you grow,” he fires as a parting shot.
Ladies First is no game-changing project but it does its respectable job of building the singer’s discography and whetting fans’ appetite for a forthcoming album.
Go HERE to stream Ladies First.
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